Kuper Island adopted in the 6th Report of the Geographic Board of Canada, 30 June 1906, as labelled on British Admiralty Chart 579, 1863 et seq. Name changed to Penelakut Island 29 June 2010 to reflect traditional usage, as proposed by Penelakut Nation and agreed by other property owners (file V.1.38)

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

Named in 1859 by Captain Richards, RN, after Captain Augustine Leopold Kuper, who had been on this station 1851-53 in command of HMS Thetis. In 1864 Kuper, now a rear-admiral and commander-in-chief of the China Station, led the combined British, American, French and Dutch fleets against the Japanese, inflicting a defeat which contributed to the overthrow of the shogunate. This, in turn led to the modernization of Japan.

Source: Walbran, John T; British Columbia Coast Names, 1592-1906: their origin and history; Ottawa, 1909 (republished for the Vancouver Public Library by J.J. Douglas Ltd, Vancouver, 1971)

The traditional Halkomelem name was Puneluxtth, referring to the village on the northeast side of the island. Puneluxtth can be translated as "log half buried in the sand" or "cedar in the mud" and for many years has been spelled phonetically as Penelakut. Archaeological evidence suggests that the people of Peneluxtth had inhabited the island for 4500 to 9000 years before the arrival of Europeans. (September 2009 information from Penelakut Nation.)

Source: included with note