Camano Island was named in 1790 for the Spanish explorer Jacinto Caamaño by compatriot Francisco de Eliza, who mapped Admiralty Inlet. The original name of the island was "Kal-lut-chin" which in the language of the indigenous Snohomish tribe means "land jutting into a bay". They used the island as a base during the fishing and shellfish gathering expeditions. Charles Wilkes, during the Wilkes Expedition of 1838–1842, named it "MacDonough Island" in honor of Thomas MacDonough for his victory of the Battle of Lake Champlain during the War of 1812. Following this theme, Wilkes named the body of water between Camano and Whidbey Island after MacDonough's flagship the "Saratoga". When Henry Kellett reorganized the official British Admiralty charts in 1847, he removed Wilkes' name "MacDonough" and bestowed the name "Camano", which the Spanish had originally given to Admiralty Inlet in 1790. Wilkes' name "Saratoga Passage" was retained.