Talk:Wake Island

Etymology Draft
Named after Captain William Wake of the Prince William Henry (a British trading schooner) who according to Captain Joseph Pierpont (of the American brig Sally) together with Pierpont ran ashore on a different reef (Wade's Rocks) on September 2, 1796 at midnight. The connection between this incident and Wake Island is uncertain. Also said to be named for Captain Samuel Wake. background info on a William Wake of Prince William Henry page 121 "PRINCE WILLIAM HENRY . - A British schooner, one of the so - called Alder squadron , now commanded by William Wake . She had been on the coast in 1792 , 1793 and 1794 ; see entries for those years in Transactions of Royal Society of" in 1795- according to page 160 of Otter skins, Boston ships, and China goods (1992), supposedly mentioned on page 220 of Journal of a Fur Trading Voyage from Boston to the Northwest Coast of America in the Ship Atahualpa 1800-03, and supposedly the same as "Captain Wake" mentioned on page 62 of The Journal of William Sturgis (pub. 1978). --Geographyinitiative (talk) 01:36, 15 March 2022 (UTC)

Explanation of Current Etymology
In the current version of the etymology on the page, I prefer William over Samuel because at this time, I have no source from the 18th century that a Captain Samuel Wake ever existed. As DCDuring pointed out elsehwere, there is a Captain Samuel Delano and brother William in the early 19th century, but still, they are not surnamed Wake. If there is a document from the 18th century mentioning a Samuel Wake, then I think the two names William and Samuel could be put side by side as true alternate explanations, if no other information was forthcoming. As it is, I think the Samuel Wake etymology deserves a passing mention because of the lack of clarity surrounding the origin of the name of the island, but it does not deserve placement side-by-side with the name of William Wake, whose existence is confirmed in documents of the period. --Geographyinitiative (talk) 12:51, 15 March 2022 (UTC)