Each chemical element has a name and symbol for easy identification. The official names of the chemical elements are determined by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). This organization generally accepts the name chosen by the person (or organization) who discovered the element.

Note: This list is alphabetical, the number in front is not the element's atomic number on the periodic table.

  • 1. Actinium (Ac) 89, 1899, from the Greek word 'aktis' meaning 'ray' because this element emits radioactive rays.
  • 2. Argon (Ar) 18 ,1894, gas, from the Greek 'argon' meaning 'lazy' or 'inactive'.
  • 3. Americium (Am) 95 ,1944, the name commemorates America (USA) where it was first discovered (by artificial means).
  • 4. Antimony (Sb) 51 , medieval, symbol derived from ancient Latin 'Stibium' meaning solid.
  • 5. Arsenic (As) 33 , medieval, from the Greek 'asesenikon' meaning 'bright color'. The ancient Greeks used arsenic compounds as a pigment (arsentrisulfide).
  • 6. Astat (At) 85 ,1940, from the Greek 'astatos' meaning unstable.
  • 7. Azot (N) 7 , 1772, gas, from the French 'Nitrogene' meaning a substance that produces nitrates, such as sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate.
  • 8. Silver (Ag) 47 , prehistoric, symbol derived from the ancient name for silver 'argentium'.
  • 9. Barium (Ba) 56 , 1808, from the name of the ore barite, or ore slag containing Barium, from the Greek, 'barys' meaning 'heavy'.
  • 10. Beckoli (Bk) 97 ,1949, named after the city of Beckoli, California, USA, commemorating the place where it was first synthesized.
  • 11. Beryllium (Be) 4 .1797, first discovered from the mineral Beryllium.
  • 12. Boron (B) 5.1808, from the name of one of its compounds, Boras.
  • 13. Bromine (Br) 35 .1825, liquid, from the Greek "Bromos" meaning "bad smell".
  • 14. Carbon (C) 6 , prehistoric, symbol comes from the Latin word "carbo" meaning coal.
  • 15. Cadmium (Cd) 48 ,1817, the ancient Latin name of an ore, it was first discovered from this ore.
  • 16. Califoni (Cf) 98,1950 , the name of the state of California (USA) where the university first created this element.
  • 17. Calcium (Ca) 20 ,1808, from Latin "Calcis" meaning lime or calcium oxide.
  • 18. Lead (Pb) 82 , prehistoric, symbol derived from the Latin name for lead "plumbum".
  • 19. Chlorine (Cl) 17 , 1774, from the Greek word "chloros" meaning bright green. Chlorine in gaseous form is yellow-green in color.
  • 20. Cobalt (Co) 27 , 1737, from the German "kobold" name of a god who hindered iron smelting.

Origin of names of chemical elements Picture 1
Periodic table of chemistry.

