The former, meaning 'Elbow' and also written Mirphak, Marfak or Mirzac, comes from the Arabic Mirfaq al-Thurayya, while Algenib, also spelt Algeneb, Elgenab, Gęnib, Chenib or Alchemb, is derived from الجنب al-janb, or الجانب al-jānib, 'the flank' or 'side'.

According to some Hawaiian folklore, Hinaliʻi is the point of separation between the Earth and the sky that happened during the creation of the Milky Way.

[18] Assemani alluded to a title on the Borgian globe, Mughammid (مغمد), or Muliammir al Thurayya (ملىمرٱلطرى), the Concealer of the Pleiades, which, from its location, may be for this star.

Consequently, the Chinese name for α Persei itself is 天船三 (Tiān Chuán sān, English: the Third Star of Celestial Boat).

[19] The spectrum of Alpha Persei matches a stellar classification of F5 Ib,[2] revealing it to be a supergiant star in the latter stages of its evolution.

[6] It is radiating 3,800[7] times the luminosity of the Sun from its photosphere at an effective temperature of 6,350 K,[2] which creates the yellow-white glow of an F-type star.