Doting Cove (Doating Cove): Located on the north shore, cast of Hamilton Sound, the area where the settlement now known as Musgrave Harbour (Incorporated) includes Doting Cove to the east and Ragged Cove to the west.

While the information presented by ENL sources does not shed any light on the derivation of the name, Brooks suggested that it might come from the word "doter", the name given for an old seal.

According to the DNLE, a dotard also daughter, doater, doter, doter is a Common seal, especially one in its second or third year.

Quoting the explorer George Grenfell (1895), seals of different ages have different names: "When one year old the bay seal is called a 'jar seal,' and its skin is poor; in the second year it is a 'doter' and becoming speckled, in the third year, it is a 'ranger,' and is then very beautiful, being checkered silver and black all over".

Used with permission from "Uncovering the Origin of 1001 Unique Place Names in Newfoundland and Labrador" 2021 Jennifer Leigh Hill

Address of this page: http://nl.ruralroutes.com/DotingCove