The name of the settlement was changed from Glažuta (literally, 'glassworks' < German Glasshütte) to Svetli Dol (literally, 'bright valley') in 1955. The name was changed on the basis of the 1948 Law on Names of Settlements and Designations of Squares, Streets, and Buildings as part of efforts by Slovenia's postwar communist government to remove German elements from toponyms.[3][4]