 The first part is "ver" meaning "fishing village" and the last part is "angr" which means "fjord".It was first probably used for the narrow fjord on the inside of Angsnes which now is called "Meskfjorden" and leads into Varangerbotn.The "kjøpstad" (market town) of Vadsø was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt).