The name 'kimekomi' came from the Japanese verb that describes the action of squeezing a piece of fabric into the wood grooves, 'kimekomu,' which can be written with different Chinese characters to give different meaning, 'determined.'
この、筋彫りに布の端を押し込む動作を「木目込む（決め込む）」ということから、木目込み人形と呼ばれるようになった。