Its said that there used to be a huge open space called 'malraan' in marathi which was quite famous at the times of Chhatrapati Shivaji & Sambhaji Maharaj. It happened to be a horse grazing and training site. In fact there is a mention of this famous 'maalran' in one of the heavy battles between the Maratha forces and the Mughals for the control of the very important Kalyan & Bhiwandi harbours.

Another saying is there used to be a huge pond over here at the times of Peshwas.  

A huge stone was unearthed by the Archeological Department with the encryptions marking the evidence of the existence of the town since almost 7,8 centuries back. In the year 1075, King Harpal Dev had referred to Dombivli on the stone inscriptions, which was situated in Mahul village, near the Turbhe Port. From this,we come to know that Dombivli village existed approximately 800 years ago.  

There are different but interesting stories as to how Dombivli could have got its name.

In the past the areas were named on the basis of the inhabitants,so the areas where the THAKURS" (Tribal) lived was called "THAKURLI". The areas where the "PATHARWATS" or "STONE-CUTTERS" lived were known as "PATHARLI" and the area where the "DOMBS" lived was called "DOMBIVLI".

Another story says Dombivli has derived its name due to the fact that Dombivli being situated on the shallow land was prone to the danger of being submerged in water. 

Dombivli is surrounded by the following villages The CHOLE village to the East ,The Airey(Aayre) village to the West,The Patharli village to the South ,And The Thakurli village to the North.

The Dombivli Railway Station was most probably set-up in the year 1887. There used to be  only one tall cabin, which was used for ticketing as well as signaling. The Dombivli village was surrounded by a thick growth of "Karwandi", "Pendhkadi", "Fur" and "Nivdung".And more often it was a home to wild animals like wolves,foxes and many rabbits,pythons and a lot of snakes.After sunset it used to be quite dangerous and adventurous to get out of homes.