Sunnybank Hills was originally part of a much larger area known as Coopers Plains. In 1885, the railway line was extended from Yeerongpilly, and names had to be given to the railway stations built along the line. One of the stations was named after a local farm, Sunny Brae, when of land were taken over for the railway. "Brae" is the Scottish word for the English word "bank", so the area was given boundaries and named Sunnybank. The area of Sunnybank Hills was officially defined in 1971, although it had been unofficially called this for many years.