According to local legends, there is an interesting story of how and why the temples are called 'Khajuraho'.

The Chandela rulers, who began constructing the temples, got the entire area enclosed by a wall. The wall had about eight gates which were primarily used for entry or exit. It is said that each gate was flanked on either side by date and palm trees. The name was derived from these very trees and the temples were called "Khajura-vahika". In the Hindi language, 'Khajura' means 'Date Palm' and 'Vahika' means 'Bearing'. The Date Palm tree is found in abundance in this region.