Adopted 4 October 1945 on 92F/7 as listed in 1930 Gazetteer and as labeled on Reference Map 2A "Vancouver Island, Southerly" (1913, 1923, 1938) and Chart 3590.

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

The name is an adaptation of Pentlatch First Nation word for chum salmon (sometimes also spelled Quall-e-hum or Quallchum in early accounts of the region). The Pentlatch people – a Northern Coast Salish group occupying traditional territory on the east coast of Vancouver Island and on Denman and Hornby islands – were decimated in the 19th century by disease and inter-tribal warfare. Their language became extinct by 1940 [was once a sleeping but now a living language again, 2023] on only in a few place names such as Qualicum. The town of Qualicum Beach got its start as an agricultural settlement around the mouth of Little Qualicum River in the 1880s. It developed as a resort area and in the early 2000s had the highest proportion of senior citizens of any community in BC: 35% of the population is over 65.

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