Aromatic compounds derive their names from the fact that many of these compounds in the early days of discovery were grouped because they were oils with fragrant odors, hence the name aromatic. The current definition of aromatic compounds includes only those with a benzene ring, which is a special six carbon ring compound with three alternating double bonds. This structure imparts unique properties to benzene which are different from other ring compounds. See the benzene structure on the left. BENZENE is a special six carbon ring compound with three alternating double bonds. This structure imparts unique properties to benzene which are different from other ring compounds. Because many fragrant oils contain a benzene ring, these compounds became known as AROMATIC