Mount Pinchi was adopted 1 June 1937 as labelled on BC map 1G, 1916, and as listed in the 1930 BC Gazetteer; changed to Pinchi Mountain 5 July 1957 on 93K.

Source: BC place name cards, files, correspondence and/or research by BC Chief Geographer/Geographical Names Office.

Established name. Pinchi is an Indigenous word meaning "ghost".

Source: BC place name cards, files, correspondence and/or research by BC Chief Geographer/Geographical Names Office.

Two unincorporated communities – the old Dakelh village of Pinchi and the much newer Pinchi Lake – share this name with a lake (56 sq. km), a mountain (1267m) and a bay on Stuart Lake. The first time the term is known to have been used by a non-Aboriginal was in 1811, when North West Company fur trader Daniel Harmon, while stationed at nearby Fort St. James, noted the existence of “Pinchy Lake.” The name has also been spelled as Binche, Pinche, and Pinchie. It is believe that the first non-Aboriginal visitors to the area applied the moniker of the existing Dakelh village to the lake. Sources differ as to the origin of the name. Some say that “pinchi” is a Dakelh (Carrier) First Nation word meaning “lake outlet.” Others believe it is a derivation of a Dakelh place name, either Tesgha or Tesghabun. The prefix tes refers to the bottom or bed of a lake, while gha translates into “furry,” “hairy,” or “mossy,” while bun means “lake.” Hence, the name refers to the condition of the lakebed. Another interpretation, however, is that tes means “bed” or “bedding” and Tesgha means “resting place for waterfowl.”

Source: Thorburn, Mark; "British Columbia Place Names"; Dragon Hill Publishing Ltd., Canada, 2009, page 229-230.