How NOAA's sanctuaries got their names

Monitor

The name Monitor came from the wreck of the Civil War-era ship USS Monitor, which rests within the sanctuary. The ship's name was suggested by its designer, John Ericsson, a monitor being one who watches and warns. Not only did this famous ironclad bear the name, but it was the first of a whole new type of warship that were known as monitors.

Florida Keys

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary is named after the island chain its waters surround. The Florida Keys are named for what they are—small low-lying islands, composed of ancient coral reefs. The word “Keys” comes from the Spanish word cayo, which means "small island." Spanish explorer Juan Ponce De Leon originally called the Keys Los Martires, “The Martyrs,” because he thought they looked like suffering men.

Channel Islands

The Channel Islands, which gave the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary its name, are so named for their place in the Santa Barbara Channel. The individual islands are Santa Cruz, San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Anacapa, and Santa Barbara. The Chumash People who lived in this area called the islands Limuw (Santa Cruz), Tuqan (San Miguel), Wi’ma (Santa Rosa), and ’Anyapax (Anacapa). Santa Barbara was called siwotʰ (meaning “captain”) by the Tongva people.

Greater Farallones

The Farallon Islands from which the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary takes its name were given their moniker for the Spanish word farallon, meaning “a rocky island or outcrop.” On an 1850 nautical chart, the full name for the islands is listed as Farallones de los Frayles: “the rocky islets of the brothers,” but even earlier than that English explorer Francis Drake called them “The Islands of Saint James.” The Farallon Islands are a centerpiece of the sanctuary, hosting a myriad of species that depend on a healthy ocean ecosystem.

Gray's Reef

Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary and the reef therein were named in honor of Milton B. “Sam” Gray, a biological collector, taxonomist, and curator at the University of Georgia Marine Institute. He conducted the first known survey of the reef in 1961.

American Samoa

In American Samoa, names of places hold deep significance in its cultural history, and these names are passed down over thousands of years through oral history. Over time, different versions of the meaning behind these place names may be recalled. One explanation of the name breaks down the name Samoa to Sā meaning “tribe/people of,” and Moa which has the literal translation of “chicken” but refers to “the family of the Tui Manu'a, the highest-ranking titleholder of American Samoa.”  Another version suggests that the name Samoa means “people of the ocean, or deep sea” as indigenous Samoans are significantly connected to the ocean in their way of life. The National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa was originally a much smaller sanctuary that comprised only 0.25 square miles of coral reef ecosystem at a site called Fagatele Bay, which roughly translates to “large or great” (tele) “bay” (faga).

Cordell Bank

Cordell Bank is the centerpiece of Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. It took its name from a U.S Coast Survey employee, ​​Edward Cordell, who surveyed the bank in 1869. According to tradition, the bank should have been named for George Davidson, also of the U.S. Coast Survey, who discovered it in 1853. However, Cordell died unexpectedly in 1870, so the bank was named after him and Davidson was instead honored as the namesake of Davidson Seamount, now part of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Stellwagen Bank

Stellwagen Bank, for which this sanctuary is named, was colloquially known in colonial times as the “Middle Ground.” Henry S. Stellwagen, a naval officer working with the Coast Survey, carried out an extensive survey of the bank in 1854 and 1855. The last name Stellwagen is German and means “cart-maker.” Edward Cordell, for whom Cordell Bank on the U.S. West Coast was named, accompanied Stellwagen on his survey of this area.  In October 1996, the sanctuary was renamed the "Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary" by Congress, in recognition of the Massachusetts Representative’s efforts to protect this special place.

Flower Garden Banks

Snapper and grouper anglers first discovered what came to be known as East Flower Garden Bank and West Flower Garden Bank in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 1900s. They named the banks for the colorful reefs they could see below the water that were full of sponges, algae, and other marine life. The first official use of the name was on a nautical chart in 1930.  When the U.S. Coast Survey conducted their first survey here in 1936, the name stuck. The sanctuary was later expanded to include many other banks in the area.

Monterey Bay

Monterey Bay is the centerpiece of the 276-mile coastline of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, better known as the “Serengeti of the Sea.” The bay is known for its incredible biodiversity throughout the year and boasts one of the deepest submarine canyons on the West Coast of the United States. At any given time, there are seals, sea lions, sea otters, dolphins, and whales coming to the sanctuary to feast on the productive waters fueled by plankton, anchovies, and sardines. The bay was named for the nearby city of Monterey, which in turn was likely named for the Spanish city Monterrei by Spanish explorer Sebastian Vizcaino. Monterrei means “mountains of the king.”

