Saturna island was first used by indigenous people who called the island "Long Nose," due to the island's long north-eastern tapering shoreline that ends at East Point.

The name Saturna comes from the Spanish naval schooner Santa Saturnina ("St. Saturnina") captained by pilot (piloto) José María Narváez, which together with the longboat of the Spanish naval packet ship San Carlos, explored the island's coast in an excursion under the overall command of Pilot Juan Pantoja y Arriaga in 1791.

The name was initially applied only to East Point. The contraction to "Saturna" applied to the whole island was first made by Dionisio Alcalá Galiano in 1792. The name is not a corruption. Galiano was familiar with the role of the "Santa Saturnina" in the early exploration of the coast. Why he made the change is not known. The first European settlers came in the 1800s, but the island was slower to develop than the neighbouring Southern Gulf Islands due to its relative isolation and mountainous topography.

East Point is the site where Moby Doll, the first orca ever live-captured for aquarium display, was harpooned in 1964. The Saturna Island Heritage Committee runs a small museum in the former fog alarm building at East Point where visitors can learn about Moby Doll and Saturna's unique history.

Fun Fact: Saturna Island is a world class hotspot for seeing killer whales