It bore the traditional name "Ascella", from a Late Latin word meaning "armpit". In the catalogue of stars in the "Calendarium" of Al Achsasi al Mouakket, this star was designated "Thalath al Sadirah", which was translated into Latin as "Tertia τού al Sadirah", meaning "third returning ostrich". 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 "Ascella" for the component Zeta Sagittarii A on 12 September 2016 and it is now so included in the List of IAU-approved Star Names.