[2] Some local elders have attributed it to an eponymous "long-forgotten" local king, while others to the Persian onomatopoeic word قهقهه (Qahqahe) "ha-ha", a deep laugh, indicating that the area is a happy land.

[2] The current spelling of the name, Kaka, was established by parliamentary decree in April 1992.

[3] Timur had a fortress—of unknown antiquity—restored in 1382 during his campaigns in East Caspian lands, and named it "Kahkah".

[2][4] The ruins of the fortress command immense archaeological significance.

[4] Fighting took place in Kaka between the Trans Caspian Mensheviks and the Tashkent Bolsheviks on 28 August and on 11 and 18 September 1918 during the Russian Civil War.