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale

This sanctuary is, of course, named after the state these waters are adjacent to and the whale species that is the focus of its protection. The name Hawai’i may mean homeland or be the name of the island’s founding deity, Hawai‘iloa. Humpback whales get their name from the visible hump in front of their dorsal fin. In Hawaiian, humpback whales are called koholā.

Olympic Coast

The Olympic Mountains and Olympic Peninsula are where this sanctuary got its name. The mountains were named after Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece and mythological home of the Greek Pantheon, by Englishman John Meares in 1774. It is believed that the original Indigenous names for the range may have been S’ngazanelf or Sun-a-do, the latter from the Duwamish Tribe.

Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary was named for the bay at its center. The French called the bay L’anse du Tunnere, which appeared on French maps as early as 1688, and likely originated from the Anishinaabe name for the area. According to tradition, the daughter of an Ottawa chief and her suitor were killed by a jealous rival while they were canoeing across Thunder Bay. Manitou, or Great Spirit, was displeased and a great clap of thunder and lightning rolled across the bay, and it has been known as the “Bay of Thunder” ever since.

 

Papahānaumokuākea

The name Papahānaumokuākea (pronounced Pa-pa-hah-now-mo-koo-ah-keh-ah) comes from  an ancient Hawaiian tradition about the formation of the islands and honors the dualism of life. Papahānaumoku, an Earth mother figure and Wākea, a sky father figure, are honored and highly recognized ancestors of  Kānaka ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiians). Their union created the entire Hawaiian archipelago. The monument honors and preserves the names of the gods, strengthening Hawaii’s cultural foundation and grounding Hawaiians to an important part of their history. President George W. Bush designated Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument under the Antiquities Act in 2006. There is a long history of considering this area for national marine sanctuary designation, beginning with an Executive Order in 2000 by President William J. Clinton.

Rose Atoll

The Samoan name for this vast ocean area is called Motu o Manu, meaning “island of seabirds.” Polynesian navigators had likely already been visiting the atoll for at least a thousand years. On  October 21,1819, French explorer Captain Louis de Freycinet named Rose Atoll after his wife, who was traveling with him at the time. On January 6, 2009, President George W. Bush designated Rose Atoll in American Samoa as a Marine National Monument. Rose Atoll Marine National Monument was later incorporated as part of the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa during its expansion in 2012.

Mallows Bay-Potomac River

It’s believed the Mallows Bay name is derived from a creek that fed into the bay and was named after a  colonial family named Marlow who lived in the area. By the Civil War, the bay itself was called Marlow’s Bay. It wasn’t until 1925 that the name Mallows first appears in government records. It’s believed that Mallows is a derivative of Marlow and the name change occurred when companies applied for permits to conduct salvage operations in the bay, and the name stuck ever since.  Potomac River, also known as the Nation’s River, was added to the sanctuary name to recognize the area’s larger historical significance, including the riverine ecosystem that flows through Mallows Bay, and interconnected heritage that runs from the Chesapeake Bay to our nation’s capital.

Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast

The state of Wisconsin and the shipwrecks on its coast gave Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary its name. Wisconsin was named after the Wisconsin River. The word Wisconsin comes from the Miami Tribe and means “river that meanders through something red.” The name Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary was developed in collaboration with local communities and the State of Wisconsin. These partners saw an opportunity to not just describe the sanctuary, but to also create a powerful branding element that promotes recreation and heritage tourism. For the communities of Two Rivers, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, and Port Washington, the sanctuary truly represents “Four Communities, One Destination.”

Lake Ontario

This sanctuary takes its name from its location in Lake Ontario, one of America’s five Great Lakes. Ontario is a name that was derived from Indigenous words thought to mean “beautiful lake or water” or “sparkling water.” Specifically, Ontarí:io, a Huron (Wyandot) word meaning "great lake", or possibly skanadario, which means "beautiful water" or "sparkling water" in the Iroquoian languages.

These names honor the legacies of the resources they protect and the cultures throughout our land. To learn more about the history of your national marine sanctuaries, read “Time and Tide: A History of the National Marine Sanctuary System offsite link.”