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).

Name Origins

Name Origins

Minerals are commonly named based on the following:

Minerals Named after women

Minerals Named for the Same Person

Other Sources of Mineral Name Origins

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