The name Golgotha, which is a transliteration of an Aramaic word meaning ‘skull’, was the name of the hill just outside Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified (Matthew 27:33; Luke 23:33; John 19:17). (The name Calvary is not in the original New Testament, but has been taken from the Vulgate, a fourth century Latin translation. It comes from the Latin word for ‘skull’.)
There is no certainty about which of several possible sites is Golgotha or how the hill got its name. But it was on a main road not far from one of Jerusalem’s city gates, and a garden containing a tomb was nearby (Matthew 27:39; John 19:20; John 19:41).