Adopted 29 December 1945 on C.3450, as labelled on British Admiralty Chart #579, published in 1865 from 1860 surveys by Captain Richards, and as labelled on BC Lands' map 2A, 1913, etc.

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

Origin/significance not known; probably a reference to the sound of waves breaking on the shoreline, or the tide running through adjacent Active Pass. Endless whispering.... Not listed in Walbran's "British Columbia Coast Names", or in Wagner's "Cartography of the NW Coast of America".

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

"There are two Gossip Islands - one in Washington State, the other in British Columbia. Both islands were named by Captain George Richards during the early years (1858-1859) of his lengthier hydrographic survey and both islands are adjacent to or within the Strait of Georgia, Salish Sea. The American and Canadian islands are a mere 25 nautical miles apart. No BC source has other than a speculative account of the naming. Place Names of Washington (by Robert Hitchman, Washington State Historical Society, 1985) states : "Gossip Islands - A group of three small islands at the entrance to Reid Harbor on Stuart Island in northwest San Juan County include Cemetery, Gossip, and George islands, and were previously the site of Indian burials. Individual islands appear on more detailed maps and charts, but the group name does not, except on British Admiralty charts made in 1858-59 by Capt. Henry Richards. The name Richards used was for an old Indian custom of feasting, drinking, and gossiping during sockeye salmon seasons. An alternate name was Cemetery Islands for the Indian burials there." Unfortunately Mr. Hitchman provided no source for his assertion of the reason Captain Richards chose the name Gossip Island for the Washington State island. During my telephone conversation with Fred Poyner IV, WSHS Digital Collections Curator, he said that there are no documents he has discovered that provide evidence in support of the stated origin of the name of Gossip Island and Gossip Islands, Washington." (information and research findings shared January 2015 by historian Ross Tweedale, Galiano Island)

Source: included with note