From the name of the nearby lake Muola(a)njärvi, possibly by elision from earlier *Muotolanjärvi (> *Muotla(a)njärvi) > Muola(a)njärvi), from Muoto + -la. This theory is corroborated by nearby place names with Muotola. Muoto itself appears to be a pre-Christian given name,[1] possibly from muoto.