List of chemical element name etymologies

This article lists the etymology of chemical elements of the

periodic table.

Contents
History
Table
See also The chemical elements of the periodic table
have received various names throughout
References history.
Further reading

History
Throughout the history of chemistry, several chemical elements have been discovered. In the nineteenth
century, Dmitri Mendeleev formulated the periodic table, a table of elements which describes their
structure. Because elements have been discovered at various times and places, from antiquity through
the present day, their names have derived from several languages and cultures.

Table
 Language of Symbol
Element Original word Meaning Description
origin origin
 
From French
hydrogène[1] and Latin
Greek via hydro- and -genes,
ὕδωρ (root: ὑδρ-) water +
1 Hydrogen H Latin and descriptive derived from the Greek
+ -γενής (-genes) begetter
French ὕδωρ γείνομαι (hydor
geinomai), meaning "Ι
beget water".
Named after the Greek
ἥλιος (helios), which
means "the sun" or the
mythological sun-
astrological;
2 Helium He Greek ἥλιος (hélios) sun god.[2] It was first
mythological
identified by its
characteristic emission
lines in the Sun's
spectrum.
From Greek λίθος
(lithos) "stone",
because it was
discovered from a
mineral while other
3 Lithium Li Greek λίθος (lithos) stone
common alkali metals
(sodium and
potassium) were
discovered from plant
tissue.
βήρυλλος beryllos,
denoting beryl, which
contains beryllium.[3]
The word is derived
(via Latin: beryllus and
French: béryl) from the
Greek βήρυλλος,
bērullos, a blue-green
a blue-green
spar, from Prakrit
Sanskrit, Pali, spar
veruliya ( ),
and Prakrit (beryllium
from Pāli veḷuriya
via Greek, City of Belur via aluminium descriptive
( ); veḷiru
4 Beryllium Be Latin, Old Greek βήρυλλος cyclosilicate, (colour):
( ) or, viḷar
French, and (beryllos) Be3Al2(SiO3)6). beryl
( ), "to become
Middle Possibly pale," in reference to
English related to the the pale semiprecious
name of Belur.
gemstone beryl.[4] The
word is ultimately
derived from the
Sanskrit word
vaidurya, which might
be related to the name
of the Indian city of
Belur.[5]
From the Arabic ‫ﺑﻮرق‬
(buraq), which refers to
Arabic, borax. Possibly derived
Medieval from the Persian, ‫ﺑﻮره‬
Latin, Anglo- (burah). The Arabic was
Norman, Latin borax adapted as Medieval
5 Boron B ‫( ﺑﻮرق‬buraq)
Middle from Arabic Latin baurach, Anglo-
French, and Norman boreis, and
Middle Middle English boras,
English which became the
source of the English
"boron".
6 Carbon C Latin via charbone charcoal Latin carbo From the French,
French charbone, which in turn
came from Latin carbō,
which means
"charcoal" and is
related to carbōn,
which means "a coal".
(The German and
Dutch names,
"Kohlenstoff" and
"koolstof", respectively,
 both literally mean
"coal matter".) These
words were derived
from the PIE base *ker-
meaning heat, fire, or
to burn.[6]
From French
"nitrogène",[7] derived
from Greek νίτρον
γείνομαι (nitron
geinomai), meaning "I
Greek via νίτρον (Latin:
native-soda form/beget native-soda
7 Nitrogen N Latin and nitrum) -γενής (- descriptive
French genes)
begetter (niter)".[8]
Also used was azoth,
from Andalusian Arabic
al-zuq, from the
Classical Arabic name
of the element.
From Greek ὀξύ
γείνομαι (oxy
geinomai), which
means "Ι bring forth
acid", as it was
Greek via ὀξύ γείνομαι (oxy to bring forth believed to be an
8 Oxygen O
French geinomai)/oxygène acid essential component of
acids. This phrase was
corrupted into the
French oxygène, which
became the source of
the English "oxygen".[9]
From fluorspar, one of
9 Fluorine F Latin fluor a flowing its compounds (calcium
fluoride, CaF2).

From Greek "νέος"

10 Neon Ne Greek νέος (neos) new (neos), which means
"new".
From the English
"soda", used in names
for sodium compounds
such as caustic soda,
soda ash, and baking
soda. Probably from
Italian sida (or directly
from Medieval Latin
soda) "a kind of
saltwort," from which
soda was obtained, of
uncertain origin.[10]

11 Sodium Na English soda

The symbol Na is from
the Modern Latin noun
natrium, derived from
Greek νίτρον (nítron),
"natural soda, a kind of
salt" + Latin -ium.[11]
The original source is
either the Arabic word
‫ ﻧﻄﺮون‬natrun or the
Egyptian word

