Where it comes from
Arabic al-yad, 'the hand', plus Latin prior, 'foremost, preceding'
Fun Fact
Yed Prior and its neighbor Yed Posterior together mark the left hand of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, which holds the head of the serpent. The name is a hybrid, Arabic for hand plus a Latin tag so the two stars can be told apart, and the IAU made it official in 2016.