Origins of
Elemental
Names
|
| Actinium |
Greek "aktis meaning beam or ray" |
| Aluminum |
Latin "alumen" |
| Americium |
After the Americas |
| Antimony |
Latin "stibbum meaning mark" |
| Argon |
Greek "argon" |
| Arsenic |
Greek "arsenikos" meaning male from the belief that
metals were different sexes. |
| Astantine |
Greek "astatos" meaning unstable |
| Barium |
Greek "barys" meaning heavy |
| Berkelium |
Berkeley, home of the University of California |
| Beryllium |
Greek "beryl" meaning sweet |
| Bismuth |
German "weisse masse" meaning white mass |
| Bromine |
Greek "bromos" meaning stench |
| Cadmium |
Latin "cadmia" ancient name for calamine, a
mineral |
| Calcium |
Latin "calx" meaning lime or limestone |
| Californium |
Named after the State and University of California |
| Carbon |
Latin "carbos" meaning charcoal |
| Cerium |
Named after the asteroid Ceres which was discovered
2 years before this element. |
| Cesium |
Latin "caesius" meaning sky blue |
| Chlorine |
Greek "chloros" meaning greenish-yellow |
| Chromium |
Greek "chroma" meaning colour |
| Cobalt |
German "kobold" meaning goblin or evil spirit |
| Copper |
Latin "cuprum" named for an island off the coast of
Cypress |
| Curium |
Named after Marie and Pierre Curie |
| Dysprosium |
Greek "dysprositos" meaning 'hard to get at!' |
| Einsteinium |
Named after Albert Einstein |
| Erbium |
A town in Sweden |
| Europium |
Named after Europe |
| Fermium |
Named after Enrico Fermi |
| Fluorine |
Latin "fluere" meaning flow or flux |
| Francium |
Named after France |
| Gadolinium |
Named after Gadolin, a Fininsh chemist |
| Gallium |
Latin "gallia" meaning France |
| Germanium |
Latin "germania" meaning germany |
| Gold |
Latin "arum" meaning 'shining dawn' |
| Hafnium |
From Hafnia, the Latin name for Copenhagen |
| Helium |
Greek "helios" meaning 'the sun' where helium was
first found |
| Holmium |
Latin "holmia" the Latin name of Stockholm |
| Hydrogen |
Greek "hyro" meaning water and "genes" meaning
forming |
| Indium |
From the brillant indigo line in it's spectrum |
| Iodine |
Greek "iodes" meaning violet |
| Iridium |
Latin "iris" meaning rainbow |
| Iron |
Latin "ferrum" meaning grey |
| Krypton |
Greek "kryptos" meaning hidden |
| Lanthanum |
Greek "lantanein" meaning to,'lie hidden' |
| Lawrencium |
After E.O. Lawrence |
| Lead |
Latin "plumbum" |
| Lithium |
Greek "lithos" meaning stone |
| Lutetium |
From the name Lutetia, the ancient name for Paris |
| Magnesium |
From the word Magnesia which is a district in
Thessaly |
| Manganese |
Latin "magnes" meaning magnet |
| Mendelevium |
After Dmitri Mendeleev, creator of the periodic table |
| Mercury |
Latin "hydrogyrum" meaning 'liquid silver' and after
the planet Mercury |
| Molybdenum |
Greek "molybdos" meaning 'lead' |
| Neodymium |
Greek "neos" meaning 'new" and "didymus" meaning
'twin' |
| Neon |
Greek "neo" meaning 'new' |
| Neptunium |
After the planet Neptune |
| Nickel |
German "nickel" referring to Satan or 'Old Nick' |
| Niobium |
After 'Niobe' daughter of Tantalus in Greek mythology |
| Nobelium |
Named after Alfred Nobel, creator of the Nobel Peace
Prize |
| Osmium |
Greek "osme" meaning smell |
| Oxygen |
Greek "oxys" meaning 'sharp or acid' and "genes"
meaning 'forming' |
| Palladium |
Named after the asteroid 'Pallus' |
| Phosphorus |
Greek "phosphoros" meaning light-bearing, ancient
name for the planet Venus |
| Platinum |
Spanish "platina" meaning silver |
| Plutonium |
After the planet Pluto |
| Polonium |
After Poland |
| Praseodymium |
Greek "prasios" meaning
'green' and "Didymus" meaning 'twin' |
| Promethium |
After Prometheus, who according to Greek mythology
stole fire from the Gods on Mount Olympus |
| Protactinium |
Greek "protos" meaning 'first' |
| Radium |
Latin "radius" meaning 'ray' |
| Radon |
Derived from the name radium |
| Rhenium |
Latin "rhenus" meaning 'The Rhine' |
| Rhodium |
Greek "rhodon" meaning 'rose' |
| Rubidium |
Latin "ribidus" meaning 'deepest red' |
| Ruthenium |
Latin "Ruthenia" meaning 'Russia' |
| Samarium |
Named after the mineral 'samarskite' |
| Scandium |
Latin "Scandia" referring to Scandanavia |
| Selenium |
Greek "selena" meaning 'moon' |
| Silicon |
Latin "silex" meaning 'flint' |
| Silver |
Latin "argentum" meaning 'silver' |
| Sodium |
Latin "sodanum", a headache remedy |
| Strontium |
Named after Strontion, a Scottish town |
| Sulphur |
Latin "sulphurium" meaning 'brimstone' |
| Tantalum |
Greek "Tantalos", Father of Niobe |
| Technetium |
Greek "technetos" meaning 'artificial' |
| Tellurium |
Latin "tellus" meaning 'earth' |
| Terbium |
A village in Sweden |
| Thallium |
Greek "thallus" meaning 'a green shoot or twig' |
| Thorium |
Named after 'thor', the Scandanavian God of War |
| Thulium |
Named after 'Thule', the most ancient name of
Scandanavia |
| Tin |
Latin "stannum" meaning 'tin' |
| Titanium |
Latin "titan", the first sons of the Earth |
| Tungsten |
Swedish "tung sten" meaning 'heavy stone' |
| Uranium |
After the planet Uranus |
| Vanadium |
After the Scandanavian Goddess Vanadis |
| Ytterbium |
After Ytterby, a village in Sweden |
| Yttrium |
Same as above |
| Zinc |
German "Zink" meaning 'of obscure origin' |
| Zirconium |
Arabic "zargun" meaning 'gold colour' |