Star names are among the oldest continuously used words in any language — a great many arrived in English from Arabic, which is why so many begin with Al-. They tend to be short, unusual and easy to call, which is a rare combination.
The science half brings elements, phenomena and scientists, and it's where the catalogue's most quietly funny names live: naming a very fast animal after a unit of measurement never entirely stops being satisfying.
What's in this theme
- Star names are unusually well suited to dogs — short, distinct, and almost never taken at the park.
- Element and mineral names suit reptiles and fish, where grandeur costs nothing.
- Luna and Nova are the two exceptions: both extremely common, and Nova collides with no.
54 names, with what they mean
A cross-section of the 240 names tagged Space & Science. Every one of them, and 186 more, is filterable in the name quiz, where you can stack this theme with your animal, a personality and a syllable count.
CalypsoGreek"She who hides/conceals" (from kalyptō); nymph in the Odyssey (also a moon of Saturn)
ElixirMedicineArabic al-iksir, "the medicine"
FaradayPhysics"after Michael Faraday; electromagnetism pioneer"
FractalMathematicsLatin fractus, "broken"; self-similar shape
FusionPhysicsLatin fusio, "melting together"
GalaxyEnglishGreek (galaxias): "milky (circle)"
GalliumChemistryLatin Gallia, "France"; low-melting metal
GeneBiologyGreek genos, "birth, kind"; unit of heredity
HiggsPhysics"after Peter Higgs; particle giving mass"
IndiumChemistryLatin indicum, "indigo"; a soft silvery metal
IridiumChemistryGreek iris, "rainbow"; dense metal
JoulePhysics"after James Prescott Joule; unit of energy"
KaonPhysics"from K-meson; short-lived particle"
KelvinPhysics"after Lord Kelvin; unit of temperature"
LambdaMathematics"Greek letter Λ; wavelength or eigenvalue"
LensPhysicsLatin: "lentil-shaped"; light-focusing glass
MesonPhysicsGreek mesos, "middle"; short-lived particle
MuMathematics"Greek letter μ; the mean"
NadirAstronomyArabic nazir, "opposite"; lowest point
NeuronBiologyGreek: "sinew, nerve"; nerve cell
NuMathematics"Greek letter Ν; frequency"
OccultAstronomyLatin: "hidden"; a star hidden behind another
OhmPhysics"after Georg Ohm; unit of resistance"
OsmiumChemistryGreek osme, "smell"; densest metal
ParsecAstronomy"coined from parallax + second; unit of distance"
PetriBiology"after Julius Petri; the culture dish"
PhiMathematics"Greek letter Φ; the golden ratio"
PiMathematics"Greek letter π; ratio of circumference to diameter"
PionPhysics"from pi-meson; subatomic particle"
PrimeMathematicsLatin primus, "first"; indivisible number
PulseMedicineLatin pulsus, "a beating"
QuarkPhysics"coined from Joyce; fundamental particle"
RNABiology"ribonucleic acid; messenger molecule"
ReflexMedicineLatin reflexus, "bent back"
RiboBiology"from ribose sugar; part of ribosome"
SalveMedicineOld English sealf, "healing ointment"
SerumMedicineLatin: "whey, watery fluid"
SigmaMathematics"Greek letter Σ; sum"
SineMathematicsLatin sinus, "curve, bay"
SplintMedicineMiddle Dutch splinte, "flat piece of wood"
SuturaMedicineLatin: "a seam"; surgical thread
SyzygyAstronomyGreek: "yoked together"; sun-earth-moon alignment
ThetaMathematics"Greek letter Θ; often an angle"
TorquePhysicsLatin torquere, "to twist"
UmbraAstronomyLatin: "shadow"; dark core of an eclipse
VenusRoman"Charm/desire"; Roman goddess of love, beauty, and fertility (also a planet)
VialMedicineGreek phiale, "shallow bowl"
VoltPhysics"after Alessandro Volta; unit of potential"
VortexAstronomyLatin: "whirling"; spiralling motion
WattPhysics"after James Watt; unit of power"
WrapMedicineMiddle English: "to enfold"
XiMathematics"Greek letter Ξ; random variable"
ZetaMathematics"Greek letter Ζ; the Riemann zeta function"
ZodiacAstronomyGreek zoidiakos, "circle of animals"
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