Banfield Creek adopted in the 18th Report of the Geographic Board of Canada, 31 March 1924 (referring to the tidal inlet), as labelled on BC map 2A, 1913. Form of name changed to Banfield Inlet 3 April 1944, to more readily identify the nature of the feature. Spelling changed to Bamfield Inlet 6 September 1951 on C3627, the entrenched local name and to avoid confusion, as the nearby Post Office and Cable Station were spelled Bamfield (file B.1.32).

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

Note that "creek" was a term for a narrow tidal inlet in 19th Century naval terminology, still used in the maritime provinces.

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office

First misspelled "Bamfield Creek" (referring to the tidal inlet) on British Admiralty Charts 584 and 592, published in 1863 & 1865 respectively, from 1861 surveys conducted by Captain Richards, RN. Correctly spelled on subsequent Admiralty Charts. For origin see Bamfield (community).

Source: BC place name cards, or correspondence to/from BC's Chief Geographer or BC Geographical Names Office