 The asteroid was first observed as at Taunton Observatory in February 1908.The body's observation arc begins at Algiers Observatory in North Africa on 28 February 1931, almost 15 years after to its official discovery observation at Simeiz.This minor planet was named after Swedish-born Russian astronomer Oskar Backlund (1846–1916), who is known for studying the orbit of comets, in particular that of Comet Encke.