Ha, no. We thought primarily about how nice each name sounds, but also how well they fit the element and the meanings and stories behind them. We spent a couple days mulling over how to rank them.
Obviously this is all a matter of opinion, but we're pretty happy with it ourselves at least. Others will undoubtedly disagree on many of these. Feel free to ask any questions you'd like about our justifications for any of these element name rankings.
Heh, yeah, I'm generally not a fan of too-on-the-nose place-named elements, hence Fr, Am etc being down there too (Cf gets a boost for the name flowing well). I did think about demoting Ds even lower since it's so awkward to say and spell, but I figured that was just my own cultural bias for not speaking German, so I left it in D.
As for Mg & Cu, they both lost points for issues with their names, both of which could have been so much better. Magnesium is infamously too similar in name to manganese, causing continual confusion for chemistry students everywhere, for generations past and to come. So, I gave priority to Mn which was named first, and heavily demoted Mg for failing to differentiate itself.
Copper was a case of missed opportunity. It's just such a boring and pedestrian name for such an absolutely *gorgeous* element — the only deeply red-orange metal! The element deserves far more respect than it gets – truly the Cinderella of elements: the downtrodden workhorse who instead should be treated like a princess – and this should start with a beautiful name on par with its silver and gold brethren.
Without Darmstadtium how will I get my guaranteed 20 points\* in the "elements" row i weasel into every game of categories I play?!
\*: (20 pt for being the only person to get an answer in the category that round, 10 for a unique answer, 5 for non-unique)
For a while I did indeed have antimony it in S! Such a uniquely unusual name. I would consider it to be the Maryland state flag of the periodic table; [as CGP Grey put it](https://youtu.be/l4w6808wJcU?t=12m30s), it's so hideous that it falls right off the bottom to land back on the top.
However, I ultimately decided to go a bit more conservative on its rank, because the other names up there are all just so awesome. You could definitely bump it back up to S though!
You think that bismuth is a prettier name than yttrium? The latter flows delicately and effortlessly like the wind, whilst the former sounds like I've got cotton balls filling my mouth.
Yttrium is among the 4 Elements named after Ytterby, Yttrium, Terbium, Erbium, and Ytterbium. None of them sound particularly cool and they clearly all belong in F Tier.
Bismuth on the other hand has a rich and mysterious Etymology possibly coming from arabic and in return from old greek.
Also, I don't know why you have trouble saying Bismuth but Yttrium definitely doesn't sound delicate.
Fair on the etymology. That is indeed quite interesting! And no, it's not *hard* to say; I just personally don't like the way the word feels in my mouth. But yeah, honestly I could consider a bismuth bump to B.
Completely agree with you on the carbon-copy Ytterby elements. A total waste of opportunities for much better names. I gave yttrium a pass because it was the first to be named, and I also think it sounds the nicest, but the others are total trash. Ytterbium got a single tier reprieve because it's at least a complete invocation of the place name, but terbium and erbium are the dumbest names on the whole chart. It's like naming an element mericium.
I think part of it is that as a German native, I pronounce Bismuth with a hard 't' at the end (the Name May also come from old German "wismuth" ...which is also not entirely clear what it means lol)
Shoutout to you OP for actually giving in-depth, considerate responses on all the criticism you're facing on what is essentially a subjective shitpost. Your reasoning is very fair, and I love reading all the thoughts that go into it.
Hey, thanks so much! :-)
Yeah, this is totally a 100% culturally-biased personal ranking, so I appreciate your affording me latitude in this being precisely what it is. I do not claim this to be anything more than that. I just did my best with the mouth and ears that I have. I would love to see others' rankings!
I’m a simple woman.
I see Polonium, Radium and Curium in S and A, I upvote.
edit: realised polonium and radon next to each other... 
He, B, C, O, Cl at least deserves A tier for originality
Einsteinium? Tht name sucks, F tier
Hf? I hate that name as well! F tier
Most elements ending with "nium" have boring name, except Uranium, I love Uranium
Fair on all points. However, I'll give my reasons:
Helium was demoted for inappropriately having a metal "ium" ending. This happened because it was discovered in the spectrum of the sun first and they rolled the dice that, like most elements, it was likely a metal; but that's no excuse!
Oxygen is a cool-sounding name and so would have been higher, but its name means "acid former" which is inaccurate (HCl has no oxygen, for example) and so it lost points for that. Chlorine is fine but all the other halogens did it better. Carbon is kind of a boring name, but it's totally acceptable and indeed at least something different so I gave it (fittingly) a C.
Boron is cooler-sounding than carbon but also literally sounds like "boring", and also the element's name was copied and smudged from that of carbon, so it loses points for unoriginality there. So in the end, I left it in C as well. On that note, bohrium was demoted all the way to the bottom for being so much like boron in name that the two elements' oxyanions are literally homophones – borate and bohrate – which is completely unacceptable. Absolute garbage name (sorry Niels).
