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Excerpt from the forward of Geographical Names of Prince Edward Island

"Toponymy, the study of place names, is often looked upon as a somewhat esoteric field, of concern only to historians, linguists, geographers and mapmakers. But this is true only if place names are regarded simply as identifiers. In fact, they are much more. The origins of names assigned to specific places provide us with valuable insights into the history, the culture and the characteristics of the regions studied. With this in mind, the Committee's research toponymist, Alan Rayburn , has investigated the origins and use of more than 1,600 Prince Edward Island names. The Douglas study, used as a base, has been revised and up-dated. A large number of additional names have been included."