The name Half Die is said to originate from high mortality among its residents, attributed to the 1837 yellow fever outbreak or the 1869 cholera epidemic. One account attributes the name to a conversation between Lieutenant Governor of the Gambia George Rendall and the then colonial surgeon during the 1837 yellow fever outbreak. During the 1869 cholera outbreak in Mocam Town, 1,162 out of about 4,000 inhabitants of Bathurst died.
