Matthew explains the name
Golgotha was a place-name outside Jerusalem, not a description Matthew invented to make the crucifixion sound grim. When Jesus was brought there to be crucified, Matthew pauses to explain the unfamiliar name for his readers: Golgotha meant “the place of a skull” (Matthew 27:33). Mark gives the same explanation (Mark 15:22).
The word Golgotha comes from the language spoken in the region, and the word behind it means skull. In Greek, the New Testament uses a matching word for skull. So Matthew is translating the meaning of a local name, rather than offering a secret symbol to decode.
And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull,
Why was it called that?
The honest answer is that Scripture doesn't say. Some people have suggested that the hill or rock formation looked like a skull. Others connect the name with public executions, which may have made the location associated with death. Those ideas are possible, but Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John never settle the question for us (Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22; Luke 23:33; John 19:17).
That restraint matters. It keeps us from treating a later tradition as if it were stated in the Bible. We can be curious about the location, while admitting that the exact origin of its name remains unknown.
Golgotha and Calvary
You may also hear Golgotha called Calvary. Luke’s account uses “Calvary” in the KJV when describing the place of Jesus’ crucifixion (Luke 23:33). Calvary comes through Latin and carries the same basic meaning, a skull. Different names, same place, same event.
John says that Jesus went out bearing his cross to the place called Golgotha (John 19:17). The name can sound stark because it is stark. Jesus was led to an execution site, where Roman soldiers crucified him (Matthew 27:35).
And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
The deeper meaning of the place
The Bible’s main concern is not the geology of Golgotha, but what Jesus did there. The place of death became the place where Christ willingly suffered for others. His crucifixion was not an accident or a defeat beyond God’s reach. It stood at the centre of God’s saving purpose, as the apostles later proclaimed (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
So it is fine to ask why Golgotha had its name. Just don't miss Matthew’s larger invitation: look at the crucified Jesus. The place called Skull reminds us how real his suffering was, and how far his love went.