The hill just qualifies as a Munro by four metres, reaching a height of . In the original 1891 version of Munro's Tables, Meall na Teanga was listed as a subsidiary Top of Sròn a' Choire Ghairbh. It was promoted to Munro status when the tables were updated in 1921, despite continuing doubts as to whether it had sufficient height. The hill's name translates from the Gaelic as Hill of the Tongue. This refers to one of the hill's ridges: either the long tongue-like western ridge which curves round two fine corries, or the steep buttressing spur which rises from the loch to the summit. The hill is sometimes referred to by its informal moniker of Tango.