The crater is named after the English astronomer Edmond Halley.

[1] On the 1645 map by Michael van Langren, the crater is called Gansii, for the gansa (a kind of wild swan) of Francis Godwin's The Man in the Moone.

[2] To the southwest of Halley is the large crater Albategnius, and due east lies the slightly smaller Hind.

The interior floor of Halley is relatively flat, being filled with material of the same albedo of the surrounding terrain, and is probably melt from the Imbrium impact.

By convention these features are identified on lunar maps by placing the letter on the side of the crater midpoint that is closest to Halley.