The sport is called curling because of the way the stone “curls,” or curves, as it slides down the ice due to the spin put on it by the player.

Quick Scoop: Name Origin

  • The verb “to curl” means to bend or curve, and in this sport the granite stone does not travel in a straight line but follows a curved path when it’s released with a slight rotation.
  • Early Scottish players noticed this distinctive motion on pebbled ice and began referring to the game with the verbal noun “curling,” a usage that appeared in print as early as 1620 in Scotland.
  • Many clubs explain the name simply: the stone can “curl” several inches or even feet to the left or right depending on the turn (spin) and ice conditions, and that curling path is central to the strategy of the game.

In other words, the sport is named directly after its signature move: the controlled curve of the stone on ice.

As a fun extra, the game has also long been nicknamed “the roaring game,” a reference not to the curl but to the rumbling sound the stones make as they travel over the textured, pebbled ice surface.

TL;DR: It’s called curling because the spinning stone doesn’t go straight—it curls along the ice, and that curl is the defining feature of the sport.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.