塩竈 is the form officially used by the city, but for ease of writing, the 10-stroke 釜 is often used in place of the 21-stroke 竈, such as in Shiogama Station.

The area of present-day Shiogama was part of ancient Mutsu Province, and has been settled since at least the Jōmon period by the Emishi people.

During the Nara period, the area came under the control of colonists from the imperial dynasty based at nearby Tagajō and was the most important seaport in Mutsu.

The town of Shiogama was established with the post-Meiji restoration creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889.

The city was affected by the tsunami caused by the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake,[6] although damage to its fishing industry turned out to be light.

[7] Shiogama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a unicameral city legislature of 18 members.