Reply #11: Here are elements named for countries, cities, regions, and scientists: [View All]

[NNadir]

Here are some elements named for countries: Francium (the most unstable element among the first 100) and polonium (Poland, Marie Curie's home country) and Holmium (The Greek word for "Sweden" is "Holia") and Hassium (Germany).

Here are elements named for continents: Americium and Europium (they are cogeners).

Here are elements named for towns: Yttrium, Erbium, Ytterbium, Terbium are all named for the town of Ytterby in Sweden. Berkelium is of course named for Berkeley. (Glenn Seaborg reported that the mayor of the city was unimpressed when he chose that name.) Lutetium is named for the ancient Greek word for Paris "Lutetia." Hafnium is named for "Hafnia," the Latin name for the city of Copenhagen.

One element is named for a US State: Californium.

Scandium and Thulium are both named for Scandinavia, "Thule" being an ancient name for that region.

Here are elements named for scientists: Gadolinium, Curium, Einsteinium, Fermium, Mendelevium, Nobelium, Lawrencium, Rutherfordium, Seaborgium, Bohrium, Meitnerium and Roentgenium. (Curium and Meitnerium share the distinction of being named for women scientists.) Two elements are named for the collective groups of element discovering scientists who worked there: Dubnium (for the Dubna Institute and Darmstatium, for the German Darmstat Institute.

Cesium is named for the color of the sky (because of a prominent line in its spectrum, and Iridium is named for rainbows.)

File all of this under useless information.