The name of the city is derived from the term "Shiva-Moga", "Moga in Kannada means Face hence meaning Face of Shiva". An alternative etymology is that the name is derived from the term "Sihi-Mogge", meaning "sweet pot". The district formed the southern tip of Emperor Ashoka's Mauryan Empire in the third century BC. It was ruled during later centuries by the Kadambas (4th century), Chalukyas (6th century), Gangas, Rashtrakutas (8th century), Hoysalas (11th century), and the Vijayanagara rulers (15th century). The city got an independent identity under the Keladi Nayaka rule during the 16th century, reaching its pinnacle under the rule of Shivappa Nayaka. From the late 17th century onwards, the city was a part of the Kingdom of Mysore until the independence of India in 1947, when Mysore merged into the Republic of India.
On 1 November 2006, the government of Karnataka announced the renaming of Shimoga to "Shivamogga", along with nine other cities in the state, but the renaming is yet to get approval from the Central Government