netjeri.[12]
From the Ancient Greek
Μαγνησία Μαγνησία (Magnesia)
12 Magnesium Mg Greek toponym
(Magnesia) (district in Thessaly),
where discovered.
Latin alumen, which
alum (literally: Latin
13 Aluminium Al Latin alumen means "alum" (literally
bitter salt)[13] alumen
"bitter salt").
14 Silicon Si Latin silex, -icis flint descriptive From Latin "silex" or
"silicis", which means
 "flint", a kind of stone
(chiefly silicon dioxide).
From Greek φῶς +
-φόρος (phos +
phoros), which means
"light bearer", because
white phosphorus emits
Greek via φῶς + -φόρος
15 Phosphorus P light-bearer descriptive a faint glow upon
Latin[14] (phos + -phoros)
exposure to oxygen.
Phosphorus was the
ancient name for
Venus, or Hesperus, the
(Morning Star).[2]
Old Latin sulpur
(later sulphur, The word came into
Latin sulfur) Middle English from
> PIE *swelp Anglo-Norman sulfre,
16 Sulfur S Latin sulfur
Proto-Indo- PIE *swépl ̥ 'to burn' itself derived through
European (genitive *sulplós), Old French soulfre from
nominal derivative Late Latin sulfur.[16]
of *swelp.[15]
From Greek χλωρός
descriptive (chlorós), which means
(colour): "yellowish green" or
17 Chlorine Cl Greek χλωρός (chlorós) pale green[17]
Greek "greenish yellow",
chloros because of the colour
of the gas.
Greek argon means
descriptive:
18 Argon Ar Greek ἀργόν (argon) inactive "inactive" (literally
argon
"slow").
From the English
"potash", which means
"pot-ash" (potassium
compound prepared
from an alkali extracted
in a pot from the ash of
burnt wood or tree
Modern Latin leaves).
potassa; potasch
19 Potassium K via Dutch and pot-ash Potash is a literal
via potash[19]
English[18] translation of the Dutch
potaschen, which
means "pot ashes".[18]
The symbol K is from
the Latin name kalium,
from Arabic ‫( اﻟﻘﻠﻲ‬al
qalīy), which means
"calcined ashes".
From Latin calx, which
means "lime". Calcium
χάλιξ means
was known as early as
"pebble", and
20 Calcium Ca Greek/Latin χάλιξ/calx Latin calx the first century when
calx means
the Ancient Romans
limestone[20]
prepared lime as
calcium oxide.
Named from Latin
Scandia, which means
21 Scandium Sc Latin Scandia Scandinavia toponym
Scandinavia; formerly
eka-boron.[21]
Τιτάν For the "Titans", the
Titans, sons of
22 Titanium Ti Greek Titan mythological first sons of Gaia in
Gaia
(gen.: Τιτάνος) Greek mythology.[2]
From Vanadís, one of
the names of the Vanr
goddess Freyja in Norse
"Dís of the
23 Vanadium V Old Norse Vanadís mythological mythology, because of
Vanir"
multicoloured chemical
compounds deemed
beautiful.[2][22]
24 Chromium Cr Greek via χρῶμα (chróma) colour descriptive From Greek χρῶμα
French (colour): (chróma), "colour",
Greek because of its
chroma multicoloured
compounds. This word
was adapted as the
 French chrome, and
adding the suffix -ium
created the English
"chromium".[23]
From Latin Magnesia,
Μαγνησία ultimately from Greek;
Greek via
(Magnesia; Magnesia evolved into
25 Manganese Mn Latin, Italian, Magnesia descriptive
Medieval Latin: "manganese" in Italian
and French
magnesia) and into "manganèse"
in French.
From the Anglo-Saxon
īsern which is derived
from Proto-Germanic
Anglo-Saxon īsern holy metal or isarnan meaning "holy
descriptive:
26 Iron Fe via Middle (earlier: īren/īsen) strong metal" or "strong
Anglo-Saxon
English /yren/yron metal[24] metal".
The symbol Fe is from
Latin ferrum, meaning
"iron".
From German Kobold,
which means "evil
spirit". The metal was
named by miners,
because it was
poisonous and
troublesome (polluted
and degraded other
mined elements, such
as nickel). Other
sources cite the origin
in the silver miners'
German
27 Cobalt Co German Kobold evil spirit belief that cobalt had
kobold
been placed by
"Kobolds", who had
stolen the silver. Some
also think that the
name may have been
derived from Greek
κόβαλος, kobalos,
which means "mine"
and which may have
common roots with
kobold, goblin, and
cobalt.
From the Swedish
kopparnickel, meaning
Swedish via Kopparnickel/ copper- "copper-coloured ore";
28 Nickel Ni descriptive
German[25] Kupfernickel coloured ore this referred to the ore
niccolite from which it
was obtained.[25]
Possibly derived from
Greek Κύπριος
(Kyprios) (which comes
from Κύπρος (Kypros),
the Greek name of
Cyprus) via Latin
cuprum, West
Germanic *kupar, Old
English coper/copor,
and Middle English
Greek? via
coper. The Latin term,
Latin, West
toponym: during the Roman
Germanic, who/which is
29 Copper Cu Κύπριος (Kyprios)? Latin Empire, was aes
Old English, from Cyprus
Cuprum cyprium; "aes" was the
and Middle
generic term for copper
English[26]
alloys such as bronze).
Cyprium means
"Cyprus" or "which is
from Cyprus", where so
much of it was mined;
it was simplified to
cuprum and then
eventually Anglicized
as copper (Old English
coper/copor).
30 Zinc Zn German Zink Cornet From German Zink
which is related to
 Zinken "prong, point",
probably alluding to its
spiky crystals. May be
derived from Old
Persian.
From Latin Gallia, which
means Gaul (Ancient
France), and also
gallus, which means
"rooster". The element
was obtained as free
metal by Lecoq de
Boisbaudran, who
named gallium after
France, his native land,
and also, punningly,
Gaul (Ancient after himself, as Lecoq,
31 Gallium Ga Latin Gallia toponym
France) which means "the
rooster", or in Latin,
gallus.

