It was called Høgsfjord from 1865 until 1871 when the municipality was reduced in size and the name was changed to Høle.

On 1 January 1871 the district Forsand located east of the Høgsfjorden (population: 2,081) was split off from Høgsfjord to form a municipality of its own.

The southeastern corner of Høle surrounding the farming village of Oltesvik (population: 37) was transferred to the municipality of Gjesdal.

The name is the plural genitive case of hylr which means "deep place" or "pool in a river".

[5] The municipal council (Herredsstyre) of Høle was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four year terms.