The pass is named after Ira M. Luther, one of the Irish Brigade described by Mark Twain in Roughing It. In 1854, Luther traversed the pass by covered wagon; he was also involved in later efforts to use the pass as the route for the Central Pacific Railroad. The initial route for the Pony Express across the Sierra Nevada in 1860 connected Placerville and Lake Valley across Luther pass to Woodfords and thence to Nevada, but the route was quickly changed to use the Kingsbury Grade instead.