Element Names
Some Idle Musings Related to the Names of the Chemical Elements
What is the third ferromagnetic goblin?
Iron Cobalt and Nickel are sometimes known as the “Iron Triad” or Iron Group due to their similar properties.
What is the the origin of the word ‘iron’? It’s not entirely clear. But it may be a derivative of ancient words related to blood, strength, or supernatural power.
For the other two, the etymology is well-known. Cobalt derives its name from the Kobold of European mythology. Nickel (originally Kupfernickel, meaning goblin’s copper) similarly derives its name from a mischievous mythological mountain monster.
This is unrelated coincidence suggests that iron earns its name from a third variety of goblin, some ferocious underground spirit that plagued our ancestors.
Might it still be around? Forgotten, but far from gone?
What terrible ferro-goblins might still sleep secretly deep within the earth?
Planetary Elements
There are 8 elements named after celestial objects.
The seven metals of antiquity have traditionally been associated with the seven classical planets, especially Mercury, for which the planet and element share a name.
Between these two factors, there is at least one element associated with each of the major objects in our solar system:
| Planet | Namesake for Element | Classical Association |
|---|---|---|
| The Sun | Helium | Gold |
| Mercury | Mercury | |
| Venus | Copper | |
| Earth | Tellurium | |
| The Moon | Selenium | Silver |
| Mars | Iron | |
| Ceres | Cerium | |
| Pallas | Palladium | |
| Jupiter | Tin | |
| Saturn | Lead | |
| Uranus | Uranium | |
| Neptune | Neptunium | |
| Pluto | Plutonium |
Though this still leaves many former planets and dwarf planets without an element of their own.
Interesting Alternate Element Names
Many elements have alternate names, and there are good reasons for standardizing the names we have. But some alternate names are fairly interesting.
- Tungsten
- Wolfram, from wolf’s froth, in reference to the difficulties of mining wolframite. Plutonium
- Extremium or Ultimium, from the false belief that this was the final element. Mercury
- Quicksilver, or Hydrargyrum, which is Greek for ‘water-silver’
Links to pages about the elements:
- Peter van de Krogt’s Periodic table color-coded by origin of name. Poke around this website for some very interesting articles on the history of each element’s name, alternate names that were considered, and the like.
- An abbreviated Wikipedia Article with element etymologies
- A list of element names goofily adapted to only use germanic roots.
- Theodore Gray’s Periodic Table Website.
- David Hamric’s Element Coins. Relevant article. Theodore Gray’s gallery of some of these ‘coins’.