Three of the new elements are named after the places where they were discovered. Element 113’s name, nihonium (Nh), comes from Nihon, a Japanese word for Japan. Element 115, or moscovium (Mc), is named for Moscow, Russia. Element 117, tennessine (Ts), is named after Tennessee. The fourth element, 118 or oganesson (Og), is named after Yuri Oganessian, a Russian nuclear physicist who helped discover it.
Even though the names are up to the discoverers, IUPAC was flooded with suggestions from the public, says Lynn Soby, the organization’s executive director. “It was great to see so many people around the world getting excited about chemistry,” she says.