List of chemical element name etymologies

This is the list of etymologies for all chemical element names.

Table

Element			Language of origin	Original word	Meaning	Symbol origin	Description
89	Actinium	Ac	Greek	ἀκτίς (aktis)	beam	Greek aktinos	ἀκτίς, ἀκτῖνος (aktis; aktinos), which means "beam (ray)".
13	Aluminium	Al	Latin	alumen	alum (literally: bitter salt)	Latin alumen	Latin alumen, which means "alum" (literally "bitter salt").
95	Americium	Am		America		toponym: the Americas	Named for the Americas, because it was discovered in the United States (by analogy with Europium) (the name of the continent America is derived from the name of the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci).
51	Antimony	Sb	Greek? via Medieval Latin and Middle English	ἀντί + μόνος (anti monos); antimonium/ antimonie	various		Possibly from Greek ἀντί + μόνος (anti monos), approximately meaning "opposed to solitude", as believed never to exist in pure form, or ἀντί + μοναχός (anti monachos) for "monk-killer" (in French folk etymology, anti-moine "monk's bane"), because many early alchemists were monks, and antimony is poisonous. This may also be derived from the Pharaonic (ancient Egyptian), Antos Ammon (expression), which could be translated as "bloom of the god Ammo". The symbol Sb is from Latin name Stibium, which is derived from Greek Στίβι stíbi, a variant of στίμμι stimmi (genitive: στίμμεος or στίμμιδος), probably a loan word from Arabic or Egyptian sdm meaning "eyepaint". Littré suggests that the first form is derived from *stimmida, a hypothetical alternative accusative of stimmi (the canonical accusative of the noun is the same as the nominative: stimmi). The Arabic word for the substance, as "mark" or "the cosmetic", can appear as تحميض، ثمود، وثمود، وثمود ithmid, athmoud, othmod or uthmod.
18	Argon	Ar	Greek	ἀργόν (argon)	inactive	descriptive: argon	Greek argon means "inactive" (literally "slow").
33	Arsenic	As	Syriac/Persian via Greek, Latin, Old French, and Middle English	ἀρσενικόν (arsenikon)	orpiment	Greek arsenikon	From Greek ἀρσενικόν (arsenikon), which is adapted from the Syriac ܠܐ ܙܐܦܢܝܐ (al) zarniqa and Persian, زرنيخ (zarnik), "yellow orpiment". Ἀρσενικόν (arsenikon) is paretymologically related to the Greek word ἀρσενικός (arsenikos), which means "masculine" or "potent." These words were adapted as the Latin arsenicum and Old French arsenic, which is the source for the English arsenic.
85	Astatine	At	Greek	ἄστατος (astatos)	unstable	Greek astatos	ἄστατος (astatos) means "unstable".
56	Barium	Ba	Greek via Modern Latin	βαρύς (barys)	heavy	Greek barys	βαρύς (barys) means "heavy". The oxide was initially called "barote", then "baryta", which was modified to "barium" to describe the metal. Sir Humphry Davy gave the element this name because it was originally found in baryte, which shares the same source.
97	Berkelium	Bk	Anglo-Saxon via English	University of California, Berkeley		toponym: Berkeley, California	Named for the University of California, Berkeley, where it was discovered. Berkeley, California, was named in honor of George Berkeley. "Berkeley" is derived from Old English beorce léah, which meaning birch lea.
4	Beryllium	Be	Sanskrit, Pali, and Prakrit via Greek, Latin, Old French, and Middle English	βήρυλλος (beryllos)	a blue-green spar, but possibly related to the name of Belur	descriptive (colour): beryl	βήρυλλος beryllos, denoting beryl, which contains beryllium. The word is derived (via Latin: Beryllus and French: Béryl) from the Greek βήρυλλος, bērullos, a blue-green spar, from Prakrit veruliya (वॆरुलिय‌), from Pāli veḷuriya (वेलुरिय); veḷiru (भेलिरु) or, viḷar (भिलर्), "to become pale," in reference to the pale semiprecious gemstone beryl. The word is ultimately derived from the Sanskrit word वैडूर्य vaidurya- which might be related to the name of the city of Belur.
