It is said that the temple was originally going to be named 'Ryakuo Shisei-zen-ji' but Takauji's younger brother, Tadayoshi ASHIKAGA, supposedly had a dream about a golden dragon prancing around the Oi-gawa River (also known as the Hozu-gawa River), which lies south of the temple, and the temple was instead named 'Tenryu Shisei-zen-ji' ('Tenryu' meaning 'sky dragon').
寺号は、当初は年号をとって「暦応資聖禅寺」と称する予定であったが、尊氏の弟・足利直義が、寺の南の大堰川（保津川）に金龍の舞う夢を見たことから「天龍資聖禅寺」と改めたという。