The former name of the station was "Saga," and even after the station became a JR stop the name was unchanged for some time; eventually, "Arashiyama," the name of the regional sightseeing spot, was added to it, and "Saga-Arashiyama" became the station name.
元の駅名は嵯峨であり、JRに移行後も暫くはこの駅名のままであったが、後に観光地である嵐山の名称を加えた嵯峨嵐山の駅名を名乗るようになった。