october utc ok spitsbergen was the island and the archipelago's name for a long while then it was the spitsbergen archipelago and the main island became west spitsbergen to distinguish it from the archipelago the german spelling spitzbergen was never a variant just a mistake i've said a thousand times by authors who didn't or don't know any dutch and or know knew little to nothing about the island's history greenland groenland etc were names that should only be referenced in a historical context as they were also based on a misconception and need not be mentioned in the lead west spitsbergen as it was once known should be mentioned in the lead like any other standard name not a variant or a mistake like spitzbergen greenland groenland again every other single article on wiki has the former standard name of a place region just after its present standard name again do not revert