Donegall Pass was 'one of the avenues or passes cut through Cromac Woods by Arthur, second Earl of Donegall in 1666' (John J Marshall, Belfast Telegraph, 07/01/1941). It was marked as “The Pass Loning”, apparently a tree-lined avenue, on Williamson's map of Belfast (1791). The word "Pass" was appropriate for a route which originally ran through woodland.
It is included in the list of streets in the Belfast Directory 1835-1836 with a reference to Malone Road as an adjoining street. By this time it seems it was a paved road. The 1839 edition of Martin’s Belfast Directory lists people living here.
The streets named after trees on the south side of Donegall Pass, such as Oak Street and Elm Street, may be a nod to the trees in Cromac Wood which grew here until the late 18th century.