83	Bismuth	Bi	Modern Latin from German	bisemutum	white mass	descriptive (colour): bisemutum	bisemutum is derived from German Wismuth, perhaps from weiße Masse, and means "white mass", due to its appearance.
107	Bohrium	Bh		Bohr, Niels		eponym: Niels Bohr	Named in honor of Niels Bohr, who made fundamental the understanding of atomic structure and quantum mechanics.
5	Boron	B	Persian via Arabic, Medieval Latin, Anglo-Norman, Middle French, and Middle English	بورق (buraq)		Latin borax from Arabic	بورق (buraq) is derived from the Persian, بوره (burah), which refers to borax. These terms were adapted as Medieval Latin baurach, Anglo-Norman boreis, and Middle English boras, which became the source of the English boron.
35	Bromine	Br	Greek via French	βρόμος (brómos)	dirt or stench (of he-goats)	Greek bromos	βρόμος (brómos) means "stench (lit. clangor)", due to its characteristic smell.
48	Cadmium	Cd	Greek/Latin	καδμεία (kadmeia)	calamine or Cadmean earth	Greek kadmia	From Latin cadmia, which is derived from Greek καδμεία (kadmeia) and means "calamine", a Cadmium-bearing mixture of minerals. Cadmium is named after Cadmus (in Greek: Κάδμος Kadmos), a character in Greek mythology and calamine is derived from Le Calamine, the French name of the Belgian town of Kelmis.
55	Caesium	Cs	Latin	caesius	blue-gray or sky blue	descriptive (colour): Latin caesius	From Latin caesius, which means "sky blue". Its identification was based upon the bright-blue lines in its spectrum, and it was the first element discovered by spectrum analysis.
20	Calcium	Ca	Greek/Latin	χάλιξ/calx	χάλιξ means "pebble", and calx means limestone	Latin calx	From Latin calx, which means "lime". Calcium was known as early as the first century when the Ancient Romans prepared lime as calcium oxide.
98	Californium	Cf	English	California		toponym: State and University of California	Named for California, the U.S. state of California and for the University of California, Berkeley. (The origin of the state's name is disputed.)
6	Carbon	C	Latin via French	charbone	charcoal	Latin carbo	From the French, charbone, which in turn came from Latin carbō, which means "charcoal" and is related to carbōn-, which means "a coal." (The German and Dutch names, "Kohlenstoff" and "koolstof", respectively, both literally mean "coal matter".) These words were derived from the PIE base *ker- meaning heat, fire, or to burn.
58	Cerium	Ce	Latin	Ceres	grain, bread	astrological; mythological: Ceres	Named after the asteroid Ceres, discovered two years earlier. (The asteroid, now classified as a dwarf planet, was named after Ceres, the goddess of fertility in mythology) Ceres is derived from PIE *ker-es- from base *ker- meaning to grow.
17	Chlorine	Cl	Greek	χλωρός (chlorós)	pale green	descriptive (colour): Greek chloros	From Greek χλωρός (chlorós), which means "yellowish green" or "greenish yellow", because of the color of the gas.
24	Chromium	Cr	Greek via French	χρῶμα (chróma)	color	descriptive (colour): Greek chroma	From Greek χρῶμα (chróma), "color", because of the multicolored compounds. This word was adapted as the French chrome, and adding the suffix -ium created the English chromium.
27	Cobalt	Co	German	Kobold	evil spirit	German kobold	From German Kobold, which means "evil spirit". The metal was named by miners, because it was poisonous and troublesome (polluted and degraded other mined elements, such as nickel). Other sources cite the origin in the silver miners' belief that cobalt had been placed by "Kobolds", who had stolen the silver. Some also think that the name may have been derived from Greek κόβαλος, kobalos, which means "mine" and which may have common roots with kobold, goblin, and cobalt.
