Aberystwyth University's Prof Neil Glasser spent nearly two months in 2011 working in the area around James Ross Island where the glacier was found.
The UK's Antarctic Place-Names Committee said its decision reflected Prof Glasser's contribution to polar science.
The ice sheet on the island will now be called the Glasser Glacier.
The new name will be added to the British Antarctic Territory Gazetteer and is available for use on all maps and charts and in all publications.
The glacier stretches for 1.5km and is 500m across (0.9 miles and 1,600ft across).
Professor Glasser said: "I am really honoured to have this glacier named after me.  We spent seven weeks on fieldwork in this area of Antarctica in 2011.
"On all our maps and publications it is called 'un-named glacier' but it is great to know that from now on it will be known as Glasser Glacier."
An expert on global ice sheets is being honoured by scientists who are naming an Antarctic glacier after him.