The 32 chemical elements named after places on Earth
The top 3 according to 225 votes from people: Beryllium (Be) · Magnesium (Mg) · Scandium (Sc). (Updated Feb 8, 2025.)
Of the 118 known elements, 32 are named after a place on our planet: countries like Germany and Poland, cities like Paris and Copenhagen in their Latin names, laboratories like Berkeley and Dubna, and the Swedish village of Ytterby, which alone gave its name to four. Here they are in order of atomic number.
Automatically translated (original in Italiano). See the original
Top 32
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1
Beryllium (Be)
Atomic number 4. Named after: Belur, a city in India (indirectly, via the mineral beryl).
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2
Magnesium (Mg)
Atomic number 12. Named after: Magnesia, a region of Greece.
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3
Scandium (Sc)
Atomic number 21. Named after: Scandinavia.
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4
Gallium (Ga)
Atomic number 31. Named after: France (Gaul).
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5
Manganese (Mn)
Atomic number 25. Named after: Magnesia, a region of Greece.
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6
Yttrium (Y)
Atomic number 39. Named after: Ytterby, a village in Sweden. Ytterby gave its name to four elements, a world record.
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7
Holmium (Ho)
Atomic number 67. Named after: Stockholm (Holmia in Latin).
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8
Copper (Cu)
Atomic number 29. Named after: Cyprus (from Latin cuprum).
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9
Indium (In)
Atomic number 49. Named after: India (indirectly, via Latin indicum, indigo).
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10
Europium (Eu)
Atomic number 63. Named after: Europe.
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11
Germanium (Ge)
Atomic number 32. Named after: Germany.
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12
Ruthenium (Ru)
Atomic number 44. Named after: Russia (from Latin Ruthenia).
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13
Ytterbium (Yb)
Atomic number 70. Named after: Ytterby, Sweden.
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14
Strontium (Sr)
Atomic number 38. Named after: Strontian, a village in Scotland.
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15
Hafnium (Hf)
Atomic number 72. Named after: Copenhagen (Hafnia in Latin).
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16
Rhenium (Re)
Atomic number 75. Named after: The river Rhine.
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17
Americium (Am)
Atomic number 95. Named after: The Americas.
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18
Livermorium (Lv)
Atomic number 116. Named after: Livermore, California.
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19
Tennessine (Ts)
Atomic number 117. Named after: Tennessee, United States.
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20
Polonium (Po)
Atomic number 84. Named after: Poland, Marie Curie's homeland.
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21
Hassium (Hs)
Atomic number 108. Named after: Hesse, Germany (Hassia in Latin).
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22
Francium (Fr)
Atomic number 87. Named after: France.
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23
Berkelium (Bk)
Atomic number 97. Named after: Berkeley, California.
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24
Darmstadtium (Ds)
Atomic number 110. Named after: Darmstadt, Germany.
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25
Terbium (Tb)
Atomic number 65. Named after: Ytterby, Sweden.
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26
Californium (Cf)
Atomic number 98. Named after: California.
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27
Dubnium (Db)
Atomic number 105. Named after: Dubna, Russia.
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28
Erbium (Er)
Atomic number 68. Named after: Ytterby, Sweden.
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29
Nihonium (Nh)
Atomic number 113. Named after: Japan (Nihon in Japanese).
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30
Moscovium (Mc)
Atomic number 115. Named after: Moscow Oblast.
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31
Lutetium (Lu)
Atomic number 71. Named after: Paris (Lutetia in Latin).
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32
Thulium (Tm)
Atomic number 69. Named after: Thule, the mythical far north of Scandinavia.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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Comments (1)
Ytterby quattro elementi, un paesino svedese... pazzesco 🤯