112	Copernicium	Cn	Polish via Latin	Copernicus, Nicolaus	Polish surname, literally: "copper nickel"	eponym: Nicolaus Copernicus	Named in honor of Nicolaus Copernicus.
29	Copper	Cu	Greek? via Latin, West Germanic, Old English, and Middle English	Κύπριος (Kyprios)?	who/which is from Cyprus	toponym: Latin Cuprum	Possibly derived from Greek Κύπριος (Kyprios) (which comes from Κύπρος (Kypros), the Greek name of Cyprus) via Latin cuprum, West Germanic *kupar, Old English coper/copor, and Middle English coper. In Latin term,during the Roman empire, was aes cyprium; "aes" was the generic term for copper alloys such as bronze). Cyprium means "Cyprus" or "which is from Cyprus", where so much of it was mined; it was simplified to cuprum and then eventually Anglicized as copper (Old English coper/copor).
96	Curium	Cm		Curie, Marie and Pierre		eponym: Pierre and Marie Curie and the -um ending	Named in honor of Marie and Pierre Curie, who discovered Radium and researched radioactivity.
110	Darmstadtium	Ds	German	Darmstadt	proper name, literally: "intestine city"	toponym	Named for Darmstadt, where it was discovered (GSI Helmholtz Centre for Heavy Ion Research, located in Wixhausen, a small suburb north of Darmstadt). It has also been called Eka-platinum.
105	Dubnium	Db	Russian	Дубна (Dubna)		toponym	Named for Dubna (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, U.S.S.R.) where it was discovered . Researchers of the University of California, Berkeley, proposed Hahnium (Ha), which is named in honor of Otto Hahn, for his pioneering work in radioactivity and radiochemistry, but the proposal was rejected.
66	Dysprosium	Dy	Greek	δυσπρόσιτος (dysprositos)	hard to get at	descriptive	Derived from Greek δυσπρόσιτος (dysprositos), which means "hard to get at".
99	Einsteinium	Es	German	Einstein, Albert	German-Jewish surname, which means "one stone"	eponym	Named in honor of Albert Einstein, for his work on theoretical physics, which included the photoelectric effect.
68	Erbium	Er	Swedish	Ytterby	proper name, literally: "outer village"	toponym	Named after the village of Ytterby in Sweden, where large concentrations of yttria and erbium are located. Erbia and terbia were confused at this time. After 1860, what had been known as terbia was renamed erbia, and, after 1877, what had been known as erbia was renamed terbia.
63	Europium	Eu	Ancient Greek	Εὐρώπη (Europe)	broad-faced or well-watered	toponym; mythological	Named for Europe, where it was discovered. Europe was named after the fictional Phoenician princess Europa.
100	Fermium	Fm	Italian	Fermi, Enrico	Italian surname, from ferm- "fastener" and -i	eponym	Named in honor of Enrico Fermi, who developed the first nuclear reactor, quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics.
114	Flerovium	Fl	Russian	Flerov, Georgy	Russian surname	eponym	Named in honor of Georgy Flyorov, who was at the forefront of Soviet nuclear physics and founder of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, where the element was discovered.
9	Fluorine	F	Latin	fluor	a flowing		From the Fluorspar, one of its compounds.
87	Francium	Fr	French	France	proper name (Land of the Franks)	toponym	Named for France, where it was discovered (Curie Institute (Paris)).
64	Gadolinium	Gd		Gadolin, Johan		eponym	Named in honor of Johan Gadolin, who was one of the founders of Nordic chemistry research, discovered Yttrium, and pioneered laboratory exercise teaching. (Gadolinite, the mineral, is also named for him.)
31	Gallium	Ga	Latin	Gallia	Gaul (Ancient France)	toponym	From Latin Gallia, which means Gaul (Ancient France), and also gallus, which means "rooster". The element was obtained as free metal by Lecoq de Boisbaudran, who named Gallium after France, his native land, and also, punningly, after himself, as Lecoq, which means "the rooster", or in Latin, gallus. Gallium was called Eka-aluminium by Mendeleev who predicted its existence.
