Origins of Elemental Names

Actinium
Aluminum
Americium
Antimony
Argon
Arsenic
Astantine
Barium
Berkelium
Beryllium
Bismuth
Bromine
Cadmium
Calcium
Californium
Carbon
Cerium
Cesium
Chlorine
Chromium
Cobalt
Copper
Curium
Dysprosium
Einsteinium
Erbium
Europium
Fermium
Fluorine
Francium
Gadolinium
Gallium
Germanium
Gold
Hafnium
Helium
Holmium
Hydrogen
Indium

Greek "aktis meaning beam or ray"

Latin "alumen"
After the Americas
Latin "stibbum meaning mark"
Greek "argon"
Greek "arsenikos" meaning male from the belief that metals were
different sexes.
Greek "astatos" meaning unstable
Greek "barys" meaning heavy
Berkeley, home of the University of California
Greek "beryl" meaning sweet
German "weisse masse" meaning white mass
Greek "bromos" meaning stench
Latin "cadmia" ancient name for calamine, a mineral
Latin "calx" meaning lime or limestone
Named after the State and University of California
Latin "carbos" meaning charcoal
Named after the asteroid Ceres which was discovered 2 years before
this element.
Latin "caesius" meaning sky blue
Greek "chloros" meaning greenish-yellow
Greek "chroma" meaning colour
German "kobold" meaning goblin or evil spirit
Latin "cuprum" named for an island off the coast of Cypress
Named after Marie and Pierre Curie
Greek "dysprositos" meaning 'hard to get at!'
Named after Albert Einstein
A town in Sweden
Named after Europe
Named after Enrico Fermi
Latin "fluere" meaning flow or flux
Named after France
Named after Gadolin, a Fininsh chemist
Latin "gallia" meaning France
Latin "germania" meaning germany
Latin "arum" meaning 'shining dawn'
From Hafnia, the Latin name for Copenhagen
Greek "helios" meaning 'the sun' where helium was first found
Latin "holmia" the Latin name of Stockholm
Greek "hyro" meaning water and "genes" meaning forming
From the brillant indigo line in it's spectrum

Iodine
Iridium
Iron
Krypton
Lanthanum
Lawrencium
Lead
Lithium
Lutetium
Magnesium
Manganese
Mendelevium
Mercury

Greek "iodes" meaning violet

Latin "iris" meaning rainbow
Latin "ferrum" meaning grey
Greek "kryptos" meaning hidden
Greek "lantanein" meaning to,'lie hidden'
After E.O. Lawrence
Latin "plumbum"
Greek "lithos" meaning stone
From the name Lutetia, the ancient name for Paris
From the word Magnesia which is a district in Thessaly
Latin "magnes" meaning magnet
After Dmitri Mendeleev, creator of the periodic table
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
Silver
Sodium
Strontium
Sulphur
Tantalum
Technetium
Tellurium
Terbium
Thallium
Thorium
Thulium
Tin
Titanium
Tungsten
Uranium
Vanadium
Ytterbium
Yttrium
Zinc
Zirconium

Latin "silex" meaning 'flint'

Latin "argentum" meaning 'silver'
Latin "sodanum", a headache remedy
Named after Strontion, a Scottish town
Latin "sulphurium" meaning 'brimstone'
Greek "Tantalos", Father of Niobe
Greek "technetos" meaning 'artificial'
Latin "tellus" meaning 'earth'
A village in Sweden
Greek "thallus" meaning 'a green shoot or twig'
Named after 'thor', the Scandanavian God of War
Named after 'Thule', the most ancient name of Scandanavia
Latin "stannum" meaning 'tin'
Latin "titan", the first sons of the Earth
Swedish "tung sten" meaning 'heavy stone'
After the planet Uranus
After the Scandanavian Goddess Vanadis
After Ytterby, a village in Sweden
Same as above
German "Zink" meaning 'of obscure origin'
Arabic "zargun" meaning 'gold colour'