{"id":3014,"date":"2022-08-18T13:28:11","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T13:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/?page_id=3014"},"modified":"2022-08-18T13:28:13","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T13:28:13","slug":"origins-of-the-elements-names","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/origins-of-the-elements-names\/","title":{"rendered":"Origins of the Elements Names"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Atomic No.<\/th>Symbol<\/th>Name<\/th>Name Origin<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
1<\/td>H<\/td>Hydrogen<\/a><\/td>from the Greek elements hydro- and -gen meaning ‘water-forming’<\/td><\/tr>
2<\/td>He<\/td>Helium<\/a><\/td>from the Greek word Helios<\/a>, meaning ‘sun’<\/td><\/tr>
3<\/td>Li<\/td>Lithium<\/a><\/td>the Greek word lithos, meaning ‘stone’<\/td><\/tr>
4<\/td>Be<\/td>Beryllium<\/a><\/td>from beryl, a mineral<\/td><\/tr>
5<\/td>B<\/td>Boron<\/a><\/td>from borax, a mineral<\/td><\/tr>
6<\/td>C<\/td>Carbon<\/a><\/td>the Latin word carbo, meaning ‘coal’<\/td><\/tr>
7<\/td>N<\/td>Nitrogen<\/a><\/td>from the Greek word nitron and ‘-gen’ meaning ‘niter-forming’<\/td><\/tr>
8<\/td>O<\/td>Oxygen<\/a><\/td>from the Greek word oxy-, both ‘sharp’ and ‘acid’, and -gen, meaning ‘acid-forming’<\/td><\/tr>
9<\/td>F<\/td>Fluorine<\/a><\/td>from the Latin fluere, meaning ‘to flow’<\/td><\/tr>
10<\/td>Ne<\/td>Neon<\/a><\/td>from the Greek neos, meaning ‘new’<\/td><\/tr>
11<\/td>Na<\/td>Sodium<\/a><\/td>from the English word soda (natrium in Latin)<\/td><\/tr>
12<\/td>Mg<\/td>Magnesium<\/a><\/td>from Magnesia, a district of Eastern Thessaly in Greece<\/td><\/tr>
13<\/td>Al<\/td>Aluminium<\/a><\/td>from alumina, a compound (originally aluminum)<\/td><\/tr>
14<\/td>Si<\/td>Silicon<\/a><\/td>from the Latin silex, ‘flint’ (originally silicium)<\/td><\/tr>
15<\/td>P<\/td>Phosphorus<\/a><\/td>from the Greek word phosphorus, ‘carrying light’<\/td><\/tr>
16<\/td>S<\/td>Sulfur<\/a><\/td>from the Latin word sulphur, ‘fire and brimstone’<\/td><\/tr>
17<\/td>Cl<\/td>Chlorine<\/a><\/td>from the Greek word chloros, meaning ‘greenish yellow’<\/td><\/tr>
18<\/td>Ar<\/td>Argon<\/a><\/td>from the Greek word argos, meaning ‘idle’<\/td><\/tr>
19<\/td>K<\/td>Potassium<\/a><\/td>from New Latin potassa, ‘potash’ (kalium in Latin)<\/td><\/tr>
20<\/td>Ca<\/td>Calcium<\/a><\/td>from the Latin calx, meaning ‘lime’<\/td><\/tr>
21<\/td>Sc<\/td>Scandium<\/a><\/td>from Scandia, the Latin name for Scandinavia<\/td><\/tr>
22<\/td>Ti<\/td>Titanium<\/a><\/td>from Titans<\/a>, the sons of the Earth goddess of Greek mythology<\/td><\/tr>
23<\/td>V<\/td>Vanadium<\/a><\/td>from Vanadis, an Old Norse name for the Norse goddess Freyja<\/a><\/td><\/tr>
24<\/td>Cr<\/td>Chromium<\/a><\/td>from the Greek word chroma, meaning ‘color’<\/td><\/tr>
25<\/td>Mn<\/td>Manganese<\/a><\/td>from magnesia negra<\/td><\/tr>
26<\/td>Fe<\/td>Iron<\/a><\/td>from English word (ferrum in Latin)<\/td><\/tr>
27<\/td>Co<\/td>Cobalt<\/a><\/td>from the German word Kobold, meaning ‘goblin’<\/td><\/tr>
28<\/td>Ni<\/td>Nickel<\/a><\/td>from Swedish kopparnickel, containing the German word Nickel, ‘goblin’<\/td><\/tr>
