The toponym was coined in the 1970s and translates from Russian as "the Azure Bay". The older, traditional name is Shamora (Russian: Шамора) which supposedly translates from Chinese as "sandy desert". From the 1880s until 1973, it was officially called Feldhausen Bay (in honor of Alexander Feldhausen [ru], the first Military Governor of Vladivostok). The Shamora beach gave its name to a collection of old songs by the Vladivostok band Mumiy Troll.