The station and the region are named after HMS "Tamar" (a place of land now known as the Tamar site), once the headquarters of the Royal Navy in Hong Kong – this, even though HMS "Tamar" had never actually been called the Admiralty. It was built on the former site of the Hong Kong naval dockyards, which was built in 1878 and demolished in the 1970s. The Chinese name, which translates to 'Gold Clock', refers to a clock with gold-coloured numerals and hands that was centered on the main building of Wellington Barracks, Hong Kong from 1890 to 1962.