Adopted 3 October 1946 on Chart 3797, "Namu Harbour - Plans in vicinity of Queen Charlotte and Fitz Hugh Sound" as established on British Admiralty Chart #1923B, "Cape Caution to the Port Simpson Southern Portion," 1867, and British Admiralty Chart #1901, "Plan of Nabou Harbour," 1866. Named in association with Namu Postal Office, now Namu, a locality.

Source: BC place name cards & correspondence, and/or research by BC Chief Geographer & Geographical Names Office staff, file H.1.46.

Namu is Heiltsuk First Nation word meaning “place of high winds,” referring especially to the SE blasts that sweep over the 914-m Namu Range and give nearby Whirlwind Bay its name. Archeological excavations have revealed that Namu was used by aboriginal people as a habitation site, at least seasonally, for 11,000 years or more and is this one of the longest continually occupied places in Canada. In 1893, Robert Draney built cannery at this spot and added a sawmill in 1911. The cannery was rebuilt and changed hands several times, eventually becoming one of the largest and most efficient fish-processing complexes on the BC coast. BC Packers Ltd was owner by 1928 and added a reduction plant, a cold-storage component and a modern ship-repair yard. Fire destroyed the facility in 1961 but it was rebuilt, and the cannery operated until 1970, the cold storage until 1988. BC Packers sold the site in 1991, and subsequent owners have fought a losing battle to maintain marine services and reserve Namu’s buildings, with the hope of establishing some kind of tourism or heritage attraction. Namu Lk and Namu R derive their names from the community and harbour.

Source: Scott, Andrew; "The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names"; Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, 2009, page 417.