32	Germanium	Ge	Latin	Germania	Germany	toponym	From Latin Germania, which means "Germany". Germanium has also been called Eka-silicon by Mendeleev.
79	Gold	Au	Anglo-Saxon via Middle English	gold		descriptive (colour): Latin aurum	From the Anglo-Saxon, "gold", from PIE *ghel- meaning "yellow/ bright." Au is from Latin Aurum, which means "shining dawn".
72	Hafnium	Hf	Latin	Hafnia	Copenhagen	toponym	From Latin Hafnia, which means "Copenhagen" of Denmark.
108	Hassium	Hs	Latin	Hassia	Hessen	toponym	Derived from Latin Hassia, which means Hessen, the German state where it was discovered (Institute for Heavy Ion Research, Darmstadt). It has also been called Eka-osmium.
2	Helium	He	Greek	ἥλιος (hélios)	sun	mythological	Named after the Greek ἥλιος (helios), which means "the sun" or the mythological sun-god. It was first identified by its characteristic emission lines in the sun's spectrum.
67	Holmium	Ho	Latin	Holmia	Stockholm	toponym	Derived from Latin Holmia, which means Stockholm.
1	Hydrogen	H	Greek via Latin and French	ὕδωρ (root: ὑδρ-) + -γενής (-genes)	water + begetter	descriptive	From French hydrogène and Latin hydro- and -genes, derived from the Greek ὕδωρ γείνομαι (hydor geinomai), meaning "Ι beget water".
49	Indium	In	Greek via Latin and English	indigo		descriptive (colour)	Named after indigo, because of indigo spectrum line. The English word indigo is from Spanish indico and Dutch indigo (from Portuguese endego), from Latin indicum "indigo," from Greek ἰνδικόν, indikon "blue dye from India".
53	Iodine	I	Greek via French	ἰώδης (iodes)	violet	descriptive (colour)	Named after the Greek ἰώδης (iodes), which means "violet", because of the color of the gas. This word was adapted as the French iode, which is the source of the English iodine.
77	Iridium	Ir	Greek via Latin	ἴρις (genitive: ἴριδος)	of rainbows	descriptive (colour)	Named after the Latin noun iris, which means "rainbow, iris plant, iris of the eye", because many of salts are strongly colored; "Iris" was originally the name of the goddess of rainbows and a messenger in Greek mythology.
26	Iron	Fe	Anglo-Saxon via Middle English	īsern (earlier: īren/īsen) /yren/yron	holy metal or strong metal	descriptive: Anglo-Saxon	From the Anglo-Saxon īsern which is derived from Proto-Germanic isarnan meaning "holy metal" or "strong metal". The symbol Fe is from Latin ferrum, meaning "iron".
36	Krypton	Kr	Greek	κρυπτός (kryptos)	hidden	descriptive	From Greek κρυπτός (kryptos), which means "hidden one", because of its colorless, odorless, tasteless, gaseous properties (like other noble gases).
57	Lanthanum	La	Greek	λανθάνειν (lanthanein)	to lie hidden		From Greek lanthanein, "to lie (hidden)".
103	Lawrencium	Lr		Lawrence, Ernest O		eponym	Named in honor of "Ernest O. Lawrence", who was involved in the development of the cyclotron. The symbol is Lr since 1963; formerly Lw was used. Unniltrium was used as a temporary systematic element name.
82	Lead	Pb	Anglo-Saxon	lead			The symbol Pb is from Latin name, Plumbum, hence the English, "plumbing".
3	Lithium	Li	Greek	λίθος (lithos)	stone		From Greek λίθος (lithos) "stone", because it was discovered from a mineral while other common alkali metals (sodium and potassium) were discovered from plant tissue.
116	Livermorium	Lv	English	American surname		toponym	Named in honor of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which collaborated in the discovery and is in Livermore, California, in turn named after the rancher Robert Livermore.