Gallium was called

eka-aluminium by
Mendeleev who
predicted its
existence.[21]

From Latin Germania,

which means
"Germany".
32 Germanium Ge Latin Germania Germany toponym Germanium has also
been called eka-
silicon by
Mendeleev.[21]
From Greek ἀρσενικόν
(arsenikon), which is
adapted from the
Syriac (al)
zarniqa[27] and Persian,
‫( زرﻧﻴﺦ‬zarnik), "yellow
orpiment". Ἀρσενικόν
Syriac/Persian
(arsenikon) is
via Greek,
paretymologically
Latin, Old ἀρσενικόν Greek
33 Arsenic As orpiment related to the Greek
French, and (arsenikon) arsenikon
word ἀρσενικός
Middle
(arsenikos), which
English
means "masculine" or
"potent". These words
were adapted as the
Latin arsenicum and
Old French arsenic,
which is the source for
the English arsenic.[27]
From Greek σελήνη
(selene), which means
astrological;
34 Selenium Se Greek σελήνη (selene) moon "Moon", and also
mythological
moon-goddess
Selene.[2]
βρόμος (brómos)
dirt or stench
Greek via βρόμος Greek means "stench (lit.
35 Bromine Br (of he-
French (brómos)[28] bromos clangor)", due to its
goats)[29]
characteristic smell.
From Greek κρυπτός
(kryptos), which means
"hidden one", because
of its colourless,
36 Krypton Kr Greek κρυπτός (kryptos) hidden descriptive
odorless, tasteless,
gaseous properties, as
well as its rarity in
nature.
37 Rubidium Rb Latin rubidus deepest red descriptive From Latin rubidus,
(colour) which means "deepest
red", because of the
colour of a spectral
line.
 Named after
strontianite, the
proper name
Scottish mineral. (Strontianite
Sròn an t-Sìthein; (literally: "nose
38 Strontium Sr Gaelic via toponym was named after the
Strontian [i.e., 'point'] of
English town of Strontian, the
the fairy hill)"
source of the mineral in
Scotland.)
Named after yttria, the
(oxide) compound of
yttrium. (The
proper name,
compound yttria was
39 Yttrium Y Swedish Ytterby literally: "outer toponym
named after Ytterby,
village"
the village where the
mineral gadolinite was
also found.)
From Arabic ‫زرﻛﻮن‬
(zarkûn). Derived from
the Persian, ‫زرﮔﻮن‬
Syriac/Persian (zargûn), which means
40 Zirconium Zr via Arabic zargono,[30] ‫زرﮔﻮن‬ gold-like "gold-like". Zirkon is
and German (zargûn) the German variant of
these and is the origin
of the English
"zircon".[31]
Named after Niobe,
daughter of Tantalus in
Classical
mythology.[22][2]
41 Niobium Nb Greek Νιόβη (Niobe) snowy mythological The alternate name
columbium comes
from Columbia,
personification of
America.
μόλυβδος From Greek μόλυβδος
42 Molybdenum Mo Greek lead-like descriptive
(molybdos) (molybdos), "lead".
From Greek τεχνητός
(technetos), which
means "artificial",
τεχνητός because it was the first
43 Technetium Tc Greek artificial descriptive
(technetos) artificially produced
element. Technetium
has also been called
eka-manganese.[21]
Ruthenia, From Latin Ruthenia,
44 Ruthenium Ru Latin Ruthenia Kievan Rus' toponym geographical exonym
[32] for Kievan Rus'.

From Greek ῥόδον

descriptive (rhodon), which means
45 Rhodium Rh Greek ῥόδον (rhodon) rose
(colour) "rose". From rose-red
compounds.
Named after Pallas, the
asteroid discovered two
years earlier. (The
asteroid was named
after Pallas Athena,
Greek via Παλλάς (genitive: little astrological; goddess of wisdom and
46 Palladium Pd
Latin Παλλάδος) (Pallas) maiden[33] mythological victory.)[2] The word
Palladium is derived
from Greek Παλλάδιον
and is the neuter
version of Παλλάδιος,
meaning "of Pallas".[34]
47 Silver Ag Akkadian via / ; to refine, Latin From the Anglo-Saxon,
Anglo-Saxon siolfor/seolfor smelt argentum seolfor which was
and Middle derived from Proto-
English Germanic *silubra-;
compare Old High
German silabar; and
has cognates in Balto-
Slavic languages:
Church Slavonic:
sĭrebro, Lithuanian:
sidabras, Old Prussian
sirablan. Possibly
 borrowed from
Akkadian sarpu
"refined silver" and
related to sarapu
"to refine, smelt".[35]
Alternatively, possibly
from one of the Pre-
Indo-European
languages, compare
Basque: zilar.
The symbol Ag is from
the Latin name
argentum, which is
derived from PIE *arg-
ent-.
From Latin cadmia,
which is derived from
Greek καδμεία
(kadmeia) and means
"calamine", a
cadmium-bearing
mixture of minerals.
calamine or
Greek Cadmium is named
48 Cadmium Cd Greek/Latin καδμεία (kadmeia) Cadmean
kadmia after Cadmus (in
earth
Greek: Κάδμος
Kadmos), a character in
Greek mythology and
calamine is derived
from Le Calamine, the
French name of the
Belgian town of Kelmis.
Named after indigo,
because of an indigo-
coloured spectrum line.
The English word indigo
Greek via is from Spanish indico
descriptive
49 Indium In Latin and indigo and Dutch indigo (from
(colour)
English Portuguese endego),
from Latin indicum
"indigo," from Greek
ἰνδικόν, indikon, "blue
dye from India".
Borrowed from a Proto-
Indo-European
language, and has
Anglo-Saxon cognates in several
50 Tin Sn via Middle tin Germanic and Celtic
English languages.[36]
The symbol Sn is from
its Latin name
stannum.
51 Antimony Sb Greek? via ἀντί + μόνος various Possibly from Greek
Medieval (anti monos); ἀντί + μόνος (anti
Latin and antimonium/ monos), approximately
Middle antimonie[38] meaning "opposed to
English[37] solitude", as believed
never to exist in pure
form, or ἀντί +
μοναχός (anti
monachos) for "monk-
killer" (in French folk
etymology, anti-moine
"monk's bane"),
because many early
alchemists were
monks, and antimony is
poisonous. This may
also be derived from
the Pharaonic (ancient
Egyptian), Antos
Ammon (expression),
which could be
translated as "bloom of
the god Ammo".
The symbol Sb is from
Latin name stibium,
which is derived from
Greek Στίβι stíbi, a
variant of στίμμι
 stimmi (genitive:
στίμμεος or στίμμιδος),
probably a loan word
from Arabic or Egyptian

