The bacteria owe their name, Nanoarchaeum equitans, or primitive riding dwarf, to the fact that they live on the surface of a much bigger organism named Ignicoccus, or fireball, on which they seem to depend for growth.
Šis mikroorganisms tika nosaukts par Nanoarchaeum equitans jeb aizvēsturisko pundurjātnieku, jo tas dzīvo uz daudz lielāka organisma, kas nosaukts par Ignicoccus jeb uguns lodi.