How did the planets get named?

Answer 1

The planets that are visible without a telescope (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) were named in ancient times. The others were named as they were discovered by satelites.

Mercury was named after Mercury, the mythical Roman winged messenger and escort of dead souls to the underworld. It was named for the speedy Mercury because it is the fastest-moving planet. Venus was named after the Roman goddess of love. Mars was named after the Roman god of war. Jupiter was named after the Roman primary god, Jupiter. Saturn was named for the Roman god of agriculture.

Uranus was originally named in 1781 by the British astronomer William Herschel - he called it Georgium Sidus (meaning "the Georgian planet") to honor the King George III of England. The name was later changed to Uranus, the ancient mythological god of the sky, Ouranos. The name Uranus was suggested by the German astronomer Johann Elert Bode. Neptune was named after the mythical Roman god of the seas. Pluto was named after the Roman god of the underworld, Pluto. Its symbol is the combined letters "P" and "L," either for Percival Lowell or for Pluto. The name Pluto was suggested by Venetia Burney of England, who was 11 years old at the time. She suggested the name to her grandfather, who was Librarian at Oxford. He passed her idea to the astronomers who were trying to name the newly-discovered planet.

Answer 2

There may have been some logic to the assignment of Roman gods to the known planets of their day.

Mercury is very elusive. It switches rapidly between being a morning and an evening star so the fleet messenger of the gods was a good fit.

Venus was the goddess of beauty and the planet Venus being the brightest object in the sky after the sun and moon is also one of the most beautiful sky objects.

The planet Mars has a distinct reddish color which may reminded the Romans of blood and therefore their god of war.

Jupiter is the brightest planet after Venus and was thus a good candidate for association with the king of the gods. That it turned out to be the largest planet was a happy coincidence

In mythology, Saturn was the father of Jupiter, so the next planet out was a good candidate for that name.

As for the planets discovered in recent times:

Uranus was the father of Saturn so modern astronomers were just continuing the sequence.

Neptune is very blue. Whether or not the astronomers who discovered it could detect its color, it is appropriate for the god of the sea.

Pluto apart from its first two letters matching the initials of Percival Lowell who built the observatory where the planet was discovered is very dark being so far from the sun and thus the god of the dark underworld is a good match.

It is also worth remembering that before the Roman names became standard, different cultures around the world had their own names for the planets. Association with gods was a common method in many of these cultures but not all.

Answer 3

Most of the planet names are after Roman gods, with the exception of Uranus, who was the Greek God of the sky.
This is a great link that goes into the meaning of the names of the planets and all their moons.
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0875452.html

Who actually did the naming is an interesting tale... The Roman's started it with the five planets visible to the human eye, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

While these planets had been known since ancient times, and would have had many different local names, it is a legacy of the power of the roman empire that the names they decided were the ones that previaled through history.

As the outer planets were discovered, the pattern was continued by individual discovers (with the exception of Uranus as discussed above).

So who's in charge of naming solar system objects that are discovered now? Since its organization in 1919, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) has been in charge of naming all celestial objects. When an astronomer discovers an object, or wants to name a surface feature, they can submit a suggestion to the IAU, and the IAU either approves it or suggests a different name. Since we don't think there are any undiscovered planets, the IAU focuses on the naming of moons, surface features, asteroids, and comets and has websites about naming conventions for each.

Refer to this link for more...
http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=372

Although the Roman names for the planets are standard in science, other languages do have different names for planets. A good list is at...
http://www.seds.org/billa/tnp/days.html

Answer 4

Ancient Greeks believed the planets that were visible in the sky were the gods. Each planet represented a different god, the names have been carried on to the present.

Answer 5

the origen of the names of the visible planets go deep into antiquity maybe even off the planet
they have always been there as far as we are concerned
i think the guys in Atlantis already had the names for them
and Thoth 36.000 years ago

Answer 6

after the gods/ goddesses of either Greece or Rome.