sdm meaning
"eyepaint".[39] Littré
suggests that the first
form is derived from
*stimmida, a
hypothetical alternative
accusative of stimmi
(the canonical
accusative of the noun
is the same as the
nominative: stimmi).
The Arabic word for the
substance, as "mark"
or "the cosmetic", can
appear as ،‫ ﺛﻤﻮد‬،‫ﺗﺤﻤﻴﺾ‬
‫ وﺛﻤﻮد‬،‫ وﺛﻤﻮد‬ithmid,
athmoud, othmod or
uthmod.[40]
From Latin tellus
52 Tellurium Te Latin Tellus Earth
("Earth").
Named after the Greek
ἰώδης (iodes), which
means "violet",
because of the colour
Greek via descriptive
53 Iodine I ἰώδης (iodes) violet of the gaseous phase.
French (colour)
This word was adapted
as the French iode,
which is the source of
the English "iodine".[41]
From the Greek
adjective ξένος
54 Xenon Xe Greek ξένος (xenos) foreign
(xenos), which means
"foreign, a stranger".
From Latin caesius,
which means "sky
blue". Its identification
descriptive
was based upon the
blue-gray[42] (colour):
55 Caesium Cs Latin caesius bright-blue lines in its
or sky blue Latin
spectrum, and it was
caesius
the first element
discovered by
spectrum analysis.
βαρύς (barys) means
"heavy". The oxide was
initially called "barote",
then "baryta", which
was modified to
Greek via "barium" to describe
56 Barium Ba βαρύς (barys) heavy Greek barys
Modern Latin the metal. Sir Humphry
Davy gave the element
this name because it
was originally found in
baryte, which shares
the same source.[43]
λανθάνειν From Greek lanthanein,
57 Lanthanum La Greek to lie hidden
(lanthanein) "to lie (hidden)".
Named after the
asteroid Ceres,
discovered two years
earlier. (The asteroid,
now classified as a
astrological; dwarf planet, was
58 Cerium Ce Latin Ceres grain, bread mythological named after Ceres, the
Ceres goddess of fertility in
Roman mythology.)[2]
Ceres is derived from
PIE *ker-es- from base
*ker- meaning to
grow.[44][45]
59 Praseodymium Pr Greek πράσιος δίδυμος green twin descriptive From Greek πράσιος
(prasios didymos) δίδυμος (prasios
didymos), meaning
"green twin", because
didymium separated
into praseodymium
and neodymium, with
salts of different
colours; praseodymium
oxide is green.
Derived from Greek
νέος διδύμος (neos
didymos), which means
"new twin", because
didymium separated
νέος δίδυμος
60 Neodymium Nd Greek new twin descriptive into praseodymium and
(neos didymos)
neodymium. The
metals have different-
coloured salts, which
helps distinguish
them.[46]
Named after
Prometheus, who stole
Προμηθεύς
61 Promethium Pm Greek forethought[47] mythological the fire of heaven and
(Prometheus)
gave it to mankind (in
Classical mythology).[2]
Named after
samarskite, the
mineral. (Samarskite
Samarsky-
62 Samarium Sm eponym was named after
Bykhovets, Vasili
Colonel Vasili
Samarsky-Bykhovets, a
Russian mine official.)
Named for Europe,
where it was
broad-faced or toponym; discovered. Europe was
63 Europium Eu Ancient Greek Εὐρώπη (Europe)
well-watered mythological named after the
fictional Phoenician
princess Europa.
Named in honour of
Johan Gadolin, who was
one of the founders of
Hebrew Nordic chemistry
surname; from research, discovered
64 Gadolinium Gd Hebrew Gadolin, Johan eponym
root gadol, yttrium, and pioneered
"great"[48] laboratory exercise
teaching. (Gadolinite,
the mineral, is also
named for him.)
Named after Ytterby,
Proper name
the village in Sweden
65 Terbium Tb Swedish Ytterby (literally: outer toponym
where the element was
village)
first discovered.
Derived from Greek
δυσπρόσιτος δυσπρόσιτος
66 Dysprosium Dy Greek hard to get at descriptive
(dysprositos) (dysprositos), which
means "hard to get at".
Derived from Latin
67 Holmium Ho Latin Holmia Stockholm toponym Holmia, which means
Stockholm.
Named after the village
of Ytterby in Sweden,
where large
concentrations of yttria
and erbia are located.
Erbia and terbia were
proper name,
confused at this time.
68 Erbium Er Swedish Ytterby literally: "outer toponym
After 1860, what had
village"
been known as terbia
was renamed erbia,
and after 1877, what
had been known as
erbia was renamed
terbia.

