Bonnington Falls (Post Office) adopted 2 March 1948 on 82F/6, as labelled on BC map 1EM, 1915 et seq. Form of name changed to Bonnington Falls (settlement) 31 July 1970 (file T.1.47); further changed to Bonnington Falls (community).

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

Bonnington Falls Post Office opened 1 August 1911; closed 31 August 1964.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

Named in association with nearby Bonnington Falls (waterfalls) in turn named by Sir Charles Ross, after Bonnington Linn, a waterfall on his Lanarkshire estate on the River Clyde in Scotland. The estate, called Bonnington Manor, was established by his ancestor, Arctic explorer Sir John Ross; it is not clear if the estate was named after the waterfall, or vice versa. Sir Charles Henry Augustus Frederick Lockhart Ross, Bart. (1872-1942) was one of the first financiers (and served as first president) of West Kootenay Power & Light Company. Ross designed & built the dam and electric power plant here. He also invented the Ross rifle that was so unpopular with Canadian troops in World War I.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

One dictionary identifies the Gaelic "corrach linne" as meaning "angry cataracts" or "precipitous water"; another that "linn" is the Gaelic word for waterfall(s). According to a Gazetteer of Scotland, Corra Linn and Bonnington Linn are about 1/2 mile apart on the River Clyde. Their British Columbia namesakes are about 1 mile apart; Bonnington Falls (waterfalls) first labelled on BC map 4A, 1912.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office