Adopted 7 December 1937 on 92G/6, as labelled on British Admiralty Chart #1922.

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

Lhilhxí7elsh (Siwash Rock) is named after an expectant father who was purifying himself in preparation for the birth of his child. As he swam in the waters close to shore the Xáays (Transformer Brothers) approached by canoe but were unable to break the mans intense meditative state. After Xáays learned of the mans intentions they commended his commitment to his family by immortalizing him as a stone figure. His wife S7ens and child were also transformed to stone and stand today beneath the Lions Gate Bridge in the First Narrows of Burrard Inlet. These figures exemplify the importance of family. (December 2011 from: Cultural Journey Sea-to-Sky Corridor website, Squamish and Lil'wat First Nations)

Source: included with note

Siwash was the word for a Native or aboriginal person in the Chinook jargon used on the West Coast by First Nation groups and early traders and settlers. The word was derived from the French sauvage, which, despite its similarity to the English word “savage”, simply means “wild” or “untamed”. It was originally a neutral term, synonymous with “local”, but as racist attitudes persisted and grew over the years, the word became derogatory, a sign of contempt. While many other racist place names have been changed in BC, Siwash survives. In addition to the coastal names listed above, there are four Siwash creeks and three Siwash lakes in the province, plus Siwash Island in the Pitt River, Siwash Point on Okanagan Lake, Siwash Mountain southwest of Nelson and Siwash Rock Mountain northwest of Vernon. Siwash Rock in Stanley Park was called Nine Pin Rock on early Admiralty charts, after the bowling game. The Halkomelem First Nation name for this feature is S’I’lix, while the Squamish people know it as Sl’kheylish, or “he who is standing up” (and the name of the rock may, in fact, actually be a distortion of this phrase)... A searchlight was placed on top of the rock during WWII. Its sheer slopes were home for several months in 1966 to Russell, a mountain goat who managed to escape from Stanley Park Zoo.

Source: Scott, Andrew; "The Encyclopedia of Raincoast Place Names"; Harbour Publishing, Madeira Park, 2009, pp. 547.