[ ]
69 Thulium Tm Greek Θούλη, Θύλη[49] a mythical mythological Named after Thule, an
country ancient Roman and
Greek name (Θούλη,
Θύλη) for a mythical
country in the far
north, perhaps
Scandinavia. By the
same token, thulia, its
oxide.
Named after ytterbia,
the (oxide) compound
of ytterbium. (The
compound ytterbia
proper name,
was named after
70 Ytterbium Yb Swedish Ytterby literally: "outer toponym
Ytterby, the Swedish
village"
village (near Vaxholm)
where the mineral
gadolinite was also
found.)[22]
Named after the Latin
Lutetia (Gaulish for
71 Lutetium Lu Latin Lutetia Paris toponym
"place of mud"), the
city of Paris.[22]
From Latin Hafnia,
which means
72 Hafnium Hf Latin Hafnia Copenhagen toponym
"Copenhagen" of
Denmark.
Named after the Greek
Τάνταλος ("Tantalus"),
who was punished after
death by being
condemned to stand
knee-deep in water. If
he bent to drink the
water, it drained below
Tantalus;
the level he could
Τάνταλος possibly "the
73 Tantalum Ta Greek mythological reach (in Greek
(Tantalus) bearer" or "the
mythology). This was
sufferer"[50]
considered similar to
tantalum's general non-
reactivity (that is,
"unreachability")
because of its inertness
(it sits among reagents
and is unaffected by
them).[2]
From the Swedish and
Danish "tung sten",
which means "heavy
stone". The symbol W
is from the German
name Wolfram, the
historical spelling
Swedish and
74 Tungsten W tung sten heavy stone descriptive Wolfrahm translates
Danish
literally to "wulf
cream". The names
wolfram or volfram
are still used in
Swedish and several
other languages.
[22]

From Latin Rhenus, the

75 Rhenium Re Latin Rhenus Rhine toponym
river Rhine.
From Greek ὀσμή
Greek via (osme), meaning "a
76 Osmium Os ὀσμή (osme) a smell descriptive
Modern Latin smell"; the tetroxide is
foul-smelling.
77 Iridium Ir Greek via ἴρις (genitive: of rainbows descriptive Named after the Latin
Latin ἴριδος) (colour) noun iris, which means
"rainbow, iris plant, iris
of the eye", because
many of its salts are
strongly coloured; Iris
was originally the name
of the goddess of
rainbows and a
 messenger in Greek
mythology.[2]
From the Spanish,
platina, which means
"little silver", because it
was first encountered
in a silver mine. Platina
can also mean "stage
(of a microscope)", and
little silver (of
Spanish via the modern Spanish is
78 Platinum Pt platina (del Pinto) the Pinto descriptive
Modern Latin platino. Platina is a
River)[51]
diminutive of plata
(silver); it is a loan
word from French plate
or Provençal plata
(sheet of metal) and is
the origin of the English
"plate".[52]
From the Anglo-Saxon,
"gold", from PIE *ghel-
Anglo-Saxon descriptive meaning "yellow/
79 Gold Au via Middle gold (colour): bright".
English Latin aurum Au is from Latin
aurum, which means
"shining dawn".[53]
Named after Mercury,
the god of speed and
messenger of the Gods,
as was the planet
Mercury named after
the god.
The symbol Hg is from
the Greek words ὕδωρ
and ἀργυρός (hydor
80 Mercury Hg Latin Mercurius Mercury mythological
and argyros), which
became the Latin
hydrargyrum; both
mean "water-silver",
because it is a liquid
like water (at room
temperature), and has
a silvery metallic
sheen.[2][54]
From Greek θαλλός
(thallos), which means
"a green shoot (twig)",
81 Thallium Tl Greek θαλλός (thallos) green twig descriptive
because of its bright-
green spectral emission
lines.
The symbol Pb is from
the Latin name
82 Lead Pb Anglo-Saxon lead plumbum, hence the
English
"plumbing".[2][55]
bisemutum is derived
from German Wismuth,
descriptive
Modern Latin perhaps from weiße
83 Bismuth Bi bisemutum white mass (colour):
from German Masse, and means
bisemutum
"white mass", due to its
appearance.
Named after Poland,
homeland of discoverer
84 Polonium Po Latin Polonia Poland toponym
Marie Curie. Was also
called radium F.
Greek ἄστατος (astatos)
85 Astatine At Greek ἄστατος (astatos) unstable
astatos means "unstable".[56]
86 Radon Rn Latin via Radium Contraction of radium
German and emanation, since the
English[57] element appears in the
radioactive decay of
radium.
An alternative, rejected
name was niton (Nt),
from Latin nitens
"shining", because of
 the radioluminescence
of radon.
Named for France,
proper name
where it was
87 Francium Fr French France (Land of the toponym
discovered (at the
Franks)
Curie Institute (Paris)).
From Latin radius
Latin via meaning "ray",
88 Radium Ra radius ray descriptive
French because of its
radioactivity.
ἀκτίς, ἀκτῖνος (aktis;
Greek
89 Actinium Ac Greek ἀκτίς (aktis) beam aktinos), which means
aktinos
"beam (ray)".
Named after Thor, a
god associated with
thunder in Norse
mythology.[2]
Þōrr (modern
90 Thorium Th Old Norse thunder mythological The former name
English Thor)
ionium (Io) was given
early in the study of
radioactive elements to
the 230Th isotope.
Derived from former
name protoactinium,
from the Greek prefix
first beam proto "first" + Neo-
91 Protactinium Pa Greek πρῶτος + ἀκτίς descriptive?
element Latin actinium from
Greek ἀκτίς (gen.:
ἀκτῖνος) "ray" + Latin -
ium.[58]
Named after the planet
Uranus, which had
been discovered eight
years earlier in 1781.
Greek via Οὐρανός astrological;
92 Uranium U sky The planet was named
Latin (Ouranos); Uranus mythological
after the god Uranus,
the god of sky and
heaven in Greek
mythology.[2]
Named for Neptune,
the planet. (The planet
astrological; was named after the
93 Neptunium Np Latin Neptunus Neptune
mythological god Neptune, the god
of oceans in Roman
mythology.)[2]
Named after Pluto, the
dwarf planet, because
it was discovered
directly after
Neptunium and is
higher than Uranium in
the periodic table, so
by analogy with the
Greek via Πλούτων (Ploutōn) god of astrological;
94 Plutonium Pu ordering of the planets.
Latin via Pluto wealth[59] mythological
(The planet Pluto was
named after Pluto, a
Greek god of the
dead)[2] Πλούτων
(Ploutōn) is related to
the Greek word
πλοῦτος (ploutos)
meaning "wealth".
Named for the
Americas, because it
was discovered in the
United States (by
toponym:
analogy with europium)
95 Americium Am America the
(the name of the
Americas
continent America is
derived from the name
of the Italian navigator
Amerigo Vespucci).
96 Curium Cm Curie, Marie and eponym: Named in honour of
Pierre Pierre and Marie and Pierre Curie,
 Marie Curie who discovered radium
and the -um and researched
ending radioactivity.
Named for the
University of California,
Berkeley, where it was
discovered. Berkeley,
University of toponym:
Anglo-Saxon California, was named
97 Berkelium Bk California, Berkeley,
via English in honour of George
Berkeley California
Berkeley. "Berkeley" is
derived from Old
English beorce léah,
which means birch lea.
Named for California,
the U.S. state of
toponym:
California and for the
State and
98 Californium Cf English California University of California,
University of
Berkeley. (The origin of
California
the state's name is
disputed.)
Named in honour of
German-Jewish Albert Einstein, for his
surname, work on theoretical
99 Einsteinium Es German Einstein, Albert eponym
which means physics, which included
"one stone" the photoelectric
effect.
Named in honour of
Enrico Fermi, who
Italian
developed the first
surname, from
nuclear reactor,
100 Fermium Fm Italian Fermi, Enrico ferm- eponym
quantum theory,
"fastener" and
nuclear and particle
-i[60]
physics, and statistical
mechanics.
Named in honour of
Dmitri Mendeleyev,
Mendeleyev, who invented periodic
101 Mendelevium Md eponym
Dmitri table.[61] It has also
been called eka-
thulium.[21]
Named in honour of
Alfred Nobel, who
102 Nobelium No Nobel, Alfred eponym invented dynamite and
instituted the Nobel
Prizes foundation.
Named in honour of
Ernest O. Lawrence,
who was involved in
the development of the
cyclotron.
Lawrence, Ernest
103 Lawrencium Lr eponym
O. The symbol has
been Lr since
1963; formerly Lw
was used.[22]

