It was surveyed by the SGS in the period 1951–57, and named by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-Names Committee (UK-APC) for Professor Paul Sabatier (1854-1941), French chemist, whose work with Jean-Baptiste Senderens led to the introduction in about 1907 of the hydrogenation process for hardening whale oil.
The area was investigated by the SGS between 1951 and 1957, and was named by the UK-APC in honor of Professor Paul Sabatier (1854-1941), a French chemist who, along with Jean-Baptiste Senderens, developed the hydrogenation method for refining whale oil around 1907.