Chemical elements named after people
This is a list of chemical elements named after people . The symbol and atomic number are given in brackets.
For other lists of eponyms (names derived from people) see Lists of etymologies .
For a list of eponyms sorted by name see List of eponyms .
bohrium (Bh, 107) – Niels Bohr
curium (Cm, 96) – Pierre Curie and Marie Curie
einsteinium (Es, 99) – Albert Einstein
fermium (Fm, 100) – Enrico Fermi
gallium (Ga, 31) – although named after Gallia (Latin for France), the discoverer of the metal Lecoq de Boisbaudran subtly attached an association with his name. Lecoq (rooster) in Latin is gallus .
hahnium (105) – Otto Hahn . This element name is not accepted by IUPAC . See element naming controversy
lawrencium (Lr, 103) – Ernest Lawrence
meitnerium (Mt, 109) – Lise Meitner
mendelevium (Md, 101) – Dmitri Mendeleev
nobelium (No, 102) – Alfred Nobel
roentgenium (Rg, 111) – Wilhelm Roentgen
rutherfordium (Rf, 104) – Ernest Rutherford
seaborgium (Sg, 106) – Glenn T. Seaborg
Named after fictional characters
niobium (Nb, 41) – Niobe , a mortal woman in Greek mythology
promethium (Pm, 61) – Prometheus , a Titan from Greek mythology
tantalum (Ta, 73) – Tantalus , from Greek mythology
thorium (Th, 90) – Thor , the Norse god of thunder and warm summer weather
titanium (Ti, 22) – the Titans , from Greek mythology
vanadium (Va, 23) – Scandinavian goddess Vanadis (Freya)
Many chemical elements are named after astronomical bodies which are named after Greek or Roman deities. See Chemical elements named after places .
Note :
See also