List of Chemical Elements
Updated October 2022

This is a list of the 118 chemical elements identified as of 2022. A chemical element, often referred to simply as an element, is a type of atom that has the same number of protons in its atomic nucleus (i.e. the same atomic number, or Z).


Chemical Elements
AT No Symbol Name Origin of name
89 Ac Actinium
Greek aktís, 'ray'
13 Al Aluminium
Alumina, from Latin alumen (gen. aluminis), 'bitter salt, alum'
95 Am Americium
The Americas, where the element was first synthesised, by analogy with its homologue § europium
51 Sb Antimony
Latin antimonium, the origin of which is uncertain: folk etymologies suggest it is derived from Greek antí ('against') + mónos ('alone'), or Old French anti-moine, 'Monk's bane', but it could plausibly be from or related to Arabic itmid, 'antimony', reformatted as a Latin word
18 Ar Argon
Greek argós, 'idle' (because of its inertness)
33 As Arsenic
French arsenic, from Greek arsenikón 'yellow arsenic' (influenced by arsenikós, 'masculine' or 'virile'), from a West Asian wanderword ultimately from Old Iranian *zarniya-ka, 'golden'
85 At Astatine
Greek ástatos, 'unstable'
56 Ba Barium
Greek barýs, 'heavy'
97 Bk Berkelium
Berkeley, California, where the element was first synthesised
4 Be Beryllium
Beryl, a mineral (ultimately from the name of Belur in southern India)
83 Bi Bismuth
German Wismut, from weiß Masse 'white mass', unless from Arabic
107 Bh Bohrium
Niels Bohr, Danish physicist
5 B Boron
Borax, a mineral (from Arabic bawraq, Middle Persian *borag)
35 Br Bromine
Greek brômos, 'stench'
48 Cd Cadmium
New Latin cadmia, from King Kadmos
55 Cs Caesium
Latin caesius, 'sky-blue'
20 Ca Calcium
Latin calx, 'lime'
98 Cf Californium
California, where the element was first synthesised in the LBNL laboratory
6 C Carbon
Latin carbo, 'coal'
58 Ce Cerium
Ceres, a dwarf planet, considered a planet at the time
17 Cl Chlorine
Greek chlorós, 'greenish yellow'
24 Cr Chromium
Greek chróma, 'colour'
27 Co Cobalt
German Kobold, 'goblin'
112 Cn Copernicium
Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer
29 Cu Copper
English word, from Latin cuprum, from Ancient Greek Kýpros 'Cyprus'
96 Cm Curium
Pierre Curie and Marie Curie, French physicists and chemists
110 Ds Darmstadtium
Darmstadt, Germany, where the element was first synthesised in the GSI laboratories
105 Db Dubnium
Dubna, Russia, where the element was discovered in the JINR laboratory
66 Dy Dysprosium
Greek dysprósitos, 'hard to get'
99 Es Einsteinium
Albert Einstein, German physicist
68 Er Erbium
Ytterby, Sweden, where it was found; see also yttrium, terbium, ytterbium
63 Eu Europium
Europe
100 Fm Fermium
Enrico Fermi, Italian physicist
114 Fl Flerovium
Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, part of JINR, where the element was synthesised; itself named after Georgy Flyorov, Russian physicist
9 F Fluorine
Latin fluere, 'to flow'
87 Fr Francium
France, home country of discoverer Marguerite Perey
64 Gd Gadolinium
Gadolinite, a mineral named after Johan Gadolin, Finnish chemist, physicist and mineralogist
31 Ga Gallium
Latin Gallia, 'France'
32 Ge Germanium
Latin Germania, 'Germany'
79 Au Gold
English word, from the same root as 'yellow'
72 Hf Hafnium
New Latin Hafnia, 'Copenhagen' (from Danish havn, harbour)
108 Hs Hassium
New Latin Hassia, 'Hesse', a state in Germany
2 He Helium
Greek helios, 'sun'
67 Ho Holmium
New Latin Holmia, 'Stockholm'
1 H Hydrogen
Greek elements hydro- and -gen, 'water-forming'
49 In Indium
Latin indicum, 'indigo', the blue colour found in its spectrum
53 I Iodine
French iode, from Greek ioeides, 'violet'
77 Ir Iridium
Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow
26 Fe Iron
English word, from Proto-Celtic *isarnom ('iron'), from a root meaning 'blood'
36 Kr Krypton
Greek kryptós, 'hidden'
57 La Lanthanum
Greek lanthánein, 'to lie hidden'
103 Lr Lawrencium
Ernest Lawrence, American physicist
82 Pb Lead
English word, from Proto-Celtic *loudom, from a root meaning 'flow'
3 Li Lithium
Greek líthos, 'stone'
116 Lv Livermorium
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California
71 Lu Lutetium
Latin Lutetia, 'Paris'
12 Mg Magnesium
