Name Origins
The responsibility of providing mineral names for new species rests with the
author(s) of the original paper (with approval of
the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names (CNMMN) of the International
Mineralogical Association (IMA)).
Minerals are commonly named based on the following:
- Named for the chemical composition or some other physical property (e.g. halotrichite,
batisite, rhodonite).
- Named for reasons that have been lost to antiquity (e.g., ice,
quartz) or from long usage (e.g., cinnabar).
- Named for the locality in which the mineral was first found (e.g., Ilmenite,
andesine).
- Named by applying a prefix to an existing mineral (e.g., meta-, para-,
clino-, ortho-, ferro-, see Ferri-clinoferroholmquistite).
- Named after a prominent scientist or other person, living or dead (e.g., roeblingite,
perovskite).
- Named for mythical creatures or deities (e.g. chabazite,
neptunite, tapiolite).
Minerals Named after women
One of the real anomalies is the absence of minerals named after women. Here
is an incomplete listing of minerals (81) which were named after women (e.g.,
abswurmbachite,
allabogdanite,
andremeyerite,
ankinovichite,
aurivilliusite,
bario-olgite,
benyacarite,
bezsmertnovite,
bonshtedtite,
bornemanite,
brassite,
brodtdorbite,
bussenite,
caichengyunite,
caresite,
carnotite,
cattiite,
chantalite,
charmarite-2H,
charmarite-3T,
christelite,
chursinite,
clairite,
cuprosklodowskite,
curite,
dellaite,
donnayite-(Y),
dugganite,
effenbergerite,
eylettersite,
ferri-ottoliniite,
gaidonnayite,
giniite,
graulichite-(Ce),
gutkovaite-Mn,
henmilite,
horvathite-(Y),
jeanbandyite,
juanitaite,
kimrobinsonite,
kogarkoite,
kostylevite,
kraisslite,
krasnovite,
kuzmenkoite-Mn,
kuzmenkoite-Zn,
labuntsovite-Fe,
labuntsovite-Mg,
labuntsovite-Mn,
larisaite,
laurite,
liandratite,
lindbergite,
lonsdaleite,
malhmoodite,
malinkoite,
manganese-shadlunite,
marialite,
marsturite,
mcnearite,
mitryaevaite,
mozgovaite,
mroseite,
nabokoite,
novgorodovaite,
obertiite,
odintsovite,
olgite,
organovaite-Mn,
organovaite-Zn,
paganoite,
paraschachnerite,
Perlialite,
petrovskaite,
rimkorolgite,
rondorfite,
rosemaryite,
sabinaite,
sakharovaite,
santabarbaraite,
sazykinaite-(Y),
schachnerite,
seelite-1,
seelite-2,
shadlunite,
silvialite,
sklodowskite,
sophiite,
szenicsite,
tatyanaite,
telyushenkoite,
theresemagnanite,
vergasovaite,
weeksite,
winstanleyite,
yakhontovite).
If you know of any more, please send your candidate to
mailto://webmaster@webmineral.com.
Minerals Named for the Same Person
Having a mineral named after a person is a great honor. The following short
list are those people who have more than one completely unrelated mineral named after them.
- Aleksandr Evgenevich Fersman (1883-1945), eminent Russian mineralogist,
geochemist, and gemologist. See Fersmanite
and Fersmite.
- Andor von Semsey (1833-1923), a Hungarian nobleman,
who was also an amateur mineralogist. See Andorite
and Semseyite.
- Arthur Edward Ian Montagu Russell (1878-1964), British mineralogist. See
Arthurite
(co-named with Arthur William Gerald Kingsbury [1906-1968])
and Russellite.
- Brian Harold Mason (1917-), U.S. National Museum, Washington, D.C., USA.
See Brianite and
Stenhuggarite
- Caleb Wroe Wolfe (1908-1980), crystallographer, Boston University.
See Wolfeite and
Wroewolfeite
- Charles Locke Key (1935-), Canton, Connecticut, USA, American mineral dealer.
See Keyite and
Ludlockite
(co-named with F. Ludlow Smith III).
- Clifford Frondel (1907-2002), author of Vol. II and Vol III of Dana's System of Mineralogy,
7th edition. See Cliffordite
and Frondelite.
- Esper Signius Larsen, Jr. (1879-1961), petrologist and Professor of
Geology, Harvard University. See Esperite
and Larsenite.
- Eugen Friedrich Stumpfl. (1931-), Mineralogist, Mining University Leoben, Austria.
See Eugenite
and Stumpflite.
- Gabriel Auguste Daubree (1814-1896),
French mineralogist and geologist. See
Daubreeite and
Daubreelite.
- Gabrielle Hamburger Donnay (1920-1987),
American-Canadian mineralogist, McGill Univeristy. See
Donnayite-(Y)
(co-named with Joseph Desire Hubert Donnay [1902-1994]) and
Gaidonnayite.
- Jons Jacob Berzelius (1779-1848),
Swedish chemist who discovered the element selenium. See
Berzelianite and
Berzeliite.
- Kin-ichi Sakurai (1912-1993), Japanese amateur
mineralogist and collector, coauthor of "Minerals of Japan" 1938. See
Kinichilite and
Sakuraiite.
- Leo Neal Yedlin (1908-1997), micromount mineral collector of
New Haven, Connecticut, USA. See Nealite
and Yedlinite.
- Lorenz Oken (1779-1851), German natural historian, Munich Germany.
See Okenite
and Nekoite (reverse of Oken).
- Marie Curie-Sklodowska (1867-1934), Polish-born French
researcher of radioactive minerals. Discovered the element radium. See
Curite (co-named with her husband, Pierre) and
Sklodowskite.
- Martin Heinrich Klaproth (1743-1817), of Berlin, Germany who
discovered the elements Uranium and Titanium. His name-sake minerals were
Klaprothite of Beudant (Later discredited as Lazulite) and
Klaprothite or Klaprothine of Petersen and Sandberger (Later discredited as a mixture of
Emplectite and
Wittichenite).
- Neil Alden Armstrong, (1930-), American astronaut,
first human being on the moon's surface, Apollo 11 Lunar Mission.
See Armalcolite (co-named with
Edwin E. "Buzz" ALdrin, and Michael COLlins, the other Apollo 11 crew members) and
Armstrongite.
- Pierre Armand Petit Dufrenoy (1792-1857), French mineralogist,
National School of Mines, Paris, France. See
Dufrenite and
Dufrenoysite.
- Pierre Berthier (1782-1861), French geologist. See
Berthierine and
Berthierite.
- Toshio Sudo (1911-), Japanese mineralogist and
crystallographer, University of Tokyo. See
Sudoite and
Tosudite.
- Vyacheslav Gavrilovich Melkov (1911-1991), Russian mineralogist.
See Melkovite and
Vyacheslavite.
- William Fredrick Foshag (1894-1956), mineralogist
and former curator at U. S. National Museum.. See
Foshagite and
Foshallasite
(co-named with the discredited mineral centrallasite [now named gyrolite]).
- Yekaterina Eutikhievna Kostyleva-Labuntsova (1894-1974),
Russian Mineralogist. See
Kostylevite and
Labuntsovite.
(co-named with Aleksander Nikolaevich Labuntsov).
Other Sources of Mineral Name Origins
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