Gamma Geminorum is the second brightest star

Star

A star is a massive, luminous sphere of plasma held together by gravity. At the end of its lifetime, a star can also contain a proportion of degenerate matter. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun, which is the source of most of the energy on Earth...

 in the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 Gemini

Gemini (constellation)

Gemini is one of the constellations of the zodiac. It was one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today. Its name is Latin for "twins", and it is associated with the twins Castor and Pollux in Greek mythology...

. It has the traditional names Alhena and Almeisan.

The term Alhena is derived from the Arabic

Arabic language

Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...

 الهنعه Al Han'ah, "the brand" (on the neck of the camel), whilst the alternate name Almeisan is from the Arabic المیسان Al Maisan, "the shining one." Al Hanʽah was the name of star association consisting this star, along with μ Gem

Mu Geminorum

Mu Geminorum is a star in the constellation Gemini, approximately 230 light years away from Earth. It has the traditional name Tejat Posterior, which means back foot, because it is the foot of Castor, one of the Gemini twins...

 (Tejat Posterior), ν Gem, η Gem

Eta Geminorum

Eta Geminorum is a triple star system in the constellation Gemini. It has the traditional names Tejat Prior, Propus and Praepes and Pish Pai ....

 (Tejat Prior) and ξ Gem

Xi Geminorum

Xi Geminorum is a star in the constellation Gemini. It has the traditional name Alzirr, meaning "the button" in Arabic.This star, along with γ Gem , μ Gem , ν Gem and η Gem were Al Han'ah, "the brand"...

 (Alzirr). They also were associated in Al Nuḥātai, the dual form of Al Nuḥāt, "a Camel's Hump"

In the catalogue of stars in the Calendarium of Al Achsasi Al Mouakket, this star was designated Nir al Henat, which was translated into Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 as Prima του al Henat, meaning the brightest of Al Henat.

In Chinese

Chinese language

The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...

, , meaning Well

Well (Chinese constellation)

The Well mansion is one of the Twenty-eight mansions of the Chinese constellations. It is one of the southern mansions of the Vermilion Bird.-Asterisms:...

 (asterism), refers to an asterism consisting of γ Geminorum, μ Geminorum

Mu Geminorum

Mu Geminorum is a star in the constellation Gemini, approximately 230 light years away from Earth. It has the traditional name Tejat Posterior, which means back foot, because it is the foot of Castor, one of the Gemini twins...

, ν Geminorum, ξ Geminorum

Xi Geminorum

Xi Geminorum is a star in the constellation Gemini. It has the traditional name Alzirr, meaning "the button" in Arabic.This star, along with γ Gem , μ Gem , ν Gem and η Gem were Al Han'ah, "the brand"...

, ε Geminorum

Epsilon Geminorum

Epsilon Geminorum is a star in the constellation of Gemini. It has the traditional name Mebsuta ....

, 36 Geminorum, ζ Geminorum

Zeta Geminorum

Zeta Geminorum is a star in the constellation Gemini. It has the traditional name Mekbuda.The name Mekbuda has roots in ancient Arabic where it and the star Mebsuta were the paws of a lion...

 and λ Geminorum

Lambda Geminorum

Lambda Geminorum is a Class A3, fourth-magnitude star in the constellation Gemini. Lambda Geminorum is a variable star located about 95 light-years from Earth....

. Consequently, γ Geminorum itself is known as

Structure

Alhena is 105 ly distant from Earth, and has an apparent magnitude

Apparent magnitude

The apparent magnitude of a celestial body is a measure of its brightness as seen by an observer on Earth, adjusted to the value it would have in the absence of the atmosphere...

 of 1.93 (absolute magnitude

Absolute magnitude

Absolute magnitude is the measure of a celestial object's intrinsic brightness. it is also the apparent magnitude a star would have if it were 32.6 light years away from Earth...

 −0.7) and belongs to the spectral class A0. It is a spectroscopic binary with a faint class-G companion.

Alhena as a name

Alhena was the name of a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 ship that rescued many people from an Italian cruise liner, the Principessa Mafalda, in October 1927. In addition, the American attack cargo ship was named after the star.