The name "Ebla" means "White Rock", and refers to the limestone outcrop on which the city was built.

Although the site shows signs of continuous occupation from before 3000 BC, its power grows and reaches its apogee in the second half of the following millennium.

Ebla's first apogee is between ca.

2400 and 2240 BCE; its name is mentioned in texts from Akkad from ca.

2300 BCE.