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 Calendarium of Al Achsasi al Mouakket, this star was designated Rabah al Naamat رابع ألنعامة raabi3 al naʽāmāt, which was translated into Latin as Quarta 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]
In Chinese, 天倉 (Tiān Cāng), meaning Square Celestial Granary, refers to an asterism consisting of Zeta Ceti, Iota Ceti, Theta Ceti, Eta Ceti, Tau Ceti and 57 Ceti.[19] Consequently, the Chinese name for Zeta Ceti itself is 天倉四 (Tiān Cāng sì, English: the Fourth Star of Square Celestial Granary).[20]
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 Ceti as Aoul al Naamat or Prima Struthionum (the first ostrich), Theta Ceti as Thanih al Naamat or Secunda Struthionum (the second ostrich), Tau Ceti as Thalath al Naamat or Tertia Struthionum (the third ostrich), and Zeta Ceti as Rabah al Naamat or Quarta Struthionum (the fourth ostrich). Upsilon Ceti should be Khamis al Naamat or Quinta 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.