 Prior to that, the meetings of the municipal council were held on the small island of "Bakholmen", located a short distance west of Storebø.The name "Storebø" has been in use since the mid-17th century, prior to that the village was called "Bø" or "Bøe".It is thought that the prefix "store-", literally meaning "large", was added to separate it from "Bø" on the nearby island of Stord, since both farms were part of the Saint Mary's Abbey, Lyse.