 Prior to the discovery of its planets, WASP-47 was given the 2MASS designation of 2MASS J22044873-1201079.It was also observed by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer and given the designation WISE J220448.74-120108.4.When observed by NASA's K2 mission, it was given the Ecliptic Plane Input Catalog designation of EPIC 206103150, and later named K2-23 after the discovery of planets d and e.

In 2012, a team from the SuperWASP group, led by Coel Hellier, announced the discovery of a Hot Jupiter exoplanet, with the designation WASP-47b, orbiting every 4.17 days.