心宿二，是这颗恒星固有的中文名称，衍生自古希腊的名称是Άντάρης，意思是“火星的敌手”，这是因为它红色的外观和火星这颗行星非常近似[21]。将心宿二与火星比较，可能起源于早期的美索不达米亚天文学[22]。但是，有些学著推测这颗恒星的名字可能是以阿拉伯在Mu'allaqat（悬挂诗）节庆中的战士英雄人物Antar或Antarah ibn Shaddad命名的[22]。
Nicolet, B. Photoelectric photometric Catalogue of homogeneous measurements in the UBV System. Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series. 1978, 34: 1–49. Bibcode:1978A&AS...34....1N.
Evans, D. S., The Revision of the General Catalogue of Radial Velocities, Batten, Alan Henry; Heard, John Frederick (编), Determination of Radial Velocities and their Applications, Proceedings from IAU Symposium no. 30, University of Toronto: International Astronomical Union, June 20–24, 1966, Bibcode:1967IAUS...30...57E
HR 6134 （页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆）, database entry, The Bright Star Catalogue, 5th Revised Ed. (Preliminary Version), D. Hoffleit and W. H. Warren, Jr., CDS ID [1] （页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆）. Accessed on line September 07, 2012.
Gettings, Fred ♦ The Arkana Dictionary of Astrology （页面存档备份，存于互联网档案馆） Penguin Books, 1985, p. 24 ♦ "Antares: Sometimes called Antar, in confusion with a literary hero (see Allen), the modern name is said to be derived from its red colour, in that it was rival even of the planet Mars—the Greek, anti-Ares."
Allen, Richard Hinckley. Star names : their lore and meaning. Dover ed. New York: Dover Publications. 1963 [2020-10-09]. ISBN 0-486-21079-0. OCLC 637940. （原始内容存档于2020-06-08）. Others say that it was Antar's Star, - but they forget Ptolemy, - the celebrated Antar or Antarah who, just previous to the time of Muhammad, was the mulatto warrior-hero of one of the Golden Mu'allakat." and "It pointed out to the Babylonians their 24th ecliptic constellation, Hurru, of uncertain meaning, itself being Urbat according to an astrolabe discovered in the palace of Sennacherib and interpreted by the last George Smith; Brown, however, assigns this title to stars in Lupus. Other Euphratean names were Bilu-sha-ziri, the Lord of the Seed; Kak-shisa, the Creator of Prosperity, according to Jensen, although this is generally ascribed to Sirius; and, in the lunar zodiac, Dar Lugal, the King, identified with the god of lightning, Lugal Tudda, the Lusty King. Naturally, the inscriptions make much of it in connection with the planet Mars, their Ul Suru, showing that its Arean association evidently had very early origin." and "In Egyptian astronomy it represented the goddess Selkit, Selk-t, or Serk-t, heralding the sunrise through her temples at the autumnal equinox about 3700-3500 B.C., and was the symbol of Isis in the pyramidal ceremonials. Renouf included it with Arcturus in the immense figure Menat.
[24]。
