It bore the traditional name Skat (also rendered Scheat, Seat, Sheat, etc., which was erroneously applied to Beta Pegasi in late medieval times), from the Arabic الساق al-sāq "shin".

Consequently, the Chinese name for Delta Aquarii itself is 羽林軍二十六 (Yǔ Lín Jūn ershíliù, English: the Twenty Sixth Star of Palace Guard).

[20] The spectrum of Delta Aquarii matches a stellar classification of A3 Vp, indicating this is a chemically peculiar A-type main-sequence star that is generating energy through the nuclear fusion of hydrogen at its core.

[9] It is radiating 26[9] times the luminosity of the Sun from its outer atmosphere at an effective temperature of around 9,000 K.[21] This heat gives it the characteristic white-hued glow of an A-type star.

[23] Delta Aquarii is a probable stream star member of the Ursa Major Moving Group,[24] which has an estimated age of 500 million years.