It is named after the 203m high mountain it encompasses, Mount Cottrell, the most massive of the Werribee Plains volcanoes, a volcanic cone formed by the radial eruption of numerous lava tongues.

The mountain was purchased by Melton Council in 2007 to preserve the significant geological and flora and fauna values on the site.

[3] The Mount Cottrell massacre was a reprisal killing for squatter Charles Franks and his convict shepherd Thomas Flinders by Aboriginal people.

[4][5][6] The first residential subdivision in the area, Chartwell Estate, was established in 1957 on the corner of Boundary Road and Downing Street.

[9] Residential development of the locality began in the early 2020s, with the area between Leakes Road and the Regional Rail Link the first to be built up.