<P> The name `` Easter Island '' was given by the island 's first recorded European visitor , the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen , who encountered it on Easter Sunday ( 5 April ) in 1722 , while searching for Davis or David 's island . Roggeveen named it Paasch - Eyland ( 18th - century Dutch for `` Easter Island '' ) . The island 's official Spanish name , Isla de Pascua , also means `` Easter Island '' . </P>
<P> The name `` Easter Island '' was given by the island 's first recorded European visitor , the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen , who encountered it on Easter Sunday ( 5 April ) in 1722 , while searching for Davis or David 's island . Roggeveen named it Paasch - Eyland ( 18th - century Dutch for `` Easter Island '' ) . The island 's official Spanish name , Isla de Pascua , also means `` Easter Island '' . </P>
why do they call easter island easter island
why do they call easter island easter island
encountered it on Easter Sunday
encountered it on Easter Sunday