The name of the settlement was changed from Sveti Mohor to Male Rodne in 1953. The name was changed on the basis of the 1948Law on Names of Settlements and Designations of Squares, Streets, and Buildings as part of efforts by Slovenia's postwar communist government to remove religious elements from toponyms. The name Male Rodne distinguishes the settlement from nearby Velike Rodne. The plural name Rodne and names like it are derived from the common noun *rodina 'untilled land', thus referring to a local geographical feature.