List of chemical symbols

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List of chemical symbols

Most chemical elements are represented symbolically by two letters, generally the first two in their name. In some cases, the first letter together with some other letter from their name was used, particularly when their first two letters had already been allocated to another element. A very few elements have symbols which appear to have no relationship with their names. In those cases, the origin of the symbol used is given.

Visit Bodycote’s new Interactive Periodic Table to view this information and more graphically.

Chemical symbol	Name of Element	Atomic N^o	Origin of Symbol
Ac	Actinium	89
Ag	Silver	47	From the Latin Argentum which originally meant shining metal
Al	Aluminium	13
Am	Americium	95
Ar	Argon	18
As	Arsenic	33
At	Astatine	85
Au	Gold	79	From the Latin Aurum which originally meant yellow
B	Boron	5
Ba	Barium	56
Be	Beryllium	4
Bh	Bhorium	107
Bi	Bismuth	83
Bk	Berkelium	97
Br	Bromine	35
C	Carbon	6
Ca	Calcium	20
Cd	Cadmium	48
Ce	Cerium	58
Cf	Californium	98
Cl	Chlorine	17
Cm	Curium	96
Co	Cobalt	27
Cr	Chromium	24
Cs	Caesium	55
Cu	Copper	29	From *Cuprum*, the Latin name for Cyprus, the Roman source of copper
Ds	Darmstadtium	110
Db	Dubnium	105
Dy	Dysprosium	66
Er	Erbium	68
Es	Einsteinium	99
Eu	Europium	63
F	Fluorine	9
Fe	Iron	26	From *Ferrum*, the Latin name for iron
Fm	Fermium	100
Fr	Francium	87
Ga	Gallium	31
Gd	Gadolinium	64
Ge	Germanium	32
H	Hydrogen	1
He	Helium	2
Hf	Hafnium	72
Hg	Mercury	80	From the Latin Hydragyrummeaning liquid silver
Ho	Holmium	67
Hs	Hassium	108
I	Iodine	53
In	Indium	49
Ir	Iridium	77
K	Potassium	19	From the Latin Kaliummeaning alkali
Kr	Krypton	36
La	Lanthanum	57
Li	Lithium	3
Lr	Lawrencium	103
Lu	Lutetium	71
Md	Mendelevium	101
Mg	Magnesium	12
Mn	Manganese	25
Mo	Molybdenum	42
Mt	Meitnerium	109
N	Nitrogen	7
Na	Sodium	11	From *Natrium*, the Latin namefor sodium carbonate
Nb	Niobium	41
Nd	Neodymium	60
Ne	Neon	10
Ni	Nickel	28
No	Nobelium	102
Np	Neptunium	93
O	Oxygen	8
Os	Osmium	76
P	Phosphorus	15
Pa	Protactinium	91
Pb	Lead	82	From the Latin Plumbummeaning soft white metal
Pd	Palladium	46
Pm	Promethium	61
Po	Polonium	84
Pr	Praseodymium	59
Pt	Platinum	78
Pu	Plutonium	94
Ra	Radium	88
Rb	Rubidium	37
Re	Rhenium	75
Rf	Rutherfordium	104
Rg	Roentgenium	111
Rh	Rhodium	45
Rn	Radon	86
Ru	Ruthenium	44
S	Sulphur	16
Sb	Antimony	51	From the Latin Stibiummeaning cosmetic powder
Sc	Scandium	21
Se	Selenium	34
Sg	Seaborgium	106
Si	Silicon	14
Sm	Samarium	62
Sn	Tin	50	From *Stannum*, the Latin word for tin
Sr	Strontium	38
Ta	Tantalum	73
Tb	Terbium	65
Tc	Technetium	43
Te	Tellurium	52
Th	Thorium	90
Ti	Titanium	22
Tl	Thallium	81
Tm	Thulium	69
U	Uranium	92
V	Vanadium	23
W	Tungsten	74	From *Wolfram*, an old name for the element derived from its ore, Wolframite
Xe	Xenon	54
Y	Yttrium	39
Yb	Ytterbium	70
Zn	Zinc	30
Zr	Zirconium	40

List of chemical symbols

Visit Bodycote’s new Interactive Periodic Table to view this information and more graphically.