Magnesia, a district of Eastern Thessaly in Greece
25 Mn Manganese
Corrupted from magnesia negra; see § magnesium
109 Mt Meitnerium
Lise Meitner, Austrian physicist
101 Md Mendelevium
Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist who proposed the periodic table
80 Hg Mercury
Mercury, Roman god of commerce, communication, and luck, known for his speed and mobility
42 Mo Molybdenum
Greek molýbdaina, 'piece of lead', from mólybdos, 'lead', due to confusion with lead ore galena (PbS)
115 Mc Moscovium
Moscow, Russia, where the element was first synthesised in the JINR laboratories
60 Nd Neodymium
Greek néos dídymos, 'new twin'
10 Ne Neon
Greek néon, 'new'
93 Np Neptunium
Neptune, the eighth planet in the Solar System
28 Ni Nickel
Nickel, a mischievous sprite of German miner mythology
113 Nh Nihonium
Japanese Nihon, 'Japan', where the element was first synthesised in the Riken laboratories
41 Nb Niobium
Niobe, daughter of king Tantalus from Greek mythology; see also tantalum
7 N Nitrogen
Greek nítron and -gen, 'niter-forming'
102 No Nobelium
Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer
118 Og Oganesson
Yuri Oganessian, Russian physicist
76 Os Osmium
Greek osme, 'smell'
8 O Oxygen
Greek oxy- and -gen, 'acid-forming'
46 Pd Palladium
Pallas, an asteroid, considered a planet at the time
15 P Phosphorus
Greek phosphóros, 'light-bearing'
78 Pt Platinum
Spanish platina, 'little silver', from plata 'silver'
94 Pu Plutonium
Pluto, a dwarf planet, considered a planet in the Solar System at the time
84 Po Polonium
Latin Polonia, 'Poland', home country of Marie Curie
19 K Potassium
New Latin potassa, 'potash', itself from pot and ash
59 Pr Praseodymium
Greek prásios dídymos, 'green twin'
61 Pm Promethium
Prometheus, a figure in Greek mythology
91 Pa Protactinium
Proto- (from Greek prôtos, 'first, before') + actinium, since actinium is produced through the radioactive decay of protactinium
88 Ra Radium
French radium, from Latin radius, 'ray'
86 Rn Radon
Radium emanation, originally the name of the isotope Radon-222
75 Re Rhenium
Latin Rhenus, 'the Rhine'
45 Rh Rhodium
Greek rhodóeis, 'rose-coloured', from rhódon, 'rose'
111 Rg Roentgenium
Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, German physicist
37 Rb Rubidium
Latin rubidus, 'deep red'
44 Ru Ruthenium
New Latin Ruthenia, 'Russia'
104 Rf Rutherfordium
Ernest Rutherford, chemist and physicist from New Zealand
62 Sm Samarium
Samarskite, a mineral named after V. Samarsky-Bykhovets, Russian mine official
21 Sc Scandium
Latin Scandia, 'Scandinavia'
106 Sg Seaborgium
Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist
34 Se Selenium
Greek selene, 'moon'
14 Si Silicon
Latin silex, 'flint' (originally silicium)
47 Ag Silver
English word
11 Na Sodium
English (from medieval Latin) soda
38 Sr Strontium
Strontian, a village in Scotland, where it was found
16 S Sulfur
Latin sulphur, 'brimstone'
73 Ta Tantalum
King Tantalus, father of Niobe from Greek mythology; see also niobium
43 Tc Technetium
Greek tekhnetós, 'artificial'
52 Te Tellurium
Latin tellus, 'the ground, earth'
117 Ts Tennessine
Tennessee, United States, where Oak Ridge National Laboratory is located
65 Tb Terbium
Ytterby, Sweden, where it was found; see also yttrium, erbium, ytterbium
81 Tl Thallium
Greek thallós, 'green shoot or twig'
90 Th Thorium
Thor, the Scandinavian god of thunder
69 Tm Thulium
Thule, the ancient name for an unclear northern location
50 Sn Tin
English word
22 Ti Titanium
Titans, the sons of the Earth goddess of Greek mythology
74 W Tungsten
Swedish tung sten, 'heavy stone'
92 U Uranium
Uranus, the seventh planet in the Solar System
23 V Vanadium
Vanadis, an Old Norse name for the Scandinavian goddess Freyja
54 Xe Xenon
Greek xenon, neuter form of xenos 'strange'
70 Yb Ytterbium
Ytterby, Sweden, where it was found; see also yttrium, terbium, erbium
39 Y Yttrium
Ytterby, Sweden, where it was found; see also terbium, erbium, ytterbium
30 Zn Zinc
Most likely from German Zinke, 'prong' or 'tooth', though some suggest Persian sang, 'stone'
40 Zr Zirconium
Zircon, a mineral, from Persian zargun, 'gold-hued'



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