71	Lutetium	Lu	Latin	Lutetia	Paris	toponym	Named after the Latin, Lutetia (Gaulish for "place of mud"), the city of Paris.
12	Magnesium	Mg	Greek	Μαγνησία (Magnesia)		toponym	From the Ancient Greek Μαγνησία (Magnesia) (district in Thessaly), where discovered.
25	Manganese	Mn	Greek via Latin, Italian, and French	Μαγνησία (Magnesia; Medieval Latin: magnesia)	Magnesia	descriptive	From Latin Magnesia ultimately from Greek; Magnesia evolved into Manganese in Italian and into Manganèse in French.
109	Meitnerium	Mt		Meitner, Lise		eponym	Named in honor of Lise Meitner, who shared discovery of nuclear fission. It has also been called 'Eka-iridium.
101	Mendelevium	Md		Mendeleyev, Dmitri		eponym	Named in honor of Dmitri Mendeleyev, who invented periodic table. It has also been called 'Eka-thulium.
80	Mercury	Hg	Latin	Mercurius	Mercury	mythological	Named after Mercury, the god of speed and messenger of the Gods, as was the "planet Mercury" named after the god. The symbol Hg is from Greek name, ὕδωρ and ἀργυρός (hydor and argyros), which became Latin, Hydrargyrum; both mean "water-silver", because it is a liquid like water (at room temperature), and has silvery metallic sheen.
42	Molybdenum	Mo	Greek	μόλυβδος (molybdos)	lead-like	descriptive	From Greek μόλυβδος (molybdos), "lead".
60	Neodymium	Nd	Greek	νέος δίδυμος (neos didymos)	new twin	descriptive	Derived from Greek νέος διδύμος (neos didymos), which means "new twin", because didymium separated into praseodymium and neodymium, when they emitted salts of different colors.
10	Neon	Ne	Greek	νέος (neos)	new		From Greek "νέος" (neos), which means "new".
93	Neptunium	Np	Latin	Neptunus	Neptune	mythological	Named for "Neptune", the planet. (The planet was named after "Neptune", the god of oceans in mythology.)
28	Nickel	Ni	Swedish via German	Kopparnickel/ Kupfernickel	copper-coloured ore	descriptive	From the Swedish, Kopparnickel, meaning "copper-colored ore"; this referred to the ore niccolite from which it was obtained.
41	Niobium	Nb	Greek	Νιόβη (Niobe)	snowy	mythological	Named after Niobe, daughter of Tantalus in Classical mythology. The alternate name columbium comes from Columbia, personification of America.
7	Nitrogen	N	Greek via Latin and French	νίτρον (Latin: nitrum) -γενής (-genes)	native-soda begetter	descriptive	From French "nitrogène", derived from Greek νίτρον γείνομαι (nitron geinomai), meaning "I form/beget native-soda (niter)". Also used was azoth, from Andalusian Arabic al-zuq, from the Classical Arabic name of the element, and that from Pahlavi.
102	Nobelium	No		Nobel, Alfred		eponym	Named in honor of Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite and instituted the Nobel Prizes foundation.
76	Osmium	Os	Greek via Modern Latin	ὀσμή (osme)	a smell	descriptive	From Greek ὀσμή (osme), means "a smell".
8	Oxygen	O	Greek via French	ὀξύ γείνομαι (oxy geinomai)/oxygène	to bring forth acid		From Greek ὀξύ γείνομαι (oxy geinomai), which means "Ι bring forth acid", as it was believed to be an essential component of acids. This phrase was corrupted into French oxygène, which became the source of the English oxygen.
46	Palladium	Pd	Greek via Latin	Παλλάς (genitive: Παλλάδος) (Pallas)	little maiden	astrological/ mythological	Named after Pallas, the asteroid discovered two years earlier. (The asteroid was named after Pallas Athena, goddess of wisdom and victory.) The word Palladium is derived from Greek Παλλάδιον and is the neutral version of Παλλάδιος meaning "of Pallas."
