Rigel

Astronomy, Arabic

"foot, leg"

Rigel Origin and Meaning

The name Rigel is a girl's name of Arabic origin meaning "foot, leg".

The name of the seventh brightest star in the sky, Rigel was chosen by the Danish astronomer, Ejnar Hertzprung, and his wife Henrietta Kapteyn (the daughter of another astronomer) for their daughter back in the early 20th century. Derived for the Arabic Rijil meaning "foot, leg", it appears in the Orion constellation.

Sporadically used for girls, it is more consistently, though quietly, used for boys.

Famous People Named Rigel

• The Danish astronomer Ejnar Hertzsprung (1873 1967) and his Dutch wife Henrietta Kapteyn (1881,1956; daughter of the astronomer Jacobus Kapteyn) named their daughter Rigel (1916,1993). She was their only child and was directly named after the star.