29<\/td>Cu<\/td>Copper<\/a><\/td>from English word (Latin cuprum)<\/td><\/tr>
30<\/td>Zn<\/td>Zinc<\/a><\/td>from the German word Zink<\/td><\/tr>
31<\/td>Ga<\/td>Gallium<\/a><\/td>from Gallia, the Latin name for France<\/td><\/tr>
32<\/td>Ge<\/td>Germanium<\/a><\/td>from Germania, the Latin name for Germany<\/td><\/tr>
33<\/td>As<\/td>Arsenic<\/a><\/td>English word (Latin arsenicum)<\/td><\/tr>
34<\/td>Se<\/td>Selenium<\/a><\/td>from the Greek selene<\/a>, meaning ‘moon’<\/td><\/tr>
35<\/td>Br<\/td>Bromine<\/a><\/td>from the Greek bromos, meaning ‘stench’<\/td><\/tr>
36<\/td>Kr<\/td>Krypton<\/a><\/td>from the Greek kryptos, meaning ‘hidden’<\/td><\/tr>
37<\/td>Rb<\/td>Rubidium<\/a><\/td>from the Latin rubidus, meaning ‘deep red’<\/td><\/tr>
38<\/td>Sr<\/td>Strontium<\/a><\/td>from Strontian, a small town in Scotland<\/td><\/tr>
39<\/td>Y<\/td>Yttrium<\/a><\/td>from Ytterby, Sweden<\/td><\/tr>
40<\/td>Zr<\/td>Zirconium<\/a><\/td>from Persian Zargun, ‘gold-colored’; German Zirkoon, ‘jargoon’<\/td><\/tr>
41<\/td>Nb<\/td>Niobium<\/a><\/td>from Niobe, daughter of king Tantalus from Greek mythology<\/td><\/tr>
42<\/td>Mo<\/td>Molybdenum<\/a><\/td>from the Greek word molybdos meaning ‘lead’<\/td><\/tr>
43<\/td>Tc<\/td>Technetium<\/a><\/td>from the Greek tekhn\u00e8tos meaning ‘artificial’<\/td><\/tr>
44<\/td>Ru<\/td>Ruthenium<\/a><\/td>from Ruthenia, the New Latin name for Russia<\/td><\/tr>
45<\/td>Rh<\/td>Rhodium<\/a><\/td>from the Greek rhodos, meaning ‘rose coloured’<\/td><\/tr>
46<\/td>Pd<\/td>Palladium<\/a><\/td>–<\/td><\/tr>
47<\/td>Ag<\/td>Silver<\/a><\/td>from English word (argentum in Latin)<\/td><\/tr>
48<\/td>Cd<\/td>Cadmium<\/a><\/td>from the New Latin cadmia, from King Kadmos<\/td><\/tr>
49<\/td>In<\/td>Indium<\/a><\/td>from indigo<\/td><\/tr>
50<\/td>Sn<\/td>Tin<\/a><\/td>from English word (stannum in Latin)<\/td><\/tr>
51<\/td>Sb<\/td>Antimony<\/a><\/td>from the Greek anti, ‘against’, and monos, ‘alone’ (stibium in Latin)<\/td><\/tr>
52<\/td>Te<\/td>Tellurium<\/a><\/td>from Latin tellus, meaning ‘earth’<\/td><\/tr>
53<\/td>I<\/td>Iodine<\/a><\/td>from French iode (after the Greek ioeides, ‘violet’)<\/td><\/tr>
54<\/td>Xe<\/td>Xenon<\/a><\/td>from the Greek xenos, meaning ‘strange’<\/td><\/tr>
55<\/td>Cs<\/td>Cesium<\/a><\/td>from the Latin caesius, meaning ‘sky blue’<\/td><\/tr>
56<\/td>Ba<\/td>Barium<\/a><\/td>from the Greek barys, meaning ‘heavy’<\/td><\/tr>
57<\/td>La<\/td>Lanthanum<\/a><\/td>from the Greek lanthanein, meaning ‘to lie hidden’<\/td><\/tr>
58<\/td>Ce<\/td>Cerium<\/a><\/td>–<\/td><\/tr>
59<\/td>Pr<\/td>Praseodymiu<\/a><\/td>from the Greek praseios didymos meaning ‘green twin’<\/td><\/tr>
60<\/td>Nd<\/td>Neodymium<\/a><\/td>from the Greek neos didymos meaning ‘new twin’<\/td><\/tr>
61<\/td>Pm<\/td>Promethium<\/a><\/td>from Prometheus of Greek mythology who stole fire from the Gods and gave it to humans<\/td><\/tr>
62<\/td>Sm<\/td>Samarium<\/a><\/td>from Samarskite, the name of the mineral from which it was first isolated<\/td><\/tr>
63<\/td>Eu<\/td>Europium<\/a><\/td>from Europe<\/td><\/tr>
64<\/td>Gd<\/td>Gadolinium<\/a><\/td>from Johan Gadolin, chemist, physicist and mineralogist<\/td><\/tr>
