Zeta Ceti is the primary or 'A' component of a double star system designated WDS J01515-1020 (the secondary or 'B' component is HD 11366).[10] Zeta Ceti's two components are therefore designated WDS J01515-1020 Aa and Ab. Aa is officially named Baten Kaitos/ˈbeɪtənˈkeɪtɒs/, the traditional name of the entire system.[11][12]
It bore the traditional name Baten Kaitos, derived from the Arabic بطن قيطس batn qaytus "belly of the sea monster". In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN)[14] to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN decided to attribute proper names to individual stars rather than entire multiple systems.[15] It approved the name Baten Kaitos for the component WDS J01515-1020 Aa on 12 September 2016 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.[12]
In the catalogue of stars in the CalendariumofAl Achsasi al Mouakket, this star was designated Rabah al Naamat رابع ألنعامة raabi3 al naʽāmāt, which was translated into LatinasQuarta Struthionum, meaning "the fourth ostrich".[16] This star, along with Eta Ceti (Deneb Algenubi), Theta Ceti (Thanih Al Naamat), Tau Ceti (Thalath Al Naamat), and Upsilon Ceti, formed Al Naʽāmāt ('ألنعامة), "the Hen Ostriches".[17][18]
HD 11366 (WDS J01515-1020B), of spectral type K0 III, is further away (419 parsecs, compared to WDS J01515-1020A's 72 parsecs), and is therefore not a member of the system but a chance alignment - this is referred to as an optical companion.[21]
^Kunitzsch, Paul; Smart, Tim (2006). A Dictionary of Modern star Names: A Short Guide to 254 Star Names and Their Derivations (2nd rev. ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Sky Pub. ISBN978-1-931559-44-7.
^Hessman, F. V.; Dhillon, V. S.; Winget, D. E.; Schreiber, M. R.; Horne, K.; Marsh, T. R.; Guenther, E.; Schwope, A.; Heber, U. (2010). "On the naming convention used for multiple star systems and extrasolar planets". arXiv:1012.0707 [astro-ph.SR].
^Eta CetiasAoul al NaamatorPrima Struthionum (the first ostrich), Theta CetiasThanih al NaamatorSecunda Struthionum (the second ostrich), Tau CetiasThalath al NaamatorTertia Struthionum (the third ostrich), and Zeta Ceti as Rabah al NaamatorQuarta Struthionum (the fourth ostrich). Upsilon Ceti should be Khamis al NaamatorQuinta Struthionum (the fifth ostrich) consistently, but Al Achsasi Al Mouakket designated the title "the fifth ostrich"' to Gamma Andromedae for reasons that are unclear.
^(in Chinese)中國星座神話, written by 陳久金. Published by 台灣書房出版有限公司, 2005, ISBN978-986-7332-25-7.