There are many stories about how klang got its name, but by far the most popular are two. When Malaysia produced tin ore, ships from all over the world flocked to Klang, making it an important port and Klang sounds like blacksmithing in a shipyard. The second expression comes from the word Kilang. Kilang means warehouse in Malay. Since there were many warehouses there, it was called Kilang and eventually become Klang.

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Unlike most other place names in Malaysia, the Chinese name for Klang (巴生, also applies for the Klang River, Port Klang and the Klang Valley) is neither a direct transcription nor translation. It has been proposed that the word 巴生 is derived from the translation of the Malay word "Pasang" for sea tide . This word shows the importance of the rising tide of the Klang river to traders.

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According to the Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, Klang is said to have originated from the word "Klang" named by Kittar Sultan Mahmud Shah II (1506-1546) in Kulangkasuka (Old Thai) means "middle" and is the name of the Sultan of Kedah, used to describe the location of Klang on the way from Kedah to Malacca. Notably, the Thai word "klang" (pronounced "glaang") means "middle".

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Archaeological findings on the implementation prove that the origin of the name Klang may come from the word "Khlang", which means "strong" and "loud" in the ancient Khmer language. Describing the strength of their defenses or the roar of the war drums, the word "Klang" (Khlang) comes from the Mon-Khmer language, which entered the Javanese dictionary around 400-800 AD and means "drum". Back in the 11th century, Klang was considered a country subservient to other nations. The Klang River was also referenced in the Majapahit Empire's 14th century literary work Nagarakretagama, and it was documented on the oldest nautical charts when Chinese Admiral Zheng visited Malacca from 1409 to 1433 and named it.

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Artifacts such as the 3 bronze bells Bukit Yati (1905) and the Bukit Kuda bronze drum (1944) were found along the Klang River to prove the trading activities of the Klang Dong Sun period (500 BC-200 AD). Named "Klang Bronze Bell". Therefore, the Mon-Khmers may have influenced the naming of "Klang".