There are two legends mentioning the meaning of "Krabi". The first had it that villagers presented a large ancient sword (krabi in Thai) they discovered by chance to the governor. They also did the same thing when a smaller one was found later. Regarded as sacred and auspicious, the governor would like to keep them in the province. But the provincial establishment was still in progress, so they were placed crossing each other in the cave named Khao Khanap Nam. This was the origin of the province's emblem.
The second legend had it that "Krabi" was derived from a name of local tree "Lumphi". The Malay and Chinese merchants made its pronunciation slightly corrupted and became "Ka-lu-bi" or "Kho-lo-bi", which finally turned to "Krabi" (sword).