It bore the traditional name "Rastaban", which has also been used for Gamma Draconis. This name, less commonly written "Rastaben", derives from the Arabic phrase "ra's ath-thu'ban" "head of the serpent/dragon". It was also known as "Asuia" and "Alwaid" , the latter from the Arabic "al-ʽawāʼidh" "the old mother camels". In 2016, the IAU organized a Working Group on Star Names (WGSN) to catalogue and standardize proper names for stars. The WGSN approved the name "Rastaban" for the component Beta Draconis A on 21 August 2016 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.