After the Aos left their original home in Chungliyimti, they came and settled in Ungma village which was their first base in Mokokchung. According to a local legend, one night, 10 women gave birth to 10 boys and their families lived here for a few generations. At that time they had no Chief of the village but a few wealthy men who were called ‘Ongs’ or ‘Ungs’. During that period, the ancestors called this village Suyem. One day, one of the Ongs was taken away by a tiger. They lived in fear of the tiger for a while and eventually decided to rename their village as Ungma where ‘ung’ means chief, and ‘ma’ means gone.