Sechelt (Post Office & Summer Resort) adopted 12 December 1939 on 92 SE, as labelled on BC map 2A, 1913. Form of name changed to Sechelt (Post Office & Settlement) 28 July 1945 on C.3579. Incorporated as a Village Municipality 15 February 1956; confirmed as Sechelt (Village) 3 April 1959 on 92G and in 1966 BC Gazetteer. Re-incorporated as a District Municipality per Order in Council 30 June 1986, called District of Sechelt.

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

Sechelt Post Office was opened 1 March 1896.

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

The Sechelt First Nation now spells its name Shíshálh, after its language, Sháshíshálem, which is a branch of Salishan. Many variants of the name have been recorded over the years, including Seashelth, Seshal and Sicatl. The Sechelt people were the first aboriginal group in Canada to achieve self-government, in 1986. They live today mostly at Ch’átlich in the Sechelt Indian Government District, where Paul Durieu established a Roman Catholic Oblate mission in 1868; a large church and residential school were later erected. The non-Native community of Sechelt, which got its start in 1890s with Herbert Whitaker’s development of a hotel and store, is adjacent to Ch’átlich. Nearby Sechelt Creek and Sechelt Lake are also named after this First Nation group. Sechelt Inlet (or Álhtúlich in Sháshíshálem) is the site of several small provincial marine parks. The Sechelt Rapids in Skookumchuck Narrows can reach a peak of 14 knots (26km/h).

Source: Scott, Andrew; "The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names"; Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, 2009.