Attached to Savage's unit was Doctor Lafayette Bunnell, who later wrote about his awestruck impressions of the valley in The Discovery of the Yosemite. Bunnell is credited with naming Yosemite Valley, based on his interviews with Chief Tenaya.

The name "Yosemite" was given to the valley by Lafayette Bunnell, a physician attached to the Mariposa Battalion during the 1851 state-sanctioned invasion of the region. Bunnell chose the name based on his interpretation of the local Indigenous people's name for themselves, though he famously misunderstood the meaning. He believed "Yosemite" translated to "Full-Grown Grizzly Bear," a symbol of the tribe's strength. In reality, the Ahwahneechee people who lived there called the valley "Ahwahnee" (Place of the Gaping Mouth) and themselves "Ahwahneechee." The word Bunnell heard, yohhe'meti (Southern Sierra Miwok), actually meant "they are killers" or "those who kill," a term used by surrounding tribes to describe the Ahwahneechee as enemies. Despite this grim linguistic error, Bunnell's name stuck in his widely read accounts, and it eventually became the official designation for the National Park. By 2026, many Indigenous groups continue to advocate for the recognition of the original name, Ahwahnee, alongside the historically "incorrect" title bestowed by Bunnell.