This island group was named by Carl Ryder in the course of his 1891–92 East Greenland Expedition, because a bear was shot while the islands were being surveyed on 4 September 1891.

[1] Individual islands were not assigned names, but in 1934 they were numbered I to XI following the first survey carried out by Eduard Wenk and Helge Backlund.

Members of the 1934 surveying group climbed parts of the spectacular ridges of islands VI and IX (Första Nålbrevet and Sista Nålbrevet).

[1] The Bjorne Islands are a cluster of small islands that lie in the Hall Gulf (Hall Bredning), off the right side of the mouth of Ofjord, south of the mouth of Nordvestfjord.

[2] 8 km (5.0 mi) The southern tip of the southernmost island rises 6 km (3.7 mi) north of Bregnepynt, the northeastern end of Milne Land.