List of elements by symbol

This is a list of chemical elements by symbol, including the current symbols used to identify the chemical elements as recognized by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, as well as proposed and historical symbols. Also given is each element's atomic number, atomic mass or most stable isotope, group and period numbers on the periodic table, and origin of the symbol if not obvious from the current name of the element.

Chemical series of the periodic table

Alkali metals	Alkaline earth metals	Lanthanides	Actinides	Transition metals
Poor metals	Metalloids	Nonmetals	Halogens	Noble gases

Current symbols

Symbol	Name	Origin of Symbol	Atomic Number	Atomic Mass	Group	Period
Ac	Actinium	Greek aktin11	89	[227]		7
Ag	Silver	Latin argentum	47	107.8682(2)	11	5
Al	Aluminium (Aluminum)	alumen	13	26.9815386(8)	13	3
Am	Americium	the Americas	95	[243]		7
Ar	Argon	Greek argon	18	39.948(1)	18	3
As	Arsenic	Greek arsenikos	33	74.92160(2)	15	4
At	Astatine	Greek astatos	85	[210]	17	6
Au	Gold	Latin aurum	79	196.966569(4)	11	6
B	Boron	borax and carbon	5	10.811(7)	13	2
Ba	Barium	Greek barys	56	137.327(7)	2	6
Be	Beryllium	beryl	4	9.012182(3)	2	2
Bh	Bohrium	Niels Bohr	107	[264]	7	7
Bi	Bismuth	corruption of the German wissmuth	83	208.98040(1)	15	6
Bk	Berkelium	Berkeley, California	97	[247]		7
Br	Bromine	Greek bromos	35	79.904(1)	17	4
C	Carbon	carbo	6	12.0107(8)	14	2
Ca	Calcium	calx	20	40.078(4)	2	4
Cd	Cadmium	Greek kadmia	48	112.411(8)	12	5
Ce	Cerium	Ceres	58	140.116(1)		6
Cf	Californium	State and University of California	98	[251]		7
Cl	Chlorine	Greek chloros	17	35.453(2)	17	3
Cm	Curium	Pierre and Marie Curie	96	[247]		7
Co	Cobalt	kobold	27	58.933195(5)	9	4
Cr	Chromium	Greek chroma	24	51.9961(6)	6	4
Cs	Caesium (Cesium)	Latin caesius	55	132.9054519(2)	1	6
Cu	Copper	Latin Cuprum	29	63.546(3)	11	4
Db	Dubnium	Dubna, Russia	105	[262]	5	7
Ds	Darmstadtium	Darmstadt, Germany	110	[271]	10	7
Dy	Dysprosium	Greek dysprositos	66	162.500(1)		6
Er	Erbium	Ytterby, Sweden	68	167.259(3)		6
Es	Einsteinium	Albert Einstein	99	[252]		7
Eu	Europium	Europe	63	151.964(1)		6
F	Fluorine	Latin fluo	9	18.9984032(5)	17	2
Fe	Iron	Latin ferrum	26	55.845(2)	8	4
Fm	Fermium	Enrico Fermi	100	[257]		7
Fr	Francium	France	87	[223]	1	7
Ga	Gallium	Latin Gallia	31	69.723(1)	13	4
Gd	Gadolinium	gadolinite	64	157.25(3)		6
Ge	Germanium	Germany	32	72.64(1)	14	4
H	Hydrogen	Greek hydror and gen	1	1.00794(7)	1	1
He	Helium	Greek helios	2	4.002602(2)	18	1
Hf	Hafnium	Latin Hafnia	72	178.49(2)	4	6
Hg	Mercury	Latin hydr'argyrum	80	200.59(2)	12	6
Ho	Holmium	Latin Holmia	67	164.930 32(2)		6
Hs	Hassium	Hesse, Germany	108	[277]	8	7
I	Iodine	Greek ioeides	53	126.904 47(3)	17	5
In	Indium	indigo blue	49	114.818(3)	13	5
Ir	Iridium	Greek iris	77	192.217(3)	9	6
K	Potassium (Kalium)	Latin kalium	19	39.0983(1)	1	4
Kr	Krypton	Greek kryptos	36	83.798(2)	18	4
La	Lanthanum	lanthanien	57	138.90547(7)		6
