Chemical elements named after people
This is a list of chemical elements named after people. The symbol and atomic number are given in brackets.
- For other lists of eponyms (names derived from people) see Lists of etymologies.
- For a list of eponyms sorted by name see List of eponyms.
- Bohrium (Bh, 107) – Niels Bohr
- Curium (Cm, 96) – Pierre Curie and Marie Curie
- Einsteinium (Es, 99) – Albert Einstein
- Fermium (Fm, 100) – Enrico Fermi
- Gallium (Ga, 31) – although named after Gallia (Latin for France), the dicoverer of the metal Lecoq de Boisbaudran subtly attached an association with his name. Lecoq (rooster) in Latin is gallus.
- Hahnium (105) – Otto Hahn. This element name is not accepted by IUPAC. See element naming controversy
- Lawrencium (Lr, 103) – Ernest Lawrence
- Meitnerium (Mt, 109) – Lise Meitner
- Mendelevium (Md, 101) – Dmitri Mendeleev
- Nobelium (No, 102) – Alfred Nobel
- Rutherfordium (Rf, 104) – Ernest Rutherford
- Seaborgium (Sg, 106) – Glenn T. Seaborg
Named after fictional characters
- Niobium (Nb, 41) – Niobe, a mortal woman in Greek mythology
- Promethium (Pm, 61) – Prometheus, a Titan from Greek mythology
- Tantalum (Ta, 73) – Tantalus, from Greek mythology
- Thorium (Th, 90) – Thor, the Norse god of war
- Titanium (Ti, 22) – the Titans, from Greek mythology
- Vanadium (Va, 23) – Scandinavian goddess Vanadis (Freya)
Many chemical elements are named after astronomical bodies which are named after Greek or Roman deities. See Chemical elements named after places.
Note :
- Gadolinium (Gd, 64) is named from the mineral gadolinite, which in turn is named after the Finnish chemist and geologist Johan Gadolin.
- Samarium (Sm, 62) is named from the mineral samarskite which in turn is named after Colonel Samarski, a Russian mine official.
See also
