Why is it called Amelia Island?

The island's name is British, which is itself a clue to how many times this place changed hands.

Princess Amelia

Amelia Sophia Eleonora was a daughter of George II. The island was named for her during the period when Britain held Florida, and unlike almost everything else on this coast, the name survived every subsequent change of sovereignty.

The eight flags

Amelia Island's nickname is the Isle of Eight Flags, and the naming is the reason the nickname makes sense: a single small island that has flown eight different sovereign flags is unusual anywhere. The story runs through French, Spanish, British, American and several short-lived flags in between, and it is the organising idea behind the island's own museum.

We treat the enumeration itself — which eight, and in what order — as a claim to check against the Amelia Island Museum of History and the National Register nomination documents rather than to repeat from another guide. Our history page says what we have confirmed and flags what we have not.

Fernandina, the other name

The city is named for Ferdinand VII of Spain, from the Spanish period. So the island carries a British royal name and its city a Spanish royal one — which is a fair summary of the whole place.

Where to see the history

The Amelia Island Museum of History is the single best starting point. Fort Clinch covers the nineteenth-century military story, and Old Town Fernandina is the original town site, laid out on a Spanish plat.