Bouvard is named after Cape Bouvard some 5 kilometers to the west, which was named by Nicolas Baudin, who sighted the cape en route to Rottnest Island from what is now Bunbury in 1802-1803, either after Charles Bouvard (1572-1658), a French chemist, or Alexis Bouvard (1767-1843), an astronomer and director of Paris Observatory.