Umhlanga is named after the Ohlanga River, which reaches the Indian Ocean three kilometres north of the town.
The Oyster Box, a luxury hotel since the 1930s, was originally built as a beach cottage in 1869, before the town had even been founded.
In 1895, Sir Marshall Campbell founded Umhlanga. The town's first hotel was established in 1920, followed by a shop, a lighthouse, the Natal Anti Shark Measures Board (today called the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board) and further hotel developments.
The Borough of Umhlanga was formed in 1972 through the merger of Umhlanga Rocks, a seaside resort town, and the suburb of La Lucia.
In the 1980s, development expanded inland.
Umhlanga, specifically the former sugarcane fields of Umhlanga Ridge, has become the focus of development in the greater Durban area with many businesses relocating offices from central Durban (similarly to Sandton forming the new centre of Johannesburg), a move that has been criticized for "fragmenting the urban fabric" and furthering "economic apartheid" in Durban. In 2010, Durban International Airport was moved to La Mercy, near Umhlanga, and reopened as King Shaka International Airport
