Carishader was lotted in 1849 into 12 regular crofts laid out in a line straddling the main road through Uig, between the hill and the shore of Loch Roag, looking over to Reef and Vuia. Two further crofts were added later to the south end of the village.

D Maciver, in his Place names of Lewis and Harris, offers two possible origins for the name:

Some say this is Kari's setr or sheiling, a proper name. Hard to decide. Yet at both ends of this village is a river and sheltered bay, each of which had in the past a carraidh or weir for catching fish when the tide receded.