The townsite of Wonnerup is located 219 kilometres south of Perth and 10 kilometres east of Busselton. It was gazetted a townsite in 1856, deriving its name from the nearby Wonnerup Inlet. The name is Aboriginal, having been shown on maps of the region since 1839. A possible meaning of the name is "place of the Aboriginal woman's digging or fighting stick" or it may be related to Peppermint Trees common in the area.