Councillors on Tuesday backed a change to "Larni Barramal Yaluk", which was suggested by Dja Dja Wurrung Elders and roughly translates as "place of the emu".

The name would reference nearby Mount Franklin, and original Indigenous names for places in the area.

The vote came despite concerns from some community members about the need for a name change.

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A minority of people who gave feedback had said the racist connotations of the name "Jim Crow" related to America's history, not Australia's.

Mt Alexander Shire's councillors agreed it was unclear exactly why Jim Crow Creek had originally got its name, though a number noted that it had first appeared in written records in the 19^th century.

That was about the time an American actor came to international fame for a racist, black-faced depiction of freed slaves.

His character, Jim Crow, became a byword for those with darker skin during the period.

The character was also referenced in the segregationist "Jim Crow laws" that divided large tracts of American society after the country's 1860s civil war.

Perhaps no-one had made those sorts of connections between the creek and segregation in the 19^th and 20^th centuries, Cr Christine Henderson told the council meeting on Tuesday.

"But now we know it is a bad name," she said.

"If you are a modern day Aboriginal person, the name 'Jim Crow' has very negative connotations."

Cr Henderson said it was time to bring back the names that had existed before Jim Crow.

Most of the creek runs through the Hepburn Shire. Councillors there were expected to vote on the matter at a Wednesday night meeting.

Both councils' recommendations would then go to Geographic Names Victoria for consideration.

It comes as other councils consider potential changes to honour names that existed before colonial dispossession.

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The City of Greater Bendigo wants to identify three sites Aboriginal place names should be recognised next financial year, according to a draft council budget out for community consultation.

It is part of a wider Reconciliation plan that includes plans to help heal Country and work together more closely with Indigenous residents.

In the Mount Alexander Shire, Cr Matthew Driscoll told the council meeting he hoped to see more places recognised with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous names.

"We have a shared heritage and I think that's really important going forward," he said.

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