Unusual chemical symbols in English
Most chemical symbols look like a reasonable short form of the chemical element’s name in English – for example, C for carbon or Mg for magnesium. But there are 11 elements where the symbol doesn’t resemble the English name.
| Atomic number | Symbol | Foreign name | Language of foreign name | English name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Na | Natrium | Latin | Sodium |
| 19 | K | Kalium | Latin | Potassium |
| 26 | Fe | Ferrum | Latin | Iron |
| 29 | Cu | Cuprum | Latin | Copper |
| 47 | Ag | Argentum | Latin | Silver |
| 50 | Sn | Stannum | Latin | Tin |
| 51 | Sb | Stibium | Latin | Antimony |
| 74 | W | Wolfram | German | Tungsten |
| 79 | Au | Aurum | Latin | Gold |
| 80 | Hg | Hydrargyrum | Greek | Mercury |
| 82 | Pb | Plumbum | Latin | Lead |
Note: The English names of many other chemical elements are originally from Latin or Greek, but they do correspond with the chemical symbol. In other languages (e.g. French), there is a different set of elements where the symbol doesn’t correspond with the name in that language.