San Nicolas was once the home of the Nicoleño people, who were probably related to the Tongva of the mainland and Santa Catalina Island. It was named for Saint Nicholas by Spanish sailor Sebastián Vizcaíno after he saw the island on the saint's feast day (December 6) in 1602. Vizcaíno reported that there were a lot of people living on the island. By 1800 the number of people on the island had gone down. In 1811 a group of Kodiak men from Alaska were put on to San Nicholas to hunt otters. They fought with the Nicoleños. When the Kodiaks left there were less than 100 of the original population left. By 1835 the population was about 12. The Nicoleños were taken off the island in the 1835 by the members of the California mission system. Within a few years of leaving the island the Nicoleño all died. 