The mountain was named in 1874 by
Henry Gannett during the
Hayden Survey to honor
Charles P. Daly (1816–1899), who was then president of the
American Geographical Society. The landform's toponym was officially adopted on February 1, 1933, by the
United States Board on Geographic Names, although it appeared in publications as early as 1877. There is a
Mount Daly in Canada named for this same person. There is also another Mount Daly (12,615 ft) located six miles southwest in Gunnison County which has an unknown name origin. ==Climate==