Over the past few centuries, a small number of stars have been named after individual people. It is common in astronomy for objects to be given names, in accordance with accepted astronomical naming conventions. Most stars have not been given proper names, relying instead on alphanumeric designations in star catalogues. However, a few hundred had either long-standing traditional names (usually from the Arabic) or historic names from frequent usage.
In addition, many stars have catalogue designations that contain the name of their compiler or discoverer. This includes Gliese, Wolf, Ross, Bradley, Piazzi, Lacaille, Struve, Groombridge, Lalande, Krueger, Mayer, Weisse, Gould, Luyten and others. For example, Wolf 359 was discovered and catalogued by Max Wolf. Some binary stars are named after their discoverers, such as Delorme 1 and Luhman 16.
Various private organizations claim to name stars in honor of people in exchange for a fee, but these names are used only within their own publications, and are not recognized by the scientific community.
Names approved by the IAU The International Astronomical Union (IAU) is widely recognized by scientists and governments as the world authority for names of astronomical bodies, and lays down strict standards for this naming.
In July 2014 the IAU launched NameExoWorlds, a process for giving proper names to exoplanets and their host stars, the outcome of which was announced in December 2015. As a result, the IAU approved two star names after individuals:
Cervantes for the star Mu Arae honoring the writer Miguel de Cervantes Copernicus for the star 55 Cancri A honoring the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus
In 2016, the IAU organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) which will catalog cultural and historical names for bright stars to help preserve astronomical world heritage, and maintain a catalog of IAU-approved unique proper names for stars. The WGSN's first bulletin of July 2016 set out its terms of reference and naming guidelines. All approved names are included in the current IAU Catalog of Star Names. The WGSN rules generally discouraged the naming of stars after people, but confirmed the names Cervantes and Copernicus as well as five others:
Barnard's Star, the fourth-closest star to the Solar System, named after the American astronomer E. E. Barnard who discovered it has the highest known proper motion of any star. Cor Caroli (Latin for 'heart of Charles') for the star Alpha Canum Venaticorum, so named in honour of King Charles I of England by Sir Charles Scarborough, his physician.R.H. Allen, Star Names: Their Lore and Meaning.Robert Burnham, Jr. Burnham's Celestial Handbook, Volume 1, p. 359.Ian Ridpath: "Star Tales", Canes Venatici. See also Deborah J. Warner, The Sky Explored: Celestial Cartography 1500–1800. Fuyue for G Scorpii, a traditional Chinese name honoring Fu Yue. Sualocin and Rotanev for components of Alpha and Beta Delphini, two stars which appeared in the Palermo star catalogue of 1814. They were eventually identified as the reversed spelling of Nicolaus Venator, a Latinised version of Nicolò Cacciatore, assistant to the astronomer Giuseppe Piazzi. It is not clear whether Piazzi intended to name the stars after his assistant, or if Cacciatore made the names up himself.
In 2019, the IAU held a second NameExoWorlds campaign to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the IAU's founding. Four of the approved star names refer to real people: Austria named the star HAT-P-14 as Franz (Franz Joseph I of Austria, by way of his portrayal in the movie Sissi). Azerbaijan named the star HD 152581 (16h 53m 44s / +11° 58′ 25″, in Ophiuchus) as Mahsati (Mahsati). Cuba named the star BD−17 63 as Felixvarela (Félix Varela). Spain named the star HD 149143 as Rosalíadecastro (Rosalía de Castro).
In the 2020s the IAU has further discouraged naming stars after people, with the 2022 NameExoWorlds campaign banning names of real people. Nevertheless, two additional star names referring to historical people have been approved: Antinous for Theta Aquilae after Antinous, by way of the obsolete constellation of the same name. Stella Ludoviciana (also written Sidus Ludovicianum), an 8th-magnitude star in the asterism of the Big Dipper in the constellation Ursa Major, halfway between Mizar and Alcor. It was discovered on 2 December 1722 by Johann Georg Liebknecht, who mistook it for a planet and named it after Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt.
