It is named after Captain Lieutenant Stepan Vasilivich Woewodski, who was chief director of the Russian American colonies from 1854 to 1859.
The name first appears on a Russian Hydrographic Department chart of 1848 as "O(strov)va Voyevodskago".
Earlier, in 1838, G. Lindenberg called part of the island "Medvezhiy" (English: of the bear).
[1] The first European to sight the island was James Johnstone, one of George Vancouver's officers during his 1791-95 expedition, in 1793.
This article about a location in the Petersburg Borough, Alaska is a stub.