Easter Island was given the name Rapa Nui (Great Rapa) by Tahitian sailors, in the 1860's, as it reminded them of Rapa - a small island in French Polynesia (now commonly referred to as Rapa Iti). Before 1863, the name was unknown on the island.

-S. Fischer, "The Naming of Rapanui", Easter Island Studies: Contributions to the History of Rapanui in Memory of William T. Mulloy (Oxbow Monograph 32, Oxford, 1993), pp. 63-66.

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Easter Island was given the name Rapa Nui (Great Rapa) by Tahitian sailors, in the 1860's, as it reminded them of Rapa - a small island in French Polynesia (now commonly referred to as Rapa Iti). Before 1863, the name was unknown on the island.

-S. Fischer, "The Naming of Rapanui", Easter Island Studies: Contributions to the History of Rapanui in Memory of William T. Mulloy (Oxbow Monograph 32, Oxford, 1993), pp. 63-66.