The hill's name translates from the Scottish Gaelic language as Hill of the Herding and this refers to the fact that it lies on the route of one of the main north-south ancient drovers' roads of Scotland, the area around the mountain was used as a gathering point for the cattle. The western corrie of the hill could well have been the collecting point as it is a huge gentle bowl which is ideal for summer grazing and the concealing of cattle. James Stobie's map of 1770 refers to the hill as Ben Chualach, Charles Knight's Penny Cyclopaedia of the 1840s also uses this name and the hill seems to have been designated as Beinn a' Chuallaich by Victorian cartographers in the second half of the 19th century.