65<\/td>Tb<\/td>Terbium<\/a><\/td>from Ytterby, Sweden<\/td><\/tr>
66<\/td>Dy<\/td>Dysprosium<\/a><\/td>from the Greek dysprositos, meaning ‘hard to get’<\/td><\/tr>
67<\/td>Ho<\/td>Holmium<\/a><\/td>from Holmia, the New Latin name for Stockholm<\/td><\/tr>
68<\/td>Er<\/td>Erbium<\/a><\/td>from Ytterby, Sweden<\/td><\/tr>
69<\/td>Tm<\/td>Thulium<\/a><\/td>from Thule, the ancient name for Scandinavia<\/td><\/tr>
70<\/td>Yb<\/td>Ytterbium<\/a><\/td>from Ytterby, Sweden<\/td><\/tr>
71<\/td>Lu<\/td>Lutetium<\/a><\/td>from Lutetia, the Latin name for Paris<\/td><\/tr>
72<\/td>Hf<\/td>Hafnium<\/a><\/td>from Hafnia, the New Latin name for Copenhagen<\/td><\/tr>
73<\/td>Ta<\/td>Tantalum<\/a><\/td>from King Tantalus, father of Niobe from Greek mythology<\/td><\/tr>
74<\/td>W<\/td>Tungsten<\/a><\/td>from the Swedish tung sten, ‘heavy stone’ (W is wolfram, the old name of the tungsten mineral wolframite)<\/td><\/tr>
75<\/td>Re<\/td>Rhenium<\/a><\/td>from Rhenus, the Latin name for the river Rhine<\/td><\/tr>
76<\/td>Os<\/td>Osmium<\/a><\/td>from the Greek osm\u00e8, meaning ‘smell’<\/td><\/tr>
77<\/td>Ir<\/td>Iridium<\/a><\/td>from Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow<\/td><\/tr>
78<\/td>Pt<\/td>Platinum<\/a><\/td>from the Spanish platina, meaning ‘little silver’<\/td><\/tr>
79<\/td>Au<\/td>Gold<\/a><\/td>from English word (aurum in Latin)<\/td><\/tr>
80<\/td>Hg<\/td>Mercury<\/a><\/td>from the New Latin name mercurius, named after the Roman god (Hg from former name hydrargyrum, from Greek hydr-, ‘water’, and argyros, ‘silver’)<\/td><\/tr>
81<\/td>Tl<\/td>Thallium<\/a><\/td>from the Greek thallos, ‘green twig’<\/td><\/tr>
82<\/td>Pb<\/td>Lead<\/a><\/td>from English word (plumbum in Latin)<\/td><\/tr>
83<\/td>Bi<\/td>Bismuth<\/a><\/td>from German word, now obsolete<\/td><\/tr>
84<\/td>Po<\/td>Polonium<\/a><\/td>from Named after the home country of Marie Curie(Poland), who is also the discoverer of Radium<\/td><\/tr>
85<\/td>At<\/td>Astatine<\/a><\/td>from the Greek astatos, ‘unstable’<\/td><\/tr>
86<\/td>Rn<\/td>Radon<\/a><\/td>From radium, as it was first detected as an emission from radium during radioactive decay<\/td><\/tr>
87<\/td>Fr<\/td>Francium<\/a><\/td>from Francia, the New Latin name for France<\/td><\/tr>
88<\/td>Ra<\/td>Radium<\/a><\/td>from the Latin radius, ‘ray’<\/td><\/tr>
89<\/td>Ac<\/td>Actinium<\/a><\/td>from the Greek aktis, ‘ray’<\/td><\/tr>
90<\/td>Th<\/td>Thorium<\/a><\/td>from Thor, the Scandinavian god of thunder<\/td><\/tr>
91<\/td>Pa<\/td>Protactinium<\/a><\/td>from the Greek protos, ‘first’, and actinium, which is produced through the radioactive decay of protactinium<\/td><\/tr>
92<\/td>U<\/td>Uranium<\/a><\/td>from Uranus<\/a>, the seventh planet in the Solar System<\/td><\/tr>
93<\/td>Np<\/td>Neptunium<\/a><\/td>from Neptune, the eighth planet in the Solar System<\/td><\/tr>
94<\/td>Pu<\/td>Plutonium<\/a><\/td>from Pluto<\/a>, a dwarf planet in the Solar System (then considered the ninth planet)<\/td><\/tr>
95<\/td>Am<\/td>Americium<\/a><\/td>from The Americas, as the element was first synthesized on the continent, by analogy with europium<\/td><\/tr>
