The community is also known as the Capilano Indian Reserve, formally Capilano Indian Reserve No. 5, and is named like the adjacent Capilano River after the Capilano chieftaincy, the best-known Joe Capilano. The name Kiapila'noq means "people of Kiap", and was the title of the supreme chief of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh in the area of English Bay.
The community is also designated as Capilano Indian Reserve, officially recognized as Capilano Indian Reserve No. 5, and bears its name after the adjacent Capilano River, which was named after a notable local leader, Joe Capilano. The term Kiapila'noq signifies the title of the paramount chief of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh people in the English Bay region.