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Etymology and nomenclature

α Centauri (Latinised to Alpha Centauri) is the system's designation given by J. Bayer in 1603. It belongs to the constellation Centaurus, named after the half human, half horse creature in Greek mythology. Hercules accidentally wounded the centaur and placed him in the sky after his death. Alpha Centauri marks the right front hoof of the Centaur. The common name Rigil Kentaurus is a Latinisation of the Arabic translation رجل القنطورس Rijl al-Qinṭūrus, meaning "the Foot of the Centaur ". Qinṭūrus is the Arabic transliteration of the Greek Κένταυρος (Kentaurus). The name is frequently abbreviated to Rigil Kent or even Rigil, though the latter name is better known for Rigel (β Orionis).

An alternative name found in European sources, Toliman, is an approximation of the Arabic الظليمان aẓ-Ẓalīmān (in older transcription, aṭ-Ṭhalīmān), meaning 'the (two male) Ostriches', an appellation Zakariya al-Qazwini had applied to the pair of stars Lambda and Mu Sagittarii; it was often not clear on old star maps which name was intended to go with which star (or stars), and the referents changed over time.

A third name that has been used is Bungula (/ ˈ b ʌ ŋ ɡ juː l ə /). Its origin is not known, but it may have been coined from the Greek letter beta (β) and Latin ungula 'hoof', originally for Beta Centauri (the other hoof).

α Centauri C was discovered in 1915 by Robert T. A. Innes, who suggested that it be named Proxima Centaurus, from Latin 'the nearest of Centaurus '. The name Proxima Centauri later became more widely used and is now listed by the International Astronomical Union (IAU) as the approved proper name; commonly, it is frequently abbreviated to Proxima.

In 2016, the Working Group on Star Names of the IAU, having decided to attribute proper names to individual component stars rather than to multiple systems, approved the name Rigil Kentaurus (/ ˈ r aɪ dʒ əl k ɛ n ˈ t ɔːr ə s /) as being restricted to α Centauri A and the name Proxima Centauri (/ ˈ p r ɒ k s ɪ m ə s ɛ n ˈ t ɔːr aɪ /) for α Centauri C. On 10 August 2018, the IAU approved the name Toliman (/ ˈ t ɒ l ɪ m æ n /) for α Centauri B.