Most symbols for elements on the periodic table are easy to learn, such as those for carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen: C, O, and N. There are eleven “oddballs,” though, because their symbols originated in other languages (Latin, mostly), and do not match their English names. Here’s a list of them, by atomic number, with an explanation for each.
11. Na stands for sodium because this element used to be called natrium.
19. K stands for potassium, for this element’s name used to be kalium.
26. Fe stands for iron because this element was formerly named ferrum.
29. Cu stands for copper because it used to be called cuprum.
47. Ag’s (silver’s) old name was argentum.
50. Sn’s (tin’s) name used to be stannum.
51. Antimony’s symbol, Sb, came from its former name, stibium.
74. Tungsten, with the symbol W, was once called wolfram. In some parts of the world, it still goes by that name, in fact.
79. Gold (Au) was called aurum in past centuries.
80. Mercury’s (Hg’s) old name is impossible (for me, anyway) to say five times, quickly: hydrargyrum.
82. Lead (Pb) was once called plumbum because plumbers used it to weight the lower end of plumb-lines.
I think learning things is easier, with longer retention, if one knows the reasons behind the facts, rather than simply attempting rote memorization.
RobertLovesPi.net 
79 gold is oro in Spanish
82 lead – the latin name for lead is plumbum. Plumbers are called plumbers because they used to work with lead pipes and the plumb line has a lead (plumbum) weight at the bottom.
I lost interest in Chemistry when it became apparent that the periodic table did not show the regularity that I hoped it would.
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Antimony (Sb), #51, is another oddball.
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Thanks — I’ll fix that right away!
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“I think learning things is easier if one knows the reasons behind the facts, rather than simply attempting rote memorization.” this is true of everything, not just the periodic table
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I agree.
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I am reasonably sure that the name plumbum predates people being called plumbers and things like plumb lines and that their names are due to the use of plumbum
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You may be right. I claim no special knowledge on this. Then again, that’s far enough back (ancient Rome) that we may never know, with certainty.
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My apologies for poor punctuation in my previous post.
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Just like with “Wolfram”, “Natrium” and “Kalium” are the names still used in german.
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Wow, I knew some German without realizing it!
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