[1] Nimmitabel means "the place where many waters start or divide" in the local Aboriginal language.

[2] Many various spellings were adopted for the town, including: Nimmytabell (1837), Nimitabelle (1838), Nimmitabool (1841), Nimmittybel (1844), Nimmitabel(1845), Nimmitybelle, Nimithybale, Nymytable (all in 1848), Nimmitabil(1851), Nimitabille and Nimithy Bell(1856), Nimaty-Bell(1857), Nimmitabel(1858)[3] The town is 37 kilometres (23 mi) south of Cooma and 75 kilometres (47 mi) west of Bega.

Because of its elevation and southern latitude, several snowfalls can be expected each year from May through to October; on rare occasions, snow flurries may even occur in summer.

The town has recorded sub-freezing daily maxima on multiple occasions: −0.6 °C (30.9 °F) on 13 June 1965, and shortly thereafter −1.1 °C (30.0 °F) on 17 July 1965.

The village was featured on Episode 23 of the 10th Series of the ABC TV program "Back Roads" aired on October 22nd 2024[6]