List of Chemical Elements

Greek aktís, 'ray'

Alumina, from Latin alumen (gen. aluminis), 'bitter salt, alum'

The Americas, where the element was first synthesised, by analogy with its homologue § europium

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

Greek argós, 'idle' (because of its inertness)

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'

Greek ástatos, 'unstable'

Greek barýs, 'heavy'

Berkeley, California, where the element was first synthesised

Beryl, a mineral (ultimately from the name of Belur in southern India)

German Wismut, from weiß Masse 'white mass', unless from Arabic

Niels Bohr, Danish physicist

Borax, a mineral (from Arabic bawraq, Middle Persian *borag)

Greek brômos, 'stench'

New Latin cadmia, from King Kadmos

Latin caesius, 'sky-blue'

Latin calx, 'lime'

California, where the element was first synthesised in the LBNL laboratory

Latin carbo, 'coal'

Ceres, a dwarf planet, considered a planet at the time

Greek chlorós, 'greenish yellow'

Greek chróma, 'colour'

German Kobold, 'goblin'

Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer

English word, from Latin cuprum, from Ancient Greek Kýpros 'Cyprus'

Pierre Curie and Marie Curie, French physicists and chemists

Darmstadt, Germany, where the element was first synthesised in the GSI laboratories

Dubna, Russia, where the element was discovered in the JINR laboratory

Greek dysprósitos, 'hard to get'

Albert Einstein, German physicist

Ytterby, Sweden, where it was found; see also yttrium, terbium, ytterbium

Europe

Enrico Fermi, Italian physicist

Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, part of JINR, where the element was synthesised; itself named after Georgy Flyorov, Russian physicist

Latin fluere, 'to flow'

France, home country of discoverer Marguerite Perey

Gadolinite, a mineral named after Johan Gadolin, Finnish chemist, physicist and mineralogist

Latin Gallia, 'France'

Latin Germania, 'Germany'

English word, from the same root as 'yellow'

New Latin Hafnia, 'Copenhagen' (from Danish havn, harbour)

New Latin Hassia, 'Hesse', a state in Germany

Greek helios, 'sun'

New Latin Holmia, 'Stockholm'

Greek elements hydro- and -gen, 'water-forming'

Latin indicum, 'indigo', the blue colour found in its spectrum

French iode, from Greek ioeides, 'violet'

Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow

English word, from Proto-Celtic *isarnom ('iron'), from a root meaning 'blood'

Greek kryptós, 'hidden'

Greek lanthánein, 'to lie hidden'

Ernest Lawrence, American physicist

English word, from Proto-Celtic *loudom, from a root meaning 'flow'

Greek líthos, 'stone'

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California

Latin Lutetia, 'Paris'

Magnesia, a district of Eastern Thessaly in Greece

Corrupted from magnesia negra; see § magnesium

Lise Meitner, Austrian physicist

Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist who proposed the periodic table

Mercury, Roman god of commerce, communication, and luck, known for his speed and mobility

Greek molýbdaina, 'piece of lead', from mólybdos, 'lead', due to confusion with lead ore galena (PbS)

Moscow, Russia, where the element was first synthesised in the JINR laboratories

Greek néos dídymos, 'new twin'

Greek néon, 'new'

Neptune, the eighth planet in the Solar System

Nickel, a mischievous sprite of German miner mythology

Japanese Nihon, 'Japan', where the element was first synthesised in the Riken laboratories

Niobe, daughter of king Tantalus from Greek mythology; see also tantalum

Greek nítron and -gen, 'niter-forming'

Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer

Yuri Oganessian, Russian physicist

Greek osme, 'smell'

Greek oxy- and -gen, 'acid-forming'

Pallas, an asteroid, considered a planet at the time

Greek phosphóros, 'light-bearing'

Spanish platina, 'little silver', from plata 'silver'

Pluto, a dwarf planet, considered a planet in the Solar System at the time

Latin Polonia, 'Poland', home country of Marie Curie

New Latin potassa, 'potash', itself from pot and ash

Greek prásios dídymos, 'green twin'

Prometheus, a figure in Greek mythology

Proto- (from Greek prôtos, 'first, before') + actinium, since actinium is produced through the radioactive decay of protactinium

French radium, from Latin radius, 'ray'

Radium emanation, originally the name of the isotope Radon-222

Latin Rhenus, 'the Rhine'

Greek rhodóeis, 'rose-coloured', from rhódon, 'rose'

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, German physicist

Latin rubidus, 'deep red'

New Latin Ruthenia, 'Russia'

Ernest Rutherford, chemist and physicist from New Zealand

Samarskite, a mineral named after V. Samarsky-Bykhovets, Russian mine official

Latin Scandia, 'Scandinavia'

Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist

Greek selene, 'moon'

Latin silex, 'flint' (originally silicium)

English word

English (from medieval Latin) soda

Strontian, a village in Scotland, where it was found

Latin sulphur, 'brimstone'

King Tantalus, father of Niobe from Greek mythology; see also niobium

Greek tekhnetós, 'artificial'

Latin tellus, 'the ground, earth'

Tennessee, United States, where Oak Ridge National Laboratory is located

Ytterby, Sweden, where it was found; see also yttrium, erbium, ytterbium

Greek thallós, 'green shoot or twig'

Thor, the Scandinavian god of thunder

Thule, the ancient name for an unclear northern location

English word

Titans, the sons of the Earth goddess of Greek mythology

Swedish tung sten, 'heavy stone'

Uranus, the seventh planet in the Solar System

Vanadis, an Old Norse name for the Scandinavian goddess Freyja

Greek xenon, neuter form of xenos 'strange'

Ytterby, Sweden, where it was found; see also yttrium, terbium, erbium

Ytterby, Sweden, where it was found; see also terbium, erbium, ytterbium

Most likely from German Zinke, 'prong' or 'tooth', though some suggest Persian sang, 'stone'

Zircon, a mineral, from Persian zargun, 'gold-hued'