Li	Lithium	Greek lithos	3	6.941(2)	1	2
Lr	Lawrencium	Ernest O. Lawrence	103	[262]	3	7
Lu	Lutetium	Latin Lutetia	71	174.967(1)	3	6
Md	Mendelevium	Dmitri Mendeleyev	101	[258]		7
Mg	Magnesium	Magnesia, Greece	12	24.3050(6)	2	3
Mn	Manganese	Latin magnes	25	54.938045(5)	7	4
Mo	Molybdenum	Greek molybdos	42	95.94(2)	6	5
Mt	Meitnerium	Lise Meitner	109	[268]	9	7
N	Nitrogen	Greek nitron and gen	7	14.0067(2)	15	2
Na	Sodium	Latin natrium	11	22.98976928(2)	1	3
Nb	Niobium	Niobe	41	92.906 38(2)	5	5
Nd	Neodymium	Greek neos didymos	60	144.242(3)		6
Ne	Neon	Greek neos	10	20.1797(6)	18	2
Ni	Nickel	German kupfernickel	28	58.6934(2)	10	4
No	Nobelium	Alfred Nobel	102	[259]		7
Np	Neptunium	Neptune	93	[237]		7
O	Oxygen	Greek oxys and gen	8	15.9994(3)	16	2
Os	Osmium	osme	76	190.23(3)	8	6
P	Phosphorus	Greek phos'phoros	15	30.973762(2)	15	3
Pa	Protactinium	Greek protos and actinium	91	231.03588(2)		7
Pb	Lead	Latin plumbum	82	207.2(1)	14	6
Pd	Palladium	Pallas	46	106.42(1)	10	5
Pm	Promethium	Prometheus	61	[145]		6
Po	Polonium	Poland	84	[210]	16	6
Pr	Praseodymium	Greek prasios didymos	59	140.90765(2)		6
Pt	Platinum	Greek plat'ina	78	195.084(9)	10	6
Pu	Plutonium	Pluto	94	[244]		7
Ra	Radium	Greek radius	88	[226]	2	7
Rb	Rubidium	Latin rubidus	37	85.4678(3)	1	5
Re	Rhenium	Rhine Province	75	186.207(1)	7	6
Rf	Rutherfordium	Ernest Rutherford	104	261	4	7
Rg	Roentgenium	Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen	111	[272]	11	7
Rh	Rhodium	Greek rhodon	45	102.905 50(2)	9	5
Rn	Radon	radium	86	[220]	18	6
Ru	Ruthenium	Latin Ruthenia	44	101.07(2)	8	5
S	Sulfur (Sulphur)	sulfur	16	32.065(5)	16	3
Sb	Antimony	Latin stibium	51	121.760(1)	15	5
Sc	Scandium	Scandinavia	21	44.955912(6)	3	4
Se	Selenium	Greek selene	34	78.96(3)	16	4
Sg	Seaborgium	Glenn T. Seaborg	106	[266]	6	7
Si	Silicon	Latin silex	14	28.0855(3)	14	3
Sm	Samarium	samarskite	62	150.36(2)		6
Sn	Tin	Latin stannum	50	118.710(7)	14	5
Sr	Strontium	Latin Strontian	38	87.62(1)	2	5
Ta	Tantalum	King Tantalus	73	180.94788(2)	5	6
Tb	Terbium	Ytterby, Sweden	65	158.92535(2)		6
Tc	Technetium	Greek technetos	43	[98]	7	5
Te	Tellurium	Greek tellus	52	127.60(3)	16	5
Th	Thorium	Thor	90	232.03806(2)		7
Ti	Titanium	the Titans	22	47.867(1)	4	4
Tl	Thallium	Greek thallos	81	204.3833(2)	13	6
Tm	Thulium	Thule	69	168.93421(2)		6
U	Uranium	Uranus	92	238.02891(3)		7
Uub	Ununbium	Latin uni and bi	112	[285]	12	7
Uuh	Ununhexium	Latin uni and Greek hex	116	[292]	16	7
Uuo	Ununoctium	Latin uni and oct	118	[294]	18	7
Uup	Ununpentium	Latin uni and Greek pent	115	[288]	15	7
Uuq	Ununquadium	Latin uni and quadr	114	[289]	14	7
Uut	Ununtrium	Latin uni and Greek tri	113	[284]	13	7
V	Vanadium	Vanadis	23	50.9415(1)	5	4
W	Tungsten	German wolfram	74	183.84(1)	6	6
Xe	Xenon	Greek xenos	54	131.293(6)	18	5
Y	Yttrium	Ytterby, Sweden	39	88.90585(2)	3	5
Yb	Ytterbium	Ytterby, Sweden	70	173.04(3)		6
Zn	Zinc	German zin	30	65.409(4)	12	4
	Zirconium	zircon	40	91.224(2)	4	5