15	Phosphorus	P	Greek via Latin	φῶς + -φόρος (phos + -phoros)	light-bearer	descriptive	From Greek φῶς + -φόρος (phos + -phoros), which means "light bearer", because "white phosphorus" emits a faint glow upon exposure to oxygen Phosphorus was the ancient name for Venus, or Hesperus, the (Morning Star).
78	Platinum	Pt	Spanish via Modern Latin	platina (del Pinto)	little silver (of the Pinto River)	descriptive	From the Spanish, platina, which means "little silver", because it was first encountered in a silver mine. Platina can also mean "stage (of a microscope)", and the modern Spanish is Platino. Platina is a diminutive of Plata (silver) and is a loan word from French plate or Provençal plata (sheet of metal) and is the origin of the English "plate."
94	Plutonium	Pu	Greek via Latin	Πλούτων (Ploutōn) via Pluto	god of wealth	astrological; mythological	Named after Pluto, the dwarf planet, because it was discovered directly after Neptunium and is higher than Uranium on periodic table, so by analogy with the ordering of the planets. (The planet Pluto was named after "Pluto", a Greek god of the dead) Πλούτων (Ploutōn) is related to the Greek word πλοῦτος (ploutos) meaning "wealth."
84	Polonium	Po	Latin	Polonia	Poland	toponym	Named after Poland, homeland of discoverer Marie Curie. Was also called Radium F.
19	Potassium	K	Modern Latin via Dutch and English	potassa; potasch via potash	pot-ash		From the English "potash", which means "pot-ash" (Potassium compound prepared from an alkali extracted in a pot from the ash of burnt wood or tree leaves). Potash is a literal translation of the German potaschen, which means "pot ashes." The symbol K is from Latin name, Kalium, from Arabic القلي (al qalīy), which means "calcined ashes".
59	Praseodymium	Pr	Greek	πράσιος δίδυμος (prasios didymos)	green twin	descriptive	From Greek πράσιος δίδυμος (prasios didymos), meaning "green twin", because didymium separated into Praseodymium and neodymium, with salts of different colors.
61	Promethium	Pm	Greek	Προμηθεύς (Prometheus)	forethought	mythological	Named after Prometheus, who stole the fire of heaven and gave it to mankind (in Classical mythology).
91	Protactinium	Pa	Greek	πρῶτος + ἀκτίς	first beam element	descriptive?	Derived from former name Protoactinium, from the Greek prefix proto- "first" + Neolatin actinium from Greek ἀκτίς (gen.: ἀκτῖνος) "ray" + Latin -ium.
88	Radium	Ra	Latin via French	radius	ray	descriptive	From Latin radius meaning "ray", because of its radioactivity.
86	Radon	Rn	Latin via German and English	Radium			Contraction of Radium emanation, since the element appears in the radioactive decay of radium. An alternative, rejected name was Niton (Nt), from Latin nitens "shining".
75	Rhenium	Re	Latin	Rhenus	Rhine	toponym	From Latin Rhenus, the river Rhine.
45	Rhodium	Rh	Greek	ῥόδον (rhodon)	rose	descriptive (colour)	From Greek ῥόδον (rhodon), which means "rose". From rose-red compounds
111	Roentgenium	Rg		Röntgen, Wilhelm Conrad		eponym	Named in honour of Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who produced and detected x-rays. It has also been called Eka-gold.
37	Rubidium	Rb	Latin	rubidus	deepest red	descriptive (colour)	From Latin rubidus, which means "deepest red", because of color in spectroscope.
44	Ruthenium	Ru	Latin	Ruthenia	Russia	toponym	From Latin Ruthenia, which means "Russia".
104	Rutherfordium	Rf		Rutherford, Ernest		eponym	Named in honor of Baron Ernest Rutherford, who pioneered the Bohr model of the atom. Rutherfordium has also been called Kurchatovium (Ku), named in honor of Igor Vasilevich Kurchatov, who shared discovered fundamental understanding of the Uranium chain reaction and the nuclear reactor.