96<\/td>Cm<\/td>Curium<\/a><\/td>from Pierre Curie, a physicist, and Marie Curie, a physicist and chemist, named after great scientists by analogy with gadolinium<\/td><\/tr>
97<\/td>Bk<\/td>Berkelium<\/a><\/td>from Berkeley, California, where the element was first synthesized, by analogy with terbium<\/td><\/tr>
98<\/td>Cf<\/td>Californium<\/a><\/td>from California, where the element was first synthesized<\/td><\/tr>
99<\/td>Es<\/td>Einsteinium<\/a><\/td>from Albert Einstein, physicist<\/td><\/tr>
100<\/td>Fm<\/td>Fermium<\/a><\/td>from Enrico Fermi, physicist<\/td><\/tr>
101<\/td>Md<\/td>Mendeleviu<\/a><\/td>from Dmitri Mendeleev, chemist and inventor<\/td><\/tr>
102<\/td>No<\/td>Nobelium<\/a><\/td>from Alfred Nobel, chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer<\/td><\/tr>
103<\/td>Lr<\/td>Lawrencium<\/a><\/td>from Ernest O. Lawrence, physicist<\/td><\/tr>
104<\/td>Rf<\/td>Rutherfordiu<\/a><\/td>from Ernest Rutherford, chemist and physicist<\/td><\/tr>
105<\/td>Db<\/td>Dubnium<\/a><\/td>from Dubna, Russia<\/td><\/tr>
106<\/td>Sg<\/td>Seaborgium<\/a><\/td>from Glenn T. Seaborg, scientist<\/td><\/tr>
107<\/td>Bh<\/td>Bohrium<\/a><\/td>from Niels Bohr, physicist<\/td><\/tr>
108<\/td>Hs<\/td>Hassium<\/a><\/td>from Hesse, Germany, where the element was first synthesized<\/td><\/tr>
109<\/td>Mt<\/td>Meitnerium<\/a><\/td>from Lise Meitner, physicist<\/td><\/tr>
110<\/td>Ds<\/td>Darmstadtiu<\/a><\/td>from Darmstadt, Germany, where the element was first synthesized<\/td><\/tr>
111<\/td>Rg<\/td>Roentgeniu<\/a><\/td>from Wilhelm Conrad R\u00f6ntgen, physicist<\/td><\/tr>
112<\/td>Cn<\/td>Copernicium<\/a><\/td>from Nicolaus Copernicus, astronomer<\/td><\/tr>
113<\/td>Nh<\/td>Nihonium<\/a><\/td>from the Japanese name for Japan, Nihon, where the element was first synthesized<\/td><\/tr>
114<\/td>Fl<\/td>Flerovium<\/a><\/td>from Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, part of JINR where the element was synthesized; itself named for Georgy Flyorov, physicist<\/td><\/tr>
115<\/td>Mc<\/td>Moscovium<\/a><\/td>from Moscow Oblast, Russia, where the element was first synthesized<\/td><\/tr>
116<\/td>Lv<\/td>Livermorium<\/a><\/td>from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (in Livermore, California) which collaborated with JINR on its synthesis<\/td><\/tr>
117<\/td>Ts<\/td>Tennessine<\/a><\/td>from Tennessee, United States<\/td><\/tr>
118<\/td>Og<\/td>Oganesson<\/a><\/td>from Yuri Oganessian, physicist<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Atomic No. Symbol Name Name Origin 1 H Hydrogen from the Greek elements hydro- and -gen meaning ‘water-forming’ 2 He Helium from the Greek word Helios, meaning ‘sun’ 3 Li Lithium the Greek word lithos, meaning ‘stone’ 4 Be Beryllium from beryl, a mineral 5 B Boron from borax, a mineral 6 C Carbon the … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3014"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3014"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3014\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3015,"href":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3014\/revisions\/3015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thechemicalelements.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}