Norbu from Chaling village in Trashigang Dzongkhag (district), narrates an account of the origin of the name of the village. According to him it was believed that the village was initially named Pemachen. Later the people were resettled to a new place called Pemakot and the previous location was left barren. That land was used as pastures by the Depa Lugzi (sheepherders). In a later period, a man called Ridhar Phuntso (an ancestor of Norbu) from Arunachal Pradesh, cleared all the forest and settled the area. The people named the place as Chalang, which over time turned into Chaling.