One of the local legends holds that it was King Makgoba himself who described the area where the town of Tzaneen is now situated as “Tzaneng – the happy land”.
 
Other explanations were that the name originated from the word “Tzana“ meaning ‘basket’, thus describing the way that the town of Tzaneen is surrounded by hills, filled by fruit and vegetables which are produced in abundance in the fertile valley,
 
These are all very appropriate explanations and acceptable for a town that lies peacefully and contentedly at the heart of South Africa’s richest sub-tropical fruit growing region.