The asteroid is named for Thai student Suksun Itthipanyanan due to his second place finish at the 2006 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair with his experiment on the 'Dehiscence and dispersion of the popping pod Ruellia tuberosa L.' His second place finish allowed his group to be recognized by Intel ISEF for an outstanding interdisciplinary science project, winning the naming rights for the asteroid.
21540 Itthipanyanan, an asteroid named after the author of an award-winning study on Ruellia tuberosa