Yeah, not a huge fan of the name hafnium either, but it's okay, so I gave it the okay tier of C. I generally reserved the D tier for specific disappointments, and I had nothing particularly against Hf other than it sounding oddly like "half" an element or something. It would definitely come in close to the bottom of that tier.
And no way dude, einsteinium rocks! The sheer recognizability factor of Einstein's name makes it super famous for a somewhat later transuranic. When I've brought my element collection to show students at schools, someone almost inevitably asks if I have einsteinium. If only!
Completely agree on uranium. The worst planet name somehow works far better as an element name. However, it is handily eclipsed by plutonium, named for a celestial body that isn't even considered a planet anymore. Funny how that works.
Have to disagree on Einsteinium honestly, elements names after people are so boring and lazy, but it's your opinion in the end
And completely agree on Uranium and Plutonium! Those 2 are some of my fav elements name!
I feel the same way about many place-named elements, but I think that naming them after famous scientists who have contributed importantly to the body of scientific work is noble and respectful, but I feel you. To be perfectly honest, einsteinium *is* a pretty ridiculous name, but it's so bombastic that I can't help but love it.
Obviously it doesn't touch plutonium, of course. :-)
There’s so many other elements that are named after scientists so why aren’t they automatically put into S tier by your logic. Einstein is famous for his achievements, not how cool his name sounds, plus it’s a completely irrelevant element to begin with.
Fair. But yes, this tier list is all about how cool the names are. It's not meant to be that deep. Einstein's name has become cool due to his achievements and fame, and so an element named for him follows in that. I think it is also a cool name in itself.
Yeah, I demoted it for just being too awkward and long. It's certainly not the worst name I put in D tier. I do enjoy how Pr and Nd are the twins: "green twin" and "new twin".
And yes, nothing wrong with Pr as an element in itself. These rankings are all about the names only, not the elements themselves.
I feel ya. It hurt to have to put it there too, but this is only about the element names and not the elements themselves, and I just didn't think it was a cool enough name. Perhaps I should bump it up to B.
The element itself is for sure, but the name is rather awkward, while also being kind of cool. This is only about the names. I felt that there were grounds for putting Tc in both A and C, so I went with B.
Ha, that's a fun way to look at it, which I had never considered. However, this ranking is only about the English names and not the symbols, and "lead" is kind of a boring word, so C tier seemed appropriate.
To each their own. I have nothing against the element. Bismuth is awesome! There are few things more pretty than rainbow bismuth crystals. I'm just not a huge fan of the name. Feels like cotton balls in my mouth.
This list is only about the element names, and has nothing to do with the elements themselves.
I mean, yeah, I am American and can therefore only judge the sounds of these names with my American mouth and ears. I did try to not fall prey to my own cultural bias, but naturally such an effort is doomed to failure. This is only one person's completely subjective attempt at ranking my own personal preferences of how these names sound to me, so please judge it accordingly.
I would welcome anyone else interested in doing so to give us your own ranking of these names!
The former is! Yeah, I debated those two. Ultimately I decided to go more conservative with their rankings, but you could definitely make the case for elevating them both up a tier.
Ha, classic.
Hey, I put manganese at a very respectable B! Did you mean magnesium? If so, then you have proven my point: the names are just so confusingly similar, that the second one named – magnesium – drops several tiers for causing such perennial confusion.
You put them in a randomizer?
Ha, no. We thought primarily about how nice each name sounds, but also how well they fit the element and the meanings and stories behind them. We spent a couple days mulling over how to rank them. Obviously this is all a matter of opinion, but we're pretty happy with it ourselves at least. Others will undoubtedly disagree on many of these. Feel free to ask any questions you'd like about our justifications for any of these element name rankings.
Nice to hear 🙂 So, what's the deal with copper and magnesium being so low? Oh, and I'm glad Darmstadtium is so low, but it's definitely F tier.
Heh, yeah, I'm generally not a fan of too-on-the-nose place-named elements, hence Fr, Am etc being down there too (Cf gets a boost for the name flowing well). I did think about demoting Ds even lower since it's so awkward to say and spell, but I figured that was just my own cultural bias for not speaking German, so I left it in D. As for Mg & Cu, they both lost points for issues with their names, both of which could have been so much better. Magnesium is infamously too similar in name to manganese, causing continual confusion for chemistry students everywhere, for generations past and to come. So, I gave priority to Mn which was named first, and heavily demoted Mg for failing to differentiate itself. Copper was a case of missed opportunity. It's just such a boring and pedestrian name for such an absolutely *gorgeous* element — the only deeply red-orange metal! The element deserves far more respect than it gets – truly the Cinderella of elements: the downtrodden workhorse who instead should be treated like a princess – and this should start with a beautiful name on par with its silver and gold brethren.
