Beta Lyrae bore the traditional name "Sheliak" (occasionally "Shelyak" or "Shiliak"), derived from the Arabic الشلياق "šiliyāq" or "Al Shilyāk," one of the names of the constellation of Lyra in Islamic astronomy. In 2016, the International Astronomical Union organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN decided to attribute proper names to individual stars rather than entire multiple systems. It approved the name "Sheliak" for the component Beta Lyrae Aa1 on 21 August 2016 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.