Making names from periodic table element symbols is just like writing words using the periodic table. Write a name and then compare its letters with the list of element symbols. Some names work, while other do not. For example, my name (Anne) cannot be written using the periodic table because the letter “A” is not an accepted symbol, although N (nitrogen) and Ne (neon) are. The name “Eric” is ErIC (erbium, iodine, carbon).
Alphabetical List of Names Made From Periodic Table Element Symbols
The starting list comes from the top baby names for 2023, plus a few others I knew.
A Names
AlICe (aluminum iodine cerium)
AlINa (aluminum iodine sodium)
AlLiSON (aluminum lithium sulfur oxygen nitrogen)
AmIr (americium iridium)
AmY (americium yttrium)
ArI (argon iodine)
AsHEr (astatine hydrogen erbium)
AtHeNa (astatine helium sodium)
AtLaS (astatine lanthanum sulfur)
AuBReY (gold boron rhenium yttrium)
AuRoRa (gold rhodium radium)
AuSTiN (gold sulfur titanium nitrogen)
B Names
BeAu (beryllium gold)
BrOOK (bromine oxygen oxygen potassium)
BrOOKS (bromine oxygen oxygen potassium sulfur)
BrUNo (bromine uranium nobelium)
C Names
CAmILa (carbon americium iodine lanthanum)
CArOLiNe (carbon argon oxygen lithium neon)
CArSON (carbon arsenic sulfur oxygen nitrogen)
CLaIRe (carbon lanthanum iodine rhenium)
COOPEr (carbon oxygen oxygen phosphorus erbium)
CoLiN, COLiN (cobalt lithium nitrogen, carbon oxygen lithium nitrogen)
CORa, CoRa (carbon oxygen radium, cobalt radium)
D Names
DyLaN (dysprosium lanthanum nitrogen)
E names
ErIC (erbium iodine carbon)
F Names
FInN (fluorine indium nitrogen)
FIONa (fluorine iodine oxygen sodium)
FlYNN (flerovium yttrium nitrogen nitrogen)
FRaNCIS (fluorine radium nitrogen carbon iodine sulfur)
G Names
GeNe (germanium neon)
GeNeSiS (germanium neon silicon sulfur)
H Names
HArPEr (hydrogen argon phosphorus erbium)
HUDsON (hydrogen uranium dysprosium oxygen nitrogen)
I Names
IRa (iodine radon)
ISLa (iodine sulfur lanthanum)
IVY (iodine vanadium yttrium)
K Names
KYRa (potassium yttrium radium)
L Names
LaCHLaN (lanthanum carbon hydrogen lanthanum nitrogen)
LaRa (lanthanum radium)
LaURa (lanthanum uranium radium)
LaYLa (lanthanum yttrium lanthanum)
LiAm (lithium americium)
LiLi (lithium lithium)
LuCa (lutetium calcium)
LuCAs (lutetium carbon astatine)
LuCY (lutetium, carbon, yttrium)
LuNa (lutetium sodium)
M Names
Mo (molybdenum)
MoNiCa (molybdenum nickel calcium)
N Names
NiCHOLaS (nickel carbon hydrogen oxygen lanthanum sulfur)
NiCK (nickel carbon potassium)
NiCo (nickel cobalt)
NoLaN (nobelium lanthanum nitrogen)
NORa, NoRa (nitrogen oxygen radium, nobelium radon)
O Names
OLiVEr (oxygen lithium vanadium erbium)
P Names
PAm (phosphorus americium)
PArKEr (phosphorus argon potassium erbium)
PIPEr (phosphorus iodine phosphorus erbium)
R Names
RaNDy (radon nitrogen dysprosium)
RhYS (rhodium yttrium sulfur)
RuBY (ruthenium boron yttrium)
S Names
SAm (sulfur americium)
SeReNa (selenium rhenium sodium)
SiLaS (silicon lanthanum sulfur)
SiMoN (silicon molybdenum nitrogen)
T Names
TaRa (tantalum radium)
TiMoThY (titanium molybdenum thorium yttrium)
V Names
VIOLa (vanadium, iodine, oxygen, lanthanum)
W Name
WEs (tungsten einsteinium)
WReN (tungsten rhenium nitrogen)
Y Names
YVEs (yttrium vanadium einsteinium)
Z Names
ZiON (zinc oxygen nitrogen)
Examples of Names That Cannot Be Written With Element Symbols
These are a few examples of names that don’t work. If your name contains the letter “J” or “Q”, then you can’t write it with element symbols. Those are the two letters that do not occur in periodic table element symbols. Some names work if you use old element symbols or ones from a different language.
Amelia
Anne
Ava
Charlotte
Ella
Emma
Isabella
Jeremy
John
Mia
Olivia
Quincy
Sophia
Spell Your Name With Element Symbols
For making posters or cards, construct names using element tiles. Here are traditional square element cells and here are round element symbol tiles. Just select the element symbols you like, right-click and save them, and then print them.
Add to the List
Do you know a name that is not on this list? Post a comment and I’ll add it!
References
- IUPAC (2004). “IUPAC Provisional Recommendations: IR-3: Elements and Groups of Elements“.
- Leal, João P. (2013). “The Forgotten Names of Chemical Elements”. Foundations of Science. 19 (2): 175–183. doi:10.1007/s10699-013-9326-y