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 and Marie Curie
- einsteinium (Es, 99) — Albert Einstein
- fermium (Fm, 100) — Enrico Fermi
- gallium (Ga, 31) — although named after Gallia (Latin for France), the discoverer of the metal Lecoq de Boisbaudran subtly attached an association with his name. Lecoq (rooster) in Latin is gallus.
- lawrencium (Lr, 103) — Ernest Lawrence
- meitnerium (Mt, 109) — Lise Meitner
- mendelevium (Md, 101) — Dmitri Mendeleev
- nobelium (No, 102) — Alfred Nobel
- roentgenium (Rg, 111) — Wilhelm Roentgen
- rutherfordium (Rf, 104) — Ernest Rutherford
- seaborgium (Sg, 106) — Glenn T. Seaborg
The element naming controversy that surrounded elements 104 to 109 saw two further names derived from people gain partial acceptance. Neither was or is accepted by IUPAC.
Named after mythical 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 thunder
- titanium (Ti, 22) — the Titans, from Greek mythology
- vanadium (V, 23) — Scandinavian goddess Vanadis (Freyja)
Many chemical elements are named after astronomical bodies which are named after Greek or Roman deities. See Chemical elements named after places.
See also
|
