The traditional name Chara was originally applied to the "southern dog", but it later became used specifically to refer to Beta Canum Venaticorum.

[17] Consequently, the Chinese name for Beta Canum Venaticorum itself is 常陳四 (Cháng Chén sì, English: the Fourth Star of Imperial Guards.

Beta CVn is considered to be slightly metal-poor,[9] which means it has a somewhat lower portion of elements heavier than helium when compared to the Sun.

[22] In addition, a 2005 search for a brown dwarf in orbit around this star failed to discover any such companion, at least down to the sensitivity limit of the instrument used.

[23] In 2006, astronomer Margaret Turnbull labeled Beta CVn as the top stellar system candidate to search for extraterrestrial life forms.