The name "Siolim" is believed to have come from two words -- 'Xinv' and 'Halli' . "Xinv" (pronounced 'Shiu') means "lion" and "Halli" refers to a village or place. This probably means that there once were lions in the hills of Siolim. This origin of the name has been documented in Fr. Moreno de Souza's book.Bardezcheo Igorzo (Churches of Bardez), Fr. Moren De Souza S.J. An argument in favour of this origin is that the village on the other side of the Siolim (not Marna) hill is called Vagali, which could also come from the words 'Vag' + 'Halli' ("Vag" meaning "tiger" in the local Konkani language). Another explanation is that the name comes from 'Shivalaya' , which means a temple of Shiva, but there is no documented evidence for this origin
