The name Blauen is borne by various mountains, hills and settlements in Germany and Switzerland. In 1880 in his book on Upper German place names, Oberdeutschen Flurnamenbuch, the cultural historian, Michel Buck, made a connexion between the name Blauen and historical mining activity, by proposing that name was derived from the word Bla = smeltery. However, it could also be derived from the blue colour (German: Blau = blue) of coniferous forests or the bluish hue of a mountain when seen from a distance.