  • 21. Chromium (Cr) 24 , 1797, from the Greek word "chroma" meaning flower. It is used as a pigment.
  • 22. Curium (Cm) 96 , 1944, named in honor of the scientist couple Mari and Pie Curi.
  • 23. Dypoxi (Dy) 66 , 1886, from the Greek "dysprositos" meaning "few, lacking".
  • 24. Copper (Cu) 29 , prehistoric, from the Latin "Cuprum" or "Cuprus" - the name of the island of Cyprus, which provided copper to the ancient people.
  • 25. Esteni (Es) 99 , 1952, named in honor of Einstein, the great physicist.
  • 26. Erbium (Er) 69 ,1843, named in honor of a place in the Yterbium region of Sweden where many rare earth ores were discovered.
  • 27. Europium (Eu) 63 ,1901, originated from Europe (Eurpie).
  • 28. Fermi (Fm) 100 ,1953, named in honor of Enriko Fermi, the great physicist.
  • 29. Fluorine (F) 9 ,1886, gas, from Latin "fluo" meaning "to flow" slag (a complex compound of fluorine often used as a flux).
  • 30. Franci (Fr) 87 ,1939, name to commemorate France.
  • 31. Gadolinium (Gd) 64 , 1986, named after the Finnish chemist Iogana Gagolina who studied rare earths.
  • 32. Gali (Ga) 31 ,1875, name to commemorate France, from the word "Gallia", the ancient name of France.
  • 33. Germanium (Ge) 32 ,1886, name to commemorate Germany (Germanie).
  • 34. Hafini (Hf) 72 , 1923, from the word "Hafnia" - the Latin name of the capital of Denmark (Co-Pen-Ha-Gen).
  • 35. Helium (He) 2 ,1868, gas, from the Greek "helios" meaning Sun because it was first discovered in the solar spectrum.
  • 36. Hydrogen (H) 1.1766, from the French "hydrogene" meaning water-producing. Water is produced when hydrogen is burned.
  • 37. Honmi (Ho) 67 ,1897, from the word "Holmia" the Latin name of the Swedish capital Stockholm.
  • 38. Indium (In) 49, 1863, from the Latin "Indicum" because it was discovered by spectroscopy. Its spectrum is indigo (indium).
  • 39. Iodine (I) 53 .1811, from the Latin "Iodes" meaning violet.
  • 40. Iridium (Ir) 77 ,1804, from the Greek "iridis" meaning rainbow because some of its solutions have rainbow colors.
  • 41. Potassium (K) 19, 1807, from the Arabic "alcali" meaning ash of plants.
  • 42. Zinc (Zn) 30 , 17th century, name from German "Zink".
  • 43. Krypton (Kr) 36 ,1898, gas, from the Greek "krystos" meaning "hidden".
  • 44. Lanthanum (La) 57, 1839, from the Greek "lanthanein" meaning to lie hidden.
  • 45. Lithium (Li) 3 .1817, from the Greek word "lithos" meaning stone.
  • 46. ​​Lutexi (Lu) 71 ,1907, from the word "Luteria", the ancient name of Paris.
  • 47. Sulfur (S) 15 , prehistoric, symbol derived from Latin "sulfur".
  • 48. Magnesium (Mg) 12, 1808, from the name "Magnesia lithos" meaning magnesite. It is a white mineral, first found in the ancient Greek region of Macnhedia.
  • 49. Manganese (Mn) 25 ,1774, from the Italian " Manganese" , a corruption of the Latin "Magnesius" meaning Magnesium.
  • 50. Mendelevium (Md) , 101.1955, named in honor of Dimitri Ivanovitch Mendeleev - Great Russian chemist.
  • 51. Molybdenum (Mo) 42, 1781, from the Greek "molybdos" meaning "lead", molybdenum was first discovered from lead ore, previously thought to be lead ore.
  • 52. Sodium (Na),11 ,1807, in Arabic, "Natrum" means natural salt.
  • 53. Neodymium (Nd) , 60.1885, from the Greek "neos" meaning " new" and "didymos" meaning "twin" , neodymium and prazeodium were isolated from a substance called "diodim" and were considered to be a lanthanide-like element.
  • 54. Neon (Ne), 10.1898, from the Greek "neos" meaning "new".
  • 55. Neptune (Np) , 93.1940, named in honor of Neptune.
  • 56. Aluminum (Al), 13.1825, from the Latin "alumen", "aluminis" meaning alum-producing.
  • 57. Nickel (Ni), 28 , 1751, from the German "Kupfernicket" meaning " ghost copper".
  • 58. Niobium (Nb),41 ,1801, named in honor of Niobium, daughter of Tantan (in Greek mythology)
  • 59. Ossimi (Os) , 76.1804, from the Greek "osme" meaning "smelly".
  • 60.Oxygen (O), 8 , 1771 from the French "oxygéné" meaning "acid-producing". Oxygen is a component of acids.
  • 61. Palladium (Pd),46, 1803, named in honor of the minor planet Pallas discovered in 1801.
  • 62. Phosphorus (P),15 ,1669, from the Greek "phosphoros" meaning "light-bearer".
  • 63. Platinum (Pt),78 , 16th century, from Spanish, "platina" meaning "silver".
