She was called Kiritsubo no Koi because she did not have a good backer in kokyu (empress's residence), and was given Shigeisha (Kiritsubo), which was the furthest away from Seiryoden (literally "Limpid Cool Hall," an Imperial summer palace) and inconvenient.
後宮では後ろ盾が無いこともあり、局として清涼殿からもっとも遠く不便な淑景舎（桐壺）を与えられたことから桐壺更衣と称する。