Names not approved by the IAU Apart from the few formally approved by the IAU, and leaving aside commercial attempts, stars named after individuals fall broadly into two groups. The first group are those named openly for an individual connected with them in some way. The second, somewhat more obscurely, are those named after an individual but without explicitly making this clear.
Openly named stars There is a growing number of stars whose common names honour individuals. Many of these were highly significant in some way when discovered, usually through having some unusual characteristic. The best source to get these names is Sky Catalogue 2000.0, Volume 2 (Double Stars, Variable Stars, and Nonstellar Objects), in the chapter Glossary Of Selected Astronomical Names. Abt's Star is SV Crateris (ADS 8115/HD 98088/β 600) in Crater. Named after Helmut Abt. Andrews' Star is a suspected variable star in Auriga (HD 37519 / SAO 58319 / HR 1938). Named after A. David Andrews. Anthelm's Nova/Star is Nova 1670 Vulpeculae, observed by Anthelme Voituret (aka père Anthelme / don Anthelme). Argelander's Star is Groombridge 1830, a high proper motion star. Named for Friedrich Wilhelm Argelander, who discovered its high proper motion in 1842. Argelander's Second Star is Lalande 21185, a nearby red dwarf star. Named also for Argelander, who discovered its high proper motion in 1857. Argelander's Third Star is Gliese 412, also known as Lalande 21258, a nearby binary pair of red dwarf stars. Also named for Argelander, who discovered its apparent high proper motion in 1860. Baade's Star is the pulsar in the Crab Nebula (Messier 1, Taurus). Also known as the Crab Pulsar, or PSR B0531+21. Named after Walter Baade. Babcock's Star or Babcock's Magnetic Star is HD 215441 in Lacerta. Named after Horace W. Babcock. Baxendell's possible Nova (Nova Bootis 1860, T Bootis), discovered by Joseph Baxendell in April 1860.Burnham's Celestial Handbook, an observer's guide to the universe beyond the solar system (Robert Burnham, Jr.), page 311. Becklin's Star is IRC -10093 in Messier 42, Orion. Named after Eric Becklin. The Becklin–Neugebauer Object is an infrared source, possibly a protostar, in the Orion molecular cloud complex. Named after Eric Becklin and Gerry Neugebauer. Bennett's Supernova (SN1968L in Messier 83) discovered by John Caister Bennett on 16 July 1968. Bessel's Star is 61 Cygni, for a short time the nearest star whose distance was accurately known (measured by Friedrich Bessel in 1838). Also called Piazzi's Flying Star, since Giuseppe Piazzi nominated it as a good candidate for distance measurements (parallaxes). Bidelman's helium variable star is V761 Centauri (HD 125823). Named after William P. Bidelman. Bidelman's peculiar star is KS Persei (HD 30353), a PV Telescopii variable. Bidelman's high-latitude Be star is HD 127617 in Bootes. Bond's Flare Star is AF Piscium in Pisces, named after H. E. Bond. Borrelly's Star is probably S Ceti (0h 23.8m / -9° 28').Deep-Sky Name Index 2000.0, Hugh C. Maddocks (Foxon-Maddocks Associates). Named after Alphonse Borrelly. Boyajian's Star (or Tabby's Star) is KIC 8462852, an F-type main-sequence star with a highly unusual light curve in the constellation of Cygnus, named after Tabetha S. Boyajian; its peculiar characteristics engendered speculation that a Dyson sphere of an extraterrestrial civilization had been discovered. Branchett's Object (Star) is a possible nova in Scutum (1981). The Brendan Downs Supernova is SN 1997de, in Pavo (in galaxy NGC 6769). Brewer's Star is HD 50169 (a magnetic star) in Monoceros. Named after K. R. W. Brewer. Butler's Star is BT Tucanae / HD 6090 (a flare star at 1:00:18 / -72°44'35" in the Small Magellanic Cloud). Named after C. J. Butler. Caffau's Star is an