While plans are afoot to assign an Indigenous dual name to Australia's highest mainland peak, there is disagreement over the one currently under consideration.

Kunama Namadgi, meaning snow and mountain, has been submitted to the Geographical Names Board of NSW to sit alongside Mount Kosciuszko.

The mountain was named in 1840 by Polish explorer Pawel Strzelecki in honour of his homeland hero and freedom fighter Tadeusz Kosciuszko.

The proposal for dual naming was lodged by the Toomaroombah Kunama Namadgi Indigenous Corporation last month and is being workshopped to different Indigenous groups.

Ngarigo elder and Tumbarumba resident Uncle John Casey said the peak was a spiritually significant place for Ngarigo people.

"We're just trying to return culture and heritage to our people. There's not many of us left," he said.

"It's been Kunama Namadgi for 4,000 years, since we've been on country, until the white man came in the early 1800s and that's when they changed it."

Mount Kosciuszko was named in 1840 by Polish explorer Pawel Strzelecki. ( ABC News: Alison Branley )

He suggested there could be as many as 20 different Indigenous names for the mountain, but said not all were Ngarigo names.

Fellow Ngarigo elder Michelle Francis also supported the bid to call the mountain Kunama Namadgi.

"It sits well with most people that hear it, that know it," she said.

"They understand that is Ngarigo language, it is Ngarigo country, so that sits very well with a lot of people."

She described the proposal as a giant move forward.

"We want the name changed. It's about respect and integrity to the first people."

Proposed name 'offensive'

But not everyone supports adopting the name Kunama Namadgi.

Ngarigo woman Iris White is chairperson of the Southern Kosciuszko Executive Advisory Committee, which was set up to link the management of Kosciuszko National Park with traditional owners.

She said the conversation over dual names had been going on for a long time, and that the current proposal was offensive to Ngarigo people.

The mountain is a spiritually significant place for Ngarigo people. ( ABC News: Penny McLintock )

"That name is not from our language. It's offensive because in some of our languages Kunama actually means faeces."

Ms White acknowledged part of the problem was the fact her language was disappearing and said there were not many speakers left.

"I don't think anyone wants to give something an Aboriginal name just for the sake of it sounding Aboriginal or sounding good."

She urged the Geographical Names Board to consult broadly, saying there were at least six different Indigenous groups that should be part of the conversation.

"It's complex. There are competing interests and there needs to be a due diligence process demonstrated before the Geographical Names Board decides to make any changes.

"They need to pay due regard to the rightful people who speak for that country."

However, she said she dreamed of the day when she could stand alongside members of the Polish community to celebrate the dual naming.

"It's about reconciliation, not just between non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal people, but also reconciliation among ourselves as well."

Names to have equal status

The Geographical Names Board said it was undertaking consultation with Indigenous communities and would not make a decision until that process was completed.

"The Geographical Names Board is committed to restoring Aboriginal place names in NSW," it said in a statement.

"Through place naming, communities have the opportunity to preserve traditions while providing a sense of belonging and identity.

"Mount Kosciuszko will not be renamed, instead a dual name is proposed, meaning an Aboriginal place name will sit alongside the non-Aboriginal name, each having equal status commemorating their associated stories."