According to folk etymology the Barstow River is called after the Californian city Barstow. This is not true however. The original Slovak name of the river was Bez Stromčeki, which means "without little trees", which is a reference to the fact that there were hardly any trees between the Barstow River and the Beaver River and the few trees there were standing there were relatively high; most trees had been cut down for firewood. The name Bez Stromčeki became Rike Bastrowki in Oceana and was interpreted as Barstow River by native English speakers. The modern Oceana name Rike o'Barstove has been influenced by the English name.