Chemical symbol	Name of Element	Atomic N^o	Origin of Symbol
Ac	Actinium	89
Ag	Silver	47	From the Latin Argentum which originally meant shining metal
Al	Aluminium	13
Am	Americium	95
Ar	Argon	18
As	Arsenic	33
At	Astatine	85
Au	Gold	79	From the Latin Aurum which originally meant yellow
B	Boron	5
Ba	Barium	56
Be	Beryllium	4
Bh	Bhorium	107
Bi	Bismuth	83
Bk	Berkelium	97
Br	Bromine	35
C	Carbon	6
Ca	Calcium	20
Cd	Cadmium	48
Ce	Cerium	58
Cf	Californium	98
Cl	Chlorine	17
Cm	Curium	96
Co	Cobalt	27
Cr	Chromium	24
Cs	Caesium	55
Cu	Copper	29	From *Cuprum*, the Latin name for Cyprus, the Roman source of copper
Ds	Darmstadtium	110
Db	Dubnium	105
Dy	Dysprosium	66
Er	Erbium	68
Es	Einsteinium	99
Eu	Europium	63
F	Fluorine	9
Fe	Iron	26	From *Ferrum*, the Latin name for iron
Fm	Fermium	100
Fr	Francium	87
Ga	Gallium	31
Gd	Gadolinium	64
Ge	Germanium	32
H	Hydrogen	1
He	Helium	2
Hf	Hafnium	72
Hg	Mercury	80	From the Latin Hydragyrummeaning liquid silver
Ho	Holmium	67
Hs	Hassium	108
I	Iodine	53
In	Indium	49
Ir	Iridium	77
K	Potassium	19	From the Latin Kaliummeaning alkali
Kr	Krypton	36
La	Lanthanum	57
Li	Lithium	3
Lr	Lawrencium	103
Lu	Lutetium	71
Md	Mendelevium	101
Mg	Magnesium	12
Mn	Manganese	25
Mo	Molybdenum	42
Mt	Meitnerium	109
N	Nitrogen	7
Na	Sodium	11	From *Natrium*, the Latin namefor sodium carbonate
Nb	Niobium	41
Nd	Neodymium	60
Ne	Neon	10
Ni	Nickel	28
No	Nobelium	102
Np	Neptunium	93
O	Oxygen	8
Os	Osmium	76
P	Phosphorus	15
Pa	Protactinium	91
Pb	Lead	82	From the Latin Plumbummeaning soft white metal
Pd	Palladium	46
Pm	Promethium	61
Po	Polonium	84
Pr	Praseodymium	59
Pt	Platinum	78
Pu	Plutonium	94
Ra	Radium	88
Rb	Rubidium	37
Re	Rhenium	75
Rf	Rutherfordium	104
Rg	Roentgenium	111
Rh	Rhodium	45
Rn	Radon	86
Ru	Ruthenium	44
S	Sulphur	16
Sb	Antimony	51	From the Latin Stibiummeaning cosmetic powder
Sc	Scandium	21
Se	Selenium	34
Sg	Seaborgium	106
Si	Silicon	14
Sm	Samarium	62
Sn	Tin	50	From *Stannum*, the Latin word for tin
Sr	Strontium	38
Ta	Tantalum	73
Tb	Terbium	65
Tc	Technetium	43
Te	Tellurium	52
Th	Thorium	90
Ti	Titanium	22
Tl	Thallium	81
Tm	Thulium	69
U	Uranium	92
V	Vanadium	23
W	Tungsten	74	From *Wolfram*, an old name for the element derived from its ore, Wolframite
Xe	Xenon	54
Y	Yttrium	39
Yb	Ytterbium	70
Zn	Zinc	30
Zr	Zirconium	40