The designations of the two constituents as Eta Cassiopeiae A and B derive from the convention used by the Washington Multiplicity Catalog (WMC) for star systems, and adopted by the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

[16] The proper name Achird was apparently first applied to Eta Cassiopeiae in the Skalnate Pleso Atlas of the Heavens published in 1950, but is not known prior to that.

[15] In Chinese astronomy, Eta Cassiopeiae is within the Legs mansion, and is part of the 王良 (Wáng Liáng) asterism named for a famous charioteer during the Spring and Autumn period.

[21] Consequently, the Chinese name for Eta Cassiopeiae itself is 王良三 (Wáng Liáng sān, English: the Third Star of Wang Liang).

Its outer atmosphere has an effective temperature of 4,036 K.[3] Compared to the Sun, both components show only half the abundance of elements other than hydrogen and helium—what astronomers term their metallicity.

[3] A necessary condition for the existence of a planet in this system are stable zones where the object can remain in orbit for long intervals.