Throughout this site you will hear of Grassy Island. Grassy Island is the present day name that was given to the island due to its appearance. In actuality, Grassy Island rarely referred to specifically in historical records but was included in the general name of "Canso". The name was transferred to the mainland along with the settlers after a time and is now Canso town.

The name "Canso" has undergone many changes over the past four hundred years. Jost (1950) claims that the origin of Canso's name is a Mi'kmaw word "Kamsookoocheck", which loosely means "opposite the lofty cliffs". Canso had various spelling variations throughout its history due to the different explorers in the area and their perspective of how it should have been spelled. These variations include, but are not limited to, Kamsok, Cansok, Canseau, Canceau, Campseau, and Campsiem.