Grad je dobio naziv po srpskoj riječi za voće jagodu, ali je 1946. preimenovan u Svetozarevo po jednom od najistaknutijih socijalista Srbije Svetozaru Markoviću.
The town got its name from the Serbian word for strawberry, "jagoda", but was renamed Svetozarevo after one of Serbia's most prominent socialists, Svetozar Markovic, in 1946.