Chemical series of the periodic table

Alkali metals	Alkaline earth metals	Lanthanides	Actinides	Transition metals
Poor metals	Metalloids	Nonmetals	Halogens	Noble gases

Symbols not currently used

Chemical Symbol	Name	Atomic Number	Why Not Used	Source
A	Argon	18	Current symbol is Ar.
Ab	Alabamine	85	Discredited claim to discovery of astatine.
Am	Alabamium	85	Discredited claim to discovery of astatine.
An	Actinon	86	Name given at one time to an isotope of radon identified in the decay chain of actinium.
An	Athenium	99	Proposed name for einsteinium.
Ao	Ausonium	93	Discredited claim to discovery of neptunium.
Az	Azote	7	Former name for nitrogen.
Bv	Brevium	91	Former name for protactinium.
Bz	Berzelium	59	Suggested name for praseodymium.
Cb	Columbium	41	Former name of niobium.
Cb	Columbium	95	Suggested name for americium.
Cp	Cassiopeium	71	Former name for lutetium.
Ct	Centurium	100	Proposed name for fermium.
Ct	Celtium	72	Former name of hafnium.
Da	Danubium	43	Suggested name for technetium.
Db	Dubnium	104	Proposed name for rutherfordium. The symbol and name were used for element 105.
Di	Didymium	-	Rare earth metal that proved to be a mixture of the elements praseodymium and neodymium.
Dp	Decipium	-	Rare earth metal that proved to be a mixture of the elements samarium, neodymium and praseodymium.
Eb	Ekaboron	21	Name given by Mendeleev to an as of then undiscovered element. When discovered, scandium closely matched the prediction.
El	Ekaaluminium	31	Name given by Mendeleev to an as of then undiscovered element. When discovered, gallium closely matched the prediction.
Em	Ekamangan	43	Name given by Mendeleev to an as of then undiscovered element. When discovered, technetium closely matched the prediction.
Es	Ekasilicon	32	Name given by Mendeleev to an as of then undiscovered element. When discovered, germanium closely matched the prediction.
Es	Esperium	94	Discredited claim to discovery of plutonium.
Fa	Francium	87	Current symbol is Fr.
Fr	Florentium	61	Discredited claim to discovery of promethium.
Gl	Glucinium	4	Former name of beryllium.
Ha	Hahnium	105	Proposed name for dubnium.
Ha	Hahnium	108	Proposed name for hassium.
Il	Illinium	61	Discredited claim to discovery of promethium.
Io	Ionium	90	Name given at one time to an isotope of thorium identified in the decay chain of uranium.
J	Iodine	53	In some languages, the name for iodine begins with J instead of I.
Jg	Jargonium	72	Discredited claim to discovery of hafnium.
Jo	Joliotium	105	Proposed name for dubnium.
Ku	Kurchatovium	104	Proposed name for rutherfordium.
Lw	Lawrencium	103	Current symbol is Lr.
M	Muriaticum	17	Former name of chlorine.
Ma	Masurium	43	Disputed claim to discovery of technetium.
Md	Mendelevium	97	Proposed name for berkelium. The symbol and name were later used for element 101.
Me	Mendelevium	68	Suggested name for erbium.
Ms	Masrium	49	Discredited claim of discovery of indium.
Mt	Meitnium	91	Suggested name for protactinium.
Mv	Mendelevium	101	Current symbol is Md.
Ng	Norwegium	72	Discredited claim to discovery of hafnium.
Ni	Niton	86	Former name for radon.
No	Norium	72	Discredited claim to discovery of hafnium.
Ns	umair khan	105	Proposed name for dubnium.
Ns	Nielsbohrium	107	Proposed name for bohrium.
