The name Soonwald occurs for the first time in an 868 A.D. document belonging to Prüm Abbey, where it is referred to as the . Later spellings are: 1128 , 1190 , 1438 , then San and finally Soonwald. Numerous attempts to explain its origin link the word with Senn (pasture) or Sone (pig herd) and indicate the centuries-old function of the Soonwald as a grazing forest.