In 1963, Bellatrix was included with a set of bright stars used to define the UBV magnitude system.

It was measured ranging in apparent magnitude from 1.59 to 1.64,[23] and appears to be a low amplitude, possibly irregular variable.

[6] Close analysis of high resolution spectra suggest that it is a spectroscopic binary composed of two similar stars less luminous than a B2 giant.

[27] It is not known to have a stellar companion,[29] although researchers Maria-Fernanda Nieva and Norbert Przybilla raised the possibility it might be a spectroscopic binary.

[26] A 2011 search for nearby companions failed to conclusively find any objects that share a proper motion with Bellatrix.

[32] Bellatrix was also called the Amazon Star, which Richard Hinckley Allen proposed came from a loose translation of the Arabic name Al Najīd, the Conqueror.

[35] The Wardaman people of northern Australia know Bellatrix as Banjan, the sparkling pigment used in ceremonies conducted by Rigel the Red Kangaroo Leader in a songline when Orion is high in the sky.

[36] To the Inuit, the appearance of Betelgeuse and Bellatrix high in the southern sky after sunset marked the beginning of spring and lengthening days in late February and early March.

The two stars were known as Akuttujuuk "those (two) placed far apart", referring to the distance between them, mainly to people from North Baffin Island and Melville Peninsula.