It is named after Captain Peter Heywood, RN (1773–1831), commanding HMS Nereus off the east coast of South America in 1810–13, formerly a midshipman in HMS Bounty under Captain William Bligh.

The area was visited by early 19th century sealers operating from nearby Clothier Harbour.

[1] It is ice-free, low, and horseshoe-shaped, its west coast indented for 1 km by Vrabcha Cove.

Heywood Island has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International, because it supports one of the largest chinstrap penguin colonies on the Antarctic Peninsula with around 90,000 pairs.

[2] This article incorporates public domain material from "Heywood Island (Antarctica)".