62	Samarium	Sm		Samarsky-Bykhovets, Vasili		eponym	Named after Samarskite, the mineral. ("Samarskite" was named after "Colonel Vasili Samarsky-Bykhovets", a Russian mine official.)
21	Scandium	Sc	Latin	Scandia	Scandinavia	toponym	Named from Latin Scandia, which means "Scandinavia"; formerly Eka-boron.
106	Seaborgium	Sg	Swedish via English	Seaborg, Glenn Teodor	Swedish surname, literally: "Lake Mountain"	eponym	Named in honor of Glenn T. Seaborg, who discovered the chemistry of the transuranium elements, shared discovered and isolated 10 elements, developed and proposed the actinide series. Other names: Eka-tungsten and temporarily by IUPAC Unnilhexium (Unh).
34	Selenium	Se	Greek	σελήνη (selene)	moon	astrological/ mythological	From Greek σελήνη (selene), which means "Moon", and also moon-goddess Selene.
14	Silicon	Si	Latin	silex, -icis	flint	descriptive	From Latin "silex" or "silicis", which means "flint", a kind of stone.
47	Silver	Ag	Akkadian via Anglo-Saxon and Middle English	𒊭𒁺𒁍/𒊭𒅈𒇥; siolfor/seolfor	to refine, smelt	Latin argentum	From the Anglo-Saxon, seolfor which was derived from Proto-Germanic *silubra-; compare Old High German silabar; and has cognates in Balto-Slavic languages: Old Church Slavonic: sĭrebro, Lithuanian: sidabras, Old Prussian sirablan. Possibly borrowed from Akkadian 𒊭𒅈𒇥 sarpu "refined silver" and related to 𒊭𒁺𒁍 sarapu "to refine, smelt". Alternatively, possibly from one of the Pre-Indo-European languages, compare Basque: zilar. The symbol Ag is from Latin name Argentum, which is derived from PIE *arg-ent-.
11	Sodium	Na	English	soda			From the English, "soda", used in names for Sodium compounds such as caustic soda, soda ash, and baking soda. Probably, from Italian sida (or directly from Medieval Latin soda) "a kind of saltwort," from which soda was obtained, of uncertain origin. The symbol Na is from Modern Latin noun natrium, derived from Greek νίτρον (nítron), "natural soda, a kind of salt" + Latin -ium. Its original source being either the Arabic word نطرون natrun or the Egyptian word netjeri.
38	Strontium	Sr	Scottish Gaelic via English	Sròn an t-Sìthein; Strontian	proper name (literally: "nose [i.e., 'point'] of the fairy hill)"	toponym	Named after Strontianite, the mineral. ("Strontianite" was named after "the town of Strontian", the source of the mineral in Scotland.)
16	Sulfur	S	Latin Proto-Indo-European	Old Latin sulpur (later sulphur, sulfur) PIE *swépl̥ (genitive *sulplós), nominal derivative of *swelp.	> PIE *swelp 'to burn'	Latin sulfur	The word came into Middle English from from Anglo-Norman sulfre, itself derived through Old French soulfre from Late Latin sulfur.
73	Tantalum	Ta	Greek	Τάνταλος (Tantalus)	Tantalus; possibly "the bearer" or the sufferer"	mythological	Named after the Greek Τάνταλος ("Tantalus"), who was punished after death by being condemned to stand knee-deep in water, if he bent to drink the water, it drained below the level he could reach (on Greek mythology). This was considered similar to tantalum's general non-reactivity because of its inertness (it sits among reagents and is unaffected by them).
43	Technetium	Tc	Greek	τεχνητός (technetos)	artificial	descriptive	From Greek τεχνητός (technetos), which means "artificial", because of the first predominantly artificial element. Technetium has also been called Eka-manganese.
52	Tellurium	Te	Latin	Tellus	Earth	mythological	From Latin "Tellus", which means "Earth" and also "Terra Mater", the goddess personifying the Mother Earth in Roman mythology
65	Terbium	Tb	Swedish	Ytterby	Proper name (literally: outer village)	toponym	Named after Ytterby, the village in Sweden where the element was first discovered.
