Meaning and history
Latinized form of Greek Ἀλκυόνη (Alkyone), from ἀλκυών (alkyon) meaning “kingfisher.” In Greek mythology, this was the name of a daughter of Aeolus and wife of Ceyx; after Ceyx died in a shipwreck, she leapt into the sea, but the gods saved them and transformed both into kingfishers. It is also the name of the brightest star in the Pleiades, a cluster in Taurus traditionally identified as the daughters of Atlas and Pleione.