The first written record of the name is as "Beanbeacla" in 1449. Historically this name is assumed to derive from "Peighinn nam Fadhla" (pronounced ) "pennyland of the fords" as the island is near-flat. It is very similar phonetically to the unstressed form of "Beinn" ( "mountain", and appears to have been subject to folk etymology or re-analysis, leading to the modern forms containing "Beinn" rather than "Peighinn". Through a process of language assimilation, the sequence has resulted in the modern pronunciation of . The spelling variations "faola" and "fadhla" are due to phonetic merger of with in certain Gaelic dialects. Spelling variants include: "Beinn a' Bhaoghla", "Beinn na Faoghla", "Beinn na bhFadhla", "Beinn nam Fadhla", "Beinn nam Faola".