Nt	Niton	86	Suggested name for radon.
Nw	Newtonium	67	Suggested name for holmium.
Ny	Neoytterbium	70	Former name of ytterbium.
Od	Odinium	62	Suggested name for samarium.
Pc	Policium	110	Proposed name for darmstadtium.
Pe	Pelopium	41	Former name for niobium.
Po	Potassium	19	Current symbol is K.
Pp	Philippium	-	Rare earth metal that proved to be a mixture of the elements holmium and samarium.
Rf	Rutherfordium	106	Proposed name for seaborgium. The symbol and name were instead used for element 104.
Sa	Samarium	62	Current symbol is Sm.
So	Sodium	11	Current symbol is Na.
Sp	Spectrium	70	Suggested name for ytterbium.
St	Antimony	51	Current symbol is Sb.
Tn	Thoron	86	Name given at one time to an isotope of radon identified in the decay chain of thorium.
Tn	Tungsten	74	Current symbol is W.
Tu	Thulium	69	Current symbol is Tm.
Tu	Tungsten	74	Current symbol is W.
Ty	Tyrium	60	Suggested name for neodymium.
Unb	Unnilbium	102	Temporary name given to nobelium until that permanent name was chosen.
Une	Unnilennium	109	Temporary name given to meitnerium until that permanent name was chosen.
Unh	Unnilhexium	106	Temporary name given to seaborgium until that permanent name was chosen.
Uno	Unniloctium	108	Temporary name given to hassium until that permanent name was chosen.
Unp	Unnilpentium	105	Temporary name given to dubnium until that permanent name was chosen.
Unq	Unnilquadium	104	Temporary name given to rutherfordium until that permanent name was chosen.
Uns	Unnilseptium	107	Temporary name given to bohrium until that permanent name was chosen.
Unt	Unniltrium	103	Temporary name given to lawrencium until that permanent name was chosen.
Unu	Unnilunium	101	Temporary name given to mendelevium until that permanent name was chosen.
Uun	Ununnilium	110	Temporary name given to darmstadtium until that permanent name was chosen.
Uuu	Unununium	111	Temporary name given to roentgenium until that permanent name was chosen.
Vi	Virginium	87	Discredited claim to discovery of francium.
Vm	Virginium	87	Discredited claim to discovery of francium.
Yt	Yttrium	39	Current symbol is Y.

The meaning of symbols in Why Not Used

Other symbols that look like element symbols

• Ab: albite
• Ac: acetate (also used for the element actinium: see above)
• Bn: benzyl
• Bz: benzoyl; berzelium (an old suggested name for praseodymium).
• Et: ethyl
• Me: methyl; any metal atom
• Ph: phenyl
• Pr: propyl (also used for the element praseodymium: see above)
• R: some unspecified element or radical

References

• Element name etymologies. Retrieved July 15, 2005.
• Atomic Weights of the Elements 2001, Pure Appl. Chem. 75(8), 1107-1122, 2003. Retrieved June 30, 2005. Atomic weights of elements with atomic numbers from 1-109 taken from this source.
• IUPAC Standard Atomic Weights Revised (2005).
• WebElements Periodic Table. Retrieved June 30, 2005. Atomic weights of elements with atomic numbers 110-116 taken from this source.

External links

• Berzelius’ List of Elements
• History of IUPAC Atomic Weight Values (1883 to 1997)

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at List of elements by symbol. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Chemistry, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.