Etymology
Its name is shortened from Deneb Alased, from the Arabic phrase ذنب الاسد ðanab al-asad "tail of the lion", as it represents the lion's tail—the star's position in the Leo constellation. Deneb in Cygnus has a similar name origin. In the Alphonsine Tables it was recorded as Denebalezeth. On R. A. Proctor's 1871 star chart of the northern hemisphere it was designated Deneb Aleet. To ancient Chinese astronomers, it formed part of the five-star Woo Ti Tsi 五帝座一: the Seat of the Twelve Emperors. In astrology, Denebola was believed to portend misfortune and disgrace.
In Johann Bayer's Uranometria, published in 1603, the star was designated β Leonis; for the second-brightest star in the constellation of Leo. In 1725, John Flamsteed designated this star 94 Leo. (The Flamsteed designation was assigned on the basis of increasing right ascension within the constellation, rather than luminosity.) Additional designations followed as this star was recorded in subsequent star catalogues.
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