在2002年，Tim Kemp 发现 Subversion 是一个很好的版本控制系统，但是没有好的图形化客户端，创建一个作为 Windows 外壳集成的 Subversion 客户端的创意来自 TortoiseCVS，一个非常类似的 CVS 客户端。

Tim studied the source code of TortoiseCVS and used it as a base for TortoiseSVN. He then started the project, registered the domain tortoisesvn.org and put the source code online. During that time, Stefan Küng was looking for a good and free version control system and found Subversion and the source for TortoiseSVN. Since TortoiseSVN was still not ready for use then he joined the project and started programming. Soon he rewrote most of the existing code and started adding commands and features, up to a point where nothing of the original code remained.

As Subversion became more stable it attracted more and more users who also started using TortoiseSVN as their Subversion client. The user base grew quickly (and is still growing every day). That's when Lübbe Onken offered to help out with some nice icons and a logo for TortoiseSVN. And he takes care of the website and manages the translation.