In 1901, it was suggested by one A. W. Van Buren of Yale University that the island's name may be related to the sea shanty "Dead Man's Chest", first written by Robert Louis Stevenson for his novel Treasure Island;Mail Bag Hints: Stevenson's "Dead Man's Chest." A. W. Van Buren. The New York Times. 29 June 1901. Accessed 5 May 2018. However, no scholar since Van Buren has made this connection nor is there any evidence to support such a claim. Further, Van Buren says that Stevenson did not write the song "Dead man's chest" himself, that he "picked it up somewhere", which is another baseless claim (see "Dead Man's Chest" for more information on the fakelore surrounding this song).Vincent Starrett. Buried Caesars: Essays in Literary Appreciation, 1923. Page 189-204.
