It was discovered by Czech astronomers Petr Pravec and Lenka Kotková (Šarounová) at Ondřejov Observatory on 19 March 1996.
[5] The asteroid was named after Austrian geologist Franz Eduard Suess, following a suggestion by Herbert Raab.
[1][7] This minor planet was named after Austrian geologist Franz Eduard Suess (1867–1941/2), son of geologist Eduard Suess and professor at the Technical College in Prague and superintendent at the Imperial Geological Institute of Vienna.
Franz Eduard made fundamental studies on moldavites and coined the term "tektite", which are ejecta from meteor impact events.
The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 24 January 2000 (M.P.C.