Originally known as Stützerkopf, the name Großvenediger (English: Great Venetian) is first recorded from a 1797 border survey. The origin of this name is unclear, probably deriving from Venetian merchants on their way over the mountain passes. An alternative theory is that the view from the summit may reach as far as Venice, some 200 km (120 mi) away, however, this is not in accordance with the facts.
The author and mountaineer Ignaz von Kürsinger (1795–1861), one of the first climbers of the Großvenediger in 1840, coined the epithet weltalte Majestät (World-old Majesty).
