The name "Nastapoka", expression of the Cree language, means someone found there a caribou killed by the rapids Commission de toponymie du Québec – Banque de noms de lieux – Toponyme: "rivière Nastapoka" , meaning that fits perfectly with the landscape data, because just before its mouth, the river reaches sea level with a crash down Nastapoka Falls and its steep vertical drop of 35 meters .