So named on a chart drawn for the U.S. Navy in 1829. The Blunt chart (1846) shows Bush Key, but it is located to the south of its present position.

Dr. Samuel Mudd, who was held prisoner at Fort Jefferson on Garden Key from 1864-69, drew a sketch of Fort Jefferson as seen from Bush Key. On that sketch, Dr. Mudd called Bush Key by the name of Hog Island because hogs were raised there, presumably to provide fresh meat for the troops and prisoners at the fort. This key is the site of a large Tern rookery.