The name Kriváň, first recorded as Kriwan in 1639, is derived from the root kriv- meaning bent or crooked. It reflects the angled appearance of its shape when viewed from the west and south, characterized in the work from 1639 as an oxtail (cauda bubula in the Latin original). The Slovak name is used in other languages including in Polish, rather than its potential Polonized version (Krzywań), except occasionally in Podhale in the immediate vicinity of the Tatras.