Elements Named After Planets and Other Celestial Bodies


The four elements named after planets are mercury, uranium, neptunium, and plutonium.
The four elements named after planets are mercury, uranium, neptunium, and plutonium. Other elements are named for the Sun, Moon, and astronomical objects.

Here’s an alphabetical list of elements named for planets and astronomical objects, or perhaps from the gods/goddesses for which the objects were named. Most names come from planets, the moon, and the sun, since these objects are easily seen in the sky.

  • Cerium – Ceres, the first asteroid to be discovered. Roman goddess of grain, similar to the Greek’s Demeter.
  • Helium – Helios, the Greek name for the Sun
  • Mercury – Mercury, a planet. Winged Roman god of travel.
  • Neptunium – Neptune, a blue planet. Roman god of the sea.
  • Palladium – Pallas, the second asteroid to be discovered. Greek name given to Athena after she killed a playmate named Pallas or, according to some legends, the giant Pallas. Palladium was also the name of a sacred image kept in the temple of Athena at Troy.
  • Plutonium – Pluto, a dwarf planet. Roman god of the underworld, said to be able to render himself invisible.
  • Selenium – Selene, the Greek name for the Moon.
  • Tellurium – Tellus, the Latin name for the Earth. Roman earth goddess; also called Terra Mater, similar to the Greek’s Gaea.
  • Uranium – Uranus, a planet. Greek god of the heavens, son of Gaea.