Kinnikinnick: The common name, kinnikinnick, is an Algonquin word meaning "smoking mixture". Native Americans and early pioneers smoked the dried uva-ursi leaves and bark alone or mixed with other herbs, tobacco or dried dogwood bark in pipes.
Bear's grape: The genus name of Arctostaphylos uva-ursi comes from the Greek words arctos meaning bear and staphyle meaning "bunch of grapes" in reference to the fruits which appear in grape-like clusters. Therefore, it is called the bear's grape.
Bearberry: In the wild, the fruits are commonly eaten by bears. The specific epithet, uva-ursi, comes from the Latin words uva meaning grape and ursus bear. This is reflected and has given it another common name, bearberry.