The peak was named in 1894 by Samuel Allen after the Stoney Indian (also known as Nakoda) word for "chieftain" as the mountain is higher than its neighbouring peaks.
For the middle-division of the Sioux known as the "Nakoda," "Nakota" or "Stoney," see Nakoda (Stoney).
Aaniiih Nakoda College (ANC) (formerly Fort Belknap College) is a tribal college located on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Harlem, Montana.