  • 64. Pluton (Pu) , 94.1940, from the name of Pluto, Pluton.
  • 65. Poloni (Po), 84, 1898, invented by the Curies and named after Marie Curie's hometown in Poland (Polone) as a memorial.
  • 66. Prazeodium (Pr), 59, 1885, from the Greek "prasios" meaning "green" and "didymos" meaning "twin". Its salts are green and are easily confused with the salts of Neodymium.
  • 67. Prometheus (Pm) , 61.1945, named in honor of Prometheus, the Greek god who stole fire from heaven to give to mankind.
  • 68. Protactinium (Pa) , 91.1917, prefix "proto" means "first", i.e. "first Actinium". When decomposed, Protactinium is converted to Actinium.
  • 69. Radium (Ra),88 ,1898, from the Latin "radius" meaning "ray". Radium emits radioactive rays.
  • 70. Reni (Re) , 75 , 1925, name to commemorate the Rhine River in Europe, in Latin Rhenus.
  • 71. Radon (Rn), 86, 1900, the name is derived from the element Radium, adding the suffix "-on" to refer to all inert gases (except Helium). Radon is a decay product of Radium and Radon itself is radioactive.
  • 72. Rhodium (Rh), 45 ,1803, from the Greek "Rhodon" meaning "pink". Some of its salts are pink.
  • 73. Rubidium (Rb), 37 ,1861, from the Latin "Rubidus" meaning "red". This element was discovered by spectroscopy and in its spectrum there are red lines.
  • 74. Ruthenium (Ru), 44,1844, name to commemorate Russia, in Latin "Ruthenia" means Russia.
  • 75. Samarium (Sm) , 62.1879, first discovered from Samackite ore. The name of this ore is taken from the name of a Russian mining engineer, Samacxoki.
  • 76. Iron (Fe), 26 , prehistoric, from the ancient name for iron "Ferrum".
  • 77. Scandi (Sc), 21 ,1879, name in honor of the Scandinavian peninsula in Northern Europe.
  • 78. Selenium (Se),34 ,1818, "Selene" in Greek means "moon", because it resembles Tellu, and Tellu is a name in honor of the Earth.
  • 79. Silicon (Si),14 ,1824, from the Latin "Silics" meaning "sand".
  • 80. Strontium (Sr),38 ,1808, from the mineral Strontianite (Strontian is the name of a locality in Scotland).
  • 81. Thallium (Tl),81 ,1861, Greek "Thallos" meaning "to show off", so named because of the presence of a distinct green line in its spectrum.
  • 82. Tantan (Ta) , 73.1802, name from Greek mythology, Tantan was the son of Giepxa, father of Niobay, was executed by being forced to kneel under water. When Tantan was thirsty, he wanted to drink water but could not because the water level decreased.
  • 83. Technercium (Tc), 43 ,1937, from the Greek "technetos" meaning "artificial". It was the first element to be obtained artificially.
  • 84. Terbium (Tb) , 65 , 1843, named in honor of the region of Yterbium, Sweden.
  • 85. Tellurium (Te), 52 ,1783, from Latin "telluris" meaning Earth.
  • 86. Tin (Sn), 50 , prehistoric, unknown origin.
  • 87. Thorium (Th), 90 ,1828, first discovered from Toris ore.
  • 88. Mercury (Hg),80 in prehistoric times, the name "hydrargyrum" meaning "silver water" comes from the Greek, "Hydos" meaning "water" and "arguros" meaning "silver".
  • 89. Titan (Ti), 22, 1791, to commemorate the giant gods in Greek mythology.
  • 90. Tuli (Tu), 69 ,1879, from the word "thule" the ancient name of the northern Scandinavian peninsula.
  • 91. Uranium (U), 92 ,1789, from the Greek "uranos" meaning "sky", named to commemorate the planet Uranus discovered in 1782.
  • 92. Vanadis (V), 23 ,1801, to admire the love and beauty of an ancient Scandinavian god named Vanadis.
  • 93. Gold (Au) , 79 , prehistoric, symbol taken from the ancient name of gold "Autrum".
  • 94. Xenon (Xe), 54 ,1895, from the Greek "xenos" meaning "strange", "unfamiliar".
  • 95. Cesium (Cs), 55 ,1860, from the Latin "Caesies" meaning "sky blue" . Cesium and Rubidium were the first elements discovered by Robert Bunzen and Kruttap Kierxov by their spectral lines. Cesium is recognized by the blue lines in its spectrum.
  • 96. Cerium (Ce), 58 ,1803, named in honor of the minor planet "Ceres" discovered in 1801.
  • 97. Yterbium (Yb), 70 ,1878, to commemorate the Yterbium region, the name of a locality in Sweden where many rare earth ores were discovered.
  • 98. Zirconium (Zr), 40 .1789, named after the mineral Zieckon from which it was first discovered.

Interesting stories about chemical elements

Where do chemical elements come from?