104 Rutherfordium Rf Rutherford, Ernest eponym Named in honour of

Baron Ernest
Rutherford, who
pioneered the Bohr
model of the atom.
Rutherfordium has
also been called
kurchatovium (Ku),
named in honour of
Igor Vasilevich
Kurchatov, who helped
develop understanding
of the uranium chain
reaction and the
nuclear reactor.
 Unnilquadium
was used as a
temporary
systematic element
name.[22]

Named for Dubna (Joint

Institute for Nuclear
Research, U.S.S.R.)
where it was
discovered.
Researchers at the
University of California,
Berkeley proposed
hahnium (Ha), in
honour of Otto Hahn,
for his pioneering work
105 Dubnium Db Russian Дубна (Dubna) toponym in radioactivity and
radiochemistry, but the
proposal was rejected.

Unnilpentium was
used as a
temporary
systematic element
name.[22]

Named in honour of
Glenn T. Seaborg, who
discovered the
chemistry of the
transuranium
elements, shared in the
Swedish
discovery and isolation
Swedish via Seaborg, Glenn surname,
106 Seaborgium Sg eponym of ten elements, and
English Teodor literally: "Lake
developed and
Mountain"
proposed the actinide
series. Other names:
eka-tungsten[21] and
temporarily by IUPAC
unnilhexium
(Unh).[22]
Named in honour of
Niels Bohr, who made
fundamental
contributions to the
understanding of
atomic structure and
quantum
eponym: mechanics.[22]
107 Bohrium Bh Bohr, Niels
Niels Bohr
Unnilseptium was
used as a
temporary
systematic element
name.

Derived from Latin

Hassia, which means
Hesse, the German
state where it was
discovered (at the
Institute for Heavy Ion
108 Hassium Hs Latin Hassia Hesse toponym
Research,
Darmstadt).[22] It has
also been called eka-
osmium[21] and
temporarily by IUPAC
unniloctium (Uno).
109 Meitnerium Mt Meitner, Lise eponym Named in honour of
Lise Meitner, who
shared discovery of
nuclear fission.[22] It
 has also been called
eka-iridium[21] and
temporarily by IUPAC
unnilennium (Une).
Named for Darmstadt,
where it was
discovered (GSI
Helmholtz Centre for
Heavy Ion Research,
proper name, located in Wixhausen, a
110 Darmstadtium Ds German Darmstadt literally: toponym small suburb north of
"intestine city" Darmstadt).
It has also been called
eka-platinum and
temporarily by IUPAC
ununnilium
(Uun).[62][21]
Named in honour of
Wilhelm Conrad
Röntgen, who produced
Röntgen, and detected X-rays. It
111 Roentgenium Rg eponym
Wilhelm Conrad has also been called
eka-gold[21] and
temporarily by IUPAC
unununium (Uuu).
Named in honour of
Nicolaus Copernicus.
Polish
Ununbium was used
surname, eponym:
Polish via Copernicus, as a temporary
112 Copernicium Cn literally: Nicolaus
Latin Nicolaus systematic element
"copper Copernicus
name, and it was
nickel"
referred to as eka-
mercury.
Named after Japan,
where the element was
discovered. It has also
113 Nihonium Nh Japanese (Nihon) Japan toponym been called eka-
thallium[21] and
temporarily by IUPAC
ununtrium (Uut).
Named in honour of
Georgy Flyorov, who
was at the forefront of
Soviet nuclear physics
and founder of the Joint
Institute for Nuclear
Research in Dubna,
Russia, where the
Russian element was
114 Flerovium Fl Russian Flerov, Georgy eponym discovered.
surname