81	Thallium	Tl	Greek	θαλλός (thallos)	green twig	descriptive	From Greek θαλλός (thallos), which means "a green shoot (twig)", because of its bright green spectral emission lines.
90	Thorium	Th	Old Norse	Þōrr (Thor)	thunder	mythological	Named after Thor, the god of thunder on Norse mythology. The former name Ionium (Io) was given early in the study of radioactive elements to Th-230 isotope.
69	Thulium	Tm	Greek	Θούλη, Θύλη	a mythical country	mythological	Named after Thule, an ancient Roman and Greek name (Θούλη, Θύλη) for a mythical country in the far north, perhaps Scandinavia. By the same token, Thulia, its oxide.
50	Tin	Sn	Anglo-Saxon via Middle English	tin			Borrowed from a Proto-Indo-European language, and has cognates in several Germanic and Celtic languages. The symbol Sn is from its Latin name Stannum.
22	Titanium	Ti	Greek	Τιτάν Titan (gen.: Τιτάνος)	Earth	mythological	From Greek τιτάν (titan), which means "Earth", and also "Titans", the first sons of Gaia in Greek mythology.
74	Tungsten	W	Swedish and Danish	tung sten	heavy stone	descriptive	From the Swedish and Danish, "tung sten", which means "heavy stone". The symbol W is from scientific name, Wolfram. The element and its ore, "Wolframite", was named in honor of "Peter Woulfe", who discovered its existence. The names Wolfram or Volfram are still used in Swedish and several languages.
118	Ununoctium	Uuo				systematic	IUPAC systematic element name based on Latin for 118. It is sometimes called Eka-radon.
115	Ununpentium	Uup				systematic	IUPAC systematic element name based on Latin for 115. It is sometimes called Eka-bismuth.
117	Ununseptium	Uus				systematic	IUPAC systematic element name based on Latin for 117. It is sometimes called Eka-astatine.
113	Ununtrium	Uut				systematic	IUPAC systematic element name based on Latin for 113. It is sometimes called Eka-thallium.
92	Uranium	U	Greek via Latin	Οὐρανός (Ouranos); Uranus	sky	astrological; mythological	Named after the planet Uranus, which had been discovered eight years earlier in 1781. The planet was named after "Uranus", the god of sky and heaven on Greek mythology.
23	Vanadium	V	Old Norse	Vanadís	"Dís of the Vanir"	mythological	From Vanadís, one of the names of the Vanr goddess Freyja (of beauty) in Norse mythology, because of multicolored chemical compounds deemed beautiful.
54	Xenon	Xe	Greek	ξένος (xenos)	foreign		From the Greek adjective ξένος (xenos), which means "foreign, a stranger".
70	Ytterbium	Yb	Swedish	Ytterby	proper name, literally: "outer village"	toponym	Named after Ytterbia, the compound of Ytterbium. (The compound Ytterbia was named after Ytterby, the Swedish village (near Vaxholm) where found the minerals Gadolinite)
39	Yttrium	Y	Swedish	Ytterby	proper name, literally: "outer village"	toponym	Named after Yttria, the (oxide) compound of Yttrium. (The compound Yttria was named after Ytterby, the village where found the minerals Gadolinite)
30	Zinc	Zn	German	Zink	Cornet		From German Zink which is related to Zinken "prong, point." May be derived from Old Persian.
40	Zirconium	Zr	Syriac/Persian via Arabic and German	ܙܐܪܓܥܢܥ zargono, زرگون (zargûn)	gold-like		From Arabic زركون (zarkûn). Derived from the Persian, زرگون (zargûn), which means "gold like". Zirkon is the German variant of these and is the origin of the English "zircon."

See also

• List of chemical elements naming controversies
• Naming of elements

Further reading

• Eric Scerri, The Periodic System, Its Story and Its Significance, Oxford University Press, New York, 2007.