Seechelt Peninsula adopted in the 1930 BC Gazetteer, as spelled on British Admiralty Chart #579, 1863 et seq. Spelling changed to Sechelt Peninsula 5 April 1951 on 92/SE.

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

Sechelt means "sauter par dessus" (to jump over). (from Joseph E. Guinard, OMI, "Les Noms indiens de mon pays" p. 161).
From the native word 'shishatl' (jump over; step over)", referring to a log across the trail from the sea to the inlet.

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

From 'Se-shalt', a local Indian village. It is said to mean "a place of shelter from the sea."

Source: Akrigg, Helen B. and Akrigg, G.P.V; "1001 British Columbia Place Names"; Discovery Press, Vancouver 1969, 1970, 1973.

The traditional name of the inlet is Atltooleech (inside water) - the preferred moderns spelling is ?álhtulich.

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

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.