Ununquadium
was used as a
temporary
systematic element
name.

Named after Moscow

Oblast, where the
element was
discovered. It has also
115 Moscovium Mc Latin Moscovia Moscow toponym
been called eka-
bismuth[21] and
temporarily by IUPAC
ununpentium (Uup).
116 Livermorium Lv English Livermore, toponym Named in honour of
Lawrence Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory,
which collaborated in
the discovery and is in
Livermore, California, in
turn named after the
rancher Robert
Livermore.
 Ununhexium was
used as a
temporary
systematic element
name.

Named after Tennessee

(itself named after the
Cherokee village of
/tanasi/), where
important work for one
Cherokee via of the steps to
117 Tennessine Ts Tennessee Tennessee toponym
English synthesise the element
was done. It has also
been called eka-
astatine[21] and
temporarily by IUPAC
ununseptium (Uus).
Named after Yuri
Oganessian, a great
contributor to the field
of synthesizing
Оганесян Yuri
118 Oganesson Og Russian eponym superheavy elements.
(Oganessian) Oganessian
It has also been called
eka-radon[21] and
temporarily by IUPAC
ununoctium (Uuo).

See also
List of chemical elements naming controversies
Naming of elements

References
1. Harper, Douglas. "hydrogen" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=hydrogen). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
2. Some elements (particularly ancient elements) were associated with Greek (or Roman or other) gods
or people, in Greek mythology (or other mythology), and with planets (or other objects in the solar
system), such as Mercury (mythology) – Mercury (planet) – Mercury (element), etc.
Also, astrological symbols for the planets were often used as symbols for the ancient elements.
3. At one time, beryllium was called glucinium, which is from Greek γλυκύς (glykys), which means
"sweet", due to the sweet taste of its salts.
4. "The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: beryl" (http://www.bartleby.com/61/74/B0
207400.html). Houghton Mifflin Company. 2000. Retrieved 2008-09-18.
5. "Beryl in Online Etymological Dictionary, accessed March 9, 2010" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.p
hp?search=Beryl&searchmode=none). Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
6. Harper, Douglas. "carbon" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=carbon). Online Etymology Dictionary.
7. Harper, Douglas. "nitrogen" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=nitrogen). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
8. Nitrogen, The pure gas is inert enough that Antoine Lavoisier referred to it as "azote", meaning
"without life", since animals placed in it died of asphyxiation. This term became the French for
nitrogen and later spread to many other languages.
9. Harper, Douglas. "oxygen" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=oxygen). Online Etymology Dictionary.
10. "soda" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?
allowed_in_frame=0&search=soda&searchmode=none). soda. Online Etymology Dictionary.
11. In medieval Europe, sodanum is the Latin name of "a compound of sodium".
12. Vygus, Mark (April 2012). Vygus dictionary (http://www.pyramidtextsonline.com/MarkVygusDictionary.p
df) (PDF). p. 1546.
13. "Aluminum in Online Etymological Dictionary, accessed March 9, 2010" (http://www.etymonline.com/in
dex.php?term=aluminum). Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
14. Harper, Douglas. "phosphorus" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=phosphorus). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
15. Mallory & Adams (2006) The Oxford introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European
world, Oxford University Press
16. Harper, Douglas. "Sulfur" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=Sulfur). Online Etymology Dictionary.
17. Harper, Douglas. "chlorine" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=chlorine). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
18. Harper, Douglas. "potash" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=potash). Online Etymology Dictionary.
19. Harper, Douglas. "Potassium" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=Potassium). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
20. Harper, Douglas. "calcium" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=calcium). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
21. Previous to the discovery of some unknown elements, Prof. Dmitri Mendeleev predicted and described
most of their properties; with these, he was able to accurately place them in the gaps in his periodic
table. The properties of four predicted elements, eka-boron (Eb), eka-aluminium (El), eka-
manganese (Em), and eka-silicon (Es), proved to be good predictors of scandium, gallium,
technetium and germanium, respectively. The prefix eka-, from the Sanskrit, means "one" (one place
down from a known element in the table), and is sometimes used in discussions about undiscovered
elements. For example, unbiunium is sometimes referred to as eka-actinium; see also: Mendeleev's
predicted elements
22. see List of chemical elements naming controversies
23. Harper, Douglas. "chromium" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=chromium). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
24. Harper, Douglas. "iron" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=iron). Online Etymology Dictionary.
25. Harper, Douglas. "nickel" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=nickel). Online Etymology Dictionary.
26. Harper, Douglas. "copper" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=copper). Online Etymology Dictionary.
27. Harper, Douglas. "arsenic" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=arsenic). Online Etymology Dictionary.
28. Harper, Douglas. "bromine" (https://www.etymonline.com/?term=bromine). Online Etymology
Dictionary.
29. Gemoll W, Vretska K (1997). Griechisch-Deutsches Schul- und Handwörterbuch (Greek–German
dictionary), 9th ed. öbvhpt. ISBN 3-209-00108-1.
30. Pearse, Roger (2002-09-16). "Syriac Literature" (http://www.tertullian.org/rpearse/oriental/syriac.htm).
