It was charted by Discovery Investigations, 1929–30, and named after Noel Atherton, cartographer in the Admiralty Hydrographic Office at the time, later chief Civil Hydrographic Officer, 1951–62.
The area was surveyed by Discovery Investigations between 1929 and 1930, and it was subsequently named after Noel Atherton, a cartographer working in the Admiralty Hydrographic Office during that period, who later held the position of chief Civil Hydrographic Officer from 1951 to 1962.