ultra-metal-poor halo star named after the astronomer Elisabetta Caffau. Campbell's Star is HD 184738, which is the nucleus of planetary nebula PK 64 + 5.1, in Cygnus. Named after William Wallace Campbell. Cayrel's Star is an ultra-metal-poor halo star named after the French astronomer Roger Cayrel. Chanal's variable star is a suspected variable star in Orion (NSV 2229). Chavira's Supernova is SN 1965H in NGC 4666 (in Virgo). Named after E. Chavira. Chevremont's Star is a variable star in globular cluster Messier 2, in Aquarius. Chuadze's Supernova is SN 1967C in NGC 3389 (in Leo). Named after A. D. Chuadze. Chu's Object (Star?) in Perseus, named after You-Hua Chu.Sky Catalogue 2000.0, Volume 2, page xlvi, Glossary of Selected Astronomical Names The Cohen–Schwartz Star is a T Tauri star and infrared source in Orion. Named after M. Cohen and R. D. Schwartz. Eggen's Nearby Star is CoD -31°622 in Sculptor. Briefly thought to be near the Solar System but later found not to be.Sky and Telescope, 53, February 1977, page 107 Named after Olin J. Eggen. Fehrenbach's Star is HD 116745 in globular cluster Omega Centauri. Named after Charles Fehrenbach. Herschel's Garnet Star is Mu Cephei, a red supergiant particularly remarkable for its deep red color, first described by William Herschel. The IAU-approved name for this star is Garnet Star, without reference to Herschel. Herschel's Wonder Star is Beta Monocerotis.Sky and Telescope 1/2005, page 101 Hind's Crimson Star is R Leporis, a long-period variable star, named after the discoverer John Russell Hind. It is one of the reddest stars visible (a typical Cool Carbon Star, CCS). Hind's New Star is V841 Ophiuchi, or Nova Ophiuchi 1848. Hoffmeister's Star is V442 Cassiopeiae (aka Sonneberg 9484). Named after Cuno Hoffmeister. Honda's Variable Star is a long-period variable star (not a nova) in CygnusSky Catalogue 2000.0, page xlvii; Glossary of Selected Astronomical Names The Hulse–Taylor binary is PSR B1913+16 (a binary pulsar) in Aquila. Named after Russell Alan Hulse and Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr. This discovery won them the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1993. Huruhata's Object is an eclipsing binary in Canis Minor. Named after . Huruhata's Variable is the WZ Sagittae type dwarf nova EG Cancri. Huth's "moving star" of 1801-2, discovered and observed by Hofrath Huth at Frankfurt an der Oder. Huth's "moving star" appeared in the constellation Leo.William R. Corliss: Mysterious Universe, a handbook of astronomical anomalies (The Sourcebook Project, 1979), page 500Nature, 14:291-292, 1876 Innes' star, better known as LHS 40, is a high proper-motion star named after Robert T. A. Innes, the discoverer of Proxima Centauri. In 1930 Luyten listed this as the fifth-closest star system, but his belief was mistaken as it turned out to be 41 light-years away. Kapteyn's Star, a subdwarf, was discovered in 1897 by Jacobus Kapteyn, the star with the highest known proper motion at the time of its discovery and is a halo star. Kepler's Star, name given to the supernova later designated SN 1604 when first observed, after Johannes Kepler, who studied it extensively though he did not have priority of discovery. Klemola's Star is BD +10°2179 (SAO 99230) in Leo. Koiki is HD 106068, a star within the Southern Cross constellation, named after Indigenous Australian land rights campaigner Eddie Koiki Mabo on 3 June 2015, the 23rd anniversary of the Mabo decision, which overturned the notion of terra nullius in Australia. It was named by Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney. The star also falls within the larger Torres Strait Islanders' constellation known as Tagai, which is very culturally significant and used for nautical navigation.