The island is named after the English explorer Constantine John Phipps, who commanded two bomb vessels, the H.M.S Racehorse and the H.M.S Carcass, on an expedition to Svalbard in 1773.

References

• Conway, W. M. 1906. No Man’s Land: A History of Spitsbergen from Its Discovery in 1596 to the Beginning of the Scientific Exploration of the Country. Cambridge: At the University Press.
• Norwegian Polar Institute Place Names of Svalbard Database