It is conjectured that the tale had originally been called "Jisho Monogatari" since the Jisho era, when the battle grew more severe, as well as "Hogen Monogatari" (The Tale of the Hogen War) and "Heiji Monogatari" (The Tale of Heiji), but there is no evidence.
当初は『保元物語』や『平治物語』と同様に、合戦が本格化した治承（元号）年間より『治承物語（じしょうものがたり）』と呼ばれていたと推測されているが、確証はない。