Kincoppal traces its origins to the establishment of two schools. The first, the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Rose Bay, was founded in 1882. The other was founded in 1909 at Kincoppal, the former Elizabeth Bay residence of prominent Catholic businessman John Hughes. The name "Kincoppal" came from a nearby rock in Sydney Harbour that, viewed from a certain position, looks like a horse's head. ("Kincoppal" means "horse's head", the Anglicisation of the Gaeilge (Irish) words "ceann" (head) and "capall" (horse).)