Although Palmyra is a coral atoll with several islets, not a single island, it has been called Palmyra Island since the first visit in 1802. More recently it is for some purposes called Palmyra Atoll. The name of the federal territory retained by Congress since 1959 is Palmyra Island, but the official name of the National Wildlife Refuge within the territory is Palmyra Atoll, as is the corresponding division of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. Formal deeds, leases and federal orders for land there call it Palmyra Island. Further, the islets on the atoll are also named island, such as Kaula Island, Cooper Island, and others.