Retrieved 2008-02-11.
31. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=zircon). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
32. Magocsi, Paul Robert (1996-01-01). A History of Ukraine (https://books.google.com/books?id=t124cP06
gg0C&pg=PA11&lpg=PA11&dq=Ruthenia+-+Kievan+Rus&source=bl&ots=aSuDhQSe0Q&sig=bOPAJZ
WFiiwgW9G-cC2_zOx81XE#v=onepage&q=Ruthenia%20-%20Kievan%20Rus&f=false). University of
Toronto Press. ISBN 9780802078209.
33. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Pallas). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
34. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=palladium).
Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
35. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=silver). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
36. Tin – The American Heritage Dictionary
37. "Antimony | Define Antimony at Dictionary.com" (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/antimony).
Dictionary.reference.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
38. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=antimony).
Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
39. Vygus, Mark (April 2012). Vygus dictionary (http://www.pyramidtextsonline.com/MarkVygusDictionary.p
df) (PDF). p. 1409.
40. Antimony,
LSJ, s.v., vocalisation, spelling, and declension vary; Endlich; Celsus, 6.6.6 ff; Pliny Natural History
33.33; Lewis and Short: Latin Dictionary. OED, s. antimony.
stimmi is used by the Attic tragic poets of the 5th century BC. Later Greeks also used στίβι (stibi),
which is written in Latin by Celsus and Pliny in the first century AD. Pliny also names stimi [sic],
larbaris, alabaster (Greek: ἀλάβαστρον), "very common platyophthalmos (πλατυόφθαλμος)", "wide-
eye" in Greek (the description refers to the effects of the cosmetic). In Egyptian hieroglyphics,
mśdmt; the vowels are uncertain, but in Coptic and according to an Arabic tradition, it is
pronounced mesdemet (Albright; Sarton, quotes Meyerhof, the translator). In Arabic, the word for
powdered stibnite is kuhl.[1] (http://www.3rd1000.com/elements/Antimony.htm)
41. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=iodine). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
42. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cesium). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
43. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=barium). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
44. Mike Campbell. "Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Ceres" (http://www.behindthename.com/nam
e/ceres). Behind the Name. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
45. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=cereal). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
46. Neodymium is frequently misspelled as neodynium
47. The ancient Greek derivation of Prometheus from the Greek πρό pro ("before") + μανθάνω manthano
("learn"), thus "forethought", which engendered a contrasting brother Epimetheus ("afterthought"),
was a folk etymology; it is succinctly expressed in Servius' commentary on Virgil, Eclogue 6.42:
"Prometheus vir prudentissimus fuit, unde etiam Prometheus dictus est ἀπὸ τής πρόμηθείας, id est a
providentia." Modern scientific linguistics suggests that the name derived from the Proto-Indo-
European root that also produces the Vedic pra math, "to steal," hence pramathyu-s, "thief", cognate
with "Prometheus", the thief of fire. The Vedic myth of fire's theft by Mātariśvan is an analog to the
Greek account. Pramantha was the tool used to create fire. See: Fortson, Benjamin W. (2004). Indo-
European Language and Culture: An Introduction. Blackwell Publishing, p. 27.; Williamson (2004), The
Longing for Myth in Germany, 214–15; Dougherty, Carol (2006). Prometheus. p. 4.
48. Pyykkö, Pekka (2015-07-23). "Magically magnetic gadolinium" (https://www.nature.com/articles/nchem.
2287). Nature Chemistry. 7: 680.
49. "Thule in Wordnik, accessed March 9, 2010" (https://web.archive.org/web/20131004225019/http://ww
w.wordnik.com/words/Thule/etymologies). Wordnik.com. Archived from the original (http://www.wordni
k.com/words/Thule/etymologies) on October 4, 2013. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
50. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Tantalus).
Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
51. Woods, Ian (2004). The Elements: Platinum (https://archive.org/details/platinum0000wood). The
Elements. Benchmark Books. ISBN 978-0-7614-1550-3.
52. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=platinum).
Etymonline.com. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
53. Gold in Sanskrit is jval; in Greek, χρυσός (khrusos); in Chinese, (jīn).
54. Mercury – The Indian alchemy called Rassayana, which means "the way of mercury".
55. Lead, Lead was mentioned in the Book of Exodus. Alchemists believed that lead was the oldest metal
and associated the element with Saturn.
56. Astatine, An earlier proposed name for astatine was alabamine (Ab)
57. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=radon). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
58. Protactinium; In 1913, Kasimir Fajans and Otto H. Göhring identified and named element 91
brevium, from Latin brevis, which means "brief, short"; protactinium has a short half-life. The name
was changed to "protoactinium" in 1918 and shortened to protactinium in 1949.
59. "Online Etymology Dictionary" (http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Pluto). Etymonline.com.
Retrieved 2011-01-02.
60. Derived from a Latin masculine genitive.
61. Mendelevium, "Mendeleyev" commonly spelt as Mendeleev, Mendeléef, or Mendelejeff, and first
name sometimes spelt as Dmitry or Dmitriy
62. Darmstadtium, Some humorous scientists suggested the name policium, because 110 is the
emergency telephone number for the German police.

Further reading
Eric Scerri, The Periodic System, Its Story and Its Significance, Oxford University Press, New York, 2007.

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