Named after the Westhafen, the inland port next to the station.
Building of the Westhafen (‘western harbour’) in Moabit began in 1914, and a first section opened on 3 September 1923; for a time it was Germany's second-largest inland port. Both stations here were first named Putlitzstraße. The U-Bahn station became Westhafen in 1992, and the rebuilt S-Bahn station reopened under that name on 19 December 1999.