The old name for this island is "Selbo". It's supposed to come from the Latin word "Silva", meaning "forest". The island Silba is mentioned in historical records in the 9th century. In 827, it belonged to the Zadar county. In 1073, in the last year of Petar Krešimir's reign, probably at the request of his sister Cika, the first nun of St. Maria in Zadar, the county donated the island to the monastery St. Maria, at the ceremony of sacrament of their church (some say this happened in 1027). Later, the island fell into the hands of the Venetian authorities, which sold it to captain Fani Soppe for 12,350 ducats.