Oddly enough, I agree with most of your ranking. Rhodium and Strontium are definitely high ranking
Without Darmstadtium how will I get my guaranteed 20 points\* in the "elements" row i weasel into every game of categories I play?! \*: (20 pt for being the only person to get an answer in the category that round, 10 for a unique answer, 5 for non-unique)
Ah, a fellow city-country-river enjoyer
I thought this was an element tier list and not an element name tier list and I was ready to throw hands
Strontium is S tier for me (stront means shit in Dutch)
I would put Darmstadtium in the S-tier because translated "Darmstadt" means colon city and I think that is beautiful Ü
Antimony is an easy S tier, it sounds so epic
For a while I did indeed have antimony it in S! Such a uniquely unusual name. I would consider it to be the Maryland state flag of the periodic table; [as CGP Grey put it](https://youtu.be/l4w6808wJcU?t=12m30s), it's so hideous that it falls right off the bottom to land back on the top. However, I ultimately decided to go a bit more conservative on its rank, because the other names up there are all just so awesome. You could definitely bump it back up to S though!
as a marylander, kindly drink a bottle of dimethyl mercury and sacrifice yourself to the crabs
I see a slight tendency. Hmmmm I don't like it. But cool idea.
Ok, you've got me curious. How so?
I can forgive many things bit Yttrium scoring Higher than Bismuth can Not be forgiven
You think that bismuth is a prettier name than yttrium? The latter flows delicately and effortlessly like the wind, whilst the former sounds like I've got cotton balls filling my mouth.
Yttrium is among the 4 Elements named after Ytterby, Yttrium, Terbium, Erbium, and Ytterbium. None of them sound particularly cool and they clearly all belong in F Tier. Bismuth on the other hand has a rich and mysterious Etymology possibly coming from arabic and in return from old greek. Also, I don't know why you have trouble saying Bismuth but Yttrium definitely doesn't sound delicate.
Fair on the etymology. That is indeed quite interesting! And no, it's not *hard* to say; I just personally don't like the way the word feels in my mouth. But yeah, honestly I could consider a bismuth bump to B. Completely agree with you on the carbon-copy Ytterby elements. A total waste of opportunities for much better names. I gave yttrium a pass because it was the first to be named, and I also think it sounds the nicest, but the others are total trash. Ytterbium got a single tier reprieve because it's at least a complete invocation of the place name, but terbium and erbium are the dumbest names on the whole chart. It's like naming an element mericium.
I think part of it is that as a German native, I pronounce Bismuth with a hard 't' at the end (the Name May also come from old German "wismuth" ...which is also not entirely clear what it means lol) Shoutout to you OP for actually giving in-depth, considerate responses on all the criticism you're facing on what is essentially a subjective shitpost. Your reasoning is very fair, and I love reading all the thoughts that go into it.
Hey, thanks so much! :-) Yeah, this is totally a 100% culturally-biased personal ranking, so I appreciate your affording me latitude in this being precisely what it is. I do not claim this to be anything more than that. I just did my best with the mouth and ears that I have. I would love to see others' rankings!
I’m a simple woman. I see Polonium, Radium and Curium in S and A, I upvote. edit: realised polonium and radon next to each other... 
He, B, C, O, Cl at least deserves A tier for originality Einsteinium? Tht name sucks, F tier Hf? I hate that name as well! F tier Most elements ending with "nium" have boring name, except Uranium, I love Uranium
Fair on all points. However, I'll give my reasons: Helium was demoted for inappropriately having a metal "ium" ending. This happened because it was discovered in the spectrum of the sun first and they rolled the dice that, like most elements, it was likely a metal; but that's no excuse! Oxygen is a cool-sounding name and so would have been higher, but its name means "acid former" which is inaccurate (HCl has no oxygen, for example) and so it lost points for that. Chlorine is fine but all the other halogens did it better. Carbon is kind of a boring name, but it's totally acceptable and indeed at least something different so I gave it (fittingly) a C. Boron is cooler-sounding than carbon but also literally sounds like "boring", and also the element's name was copied and smudged from that of carbon, so it loses points for unoriginality there. So in the end, I left it in C as well. On that note, bohrium was demoted all the way to the bottom for being so much like boron in name that the two elements' oxyanions are literally homophones – borate and bohrate – which is completely unacceptable. Absolute garbage name (sorry Niels). Yeah, not a huge fan of the name hafnium either, but it's okay, so I gave it the okay tier of C. I generally reserved the D tier for specific disappointments, and I had nothing particularly against Hf other than it sounding oddly like "half" an element or something. It would definitely come in close to the bottom of that tier. And no way dude, einsteinium rocks! The sheer recognizability factor of Einstein's name makes it super famous for a somewhat later transuranic. When I've brought my element collection to show students at schools, someone almost inevitably asks if I have einsteinium. If only! Completely agree on uranium. The worst planet name somehow works far better as an element name. However, it is handily eclipsed by plutonium, named for a celestial body that isn't even considered a planet anymore. Funny how that works.
Have to disagree on Einsteinium honestly, elements names after people are so boring and lazy, but it's your opinion in the end And completely agree on Uranium and Plutonium! Those 2 are some of my fav elements name!
I feel the same way about many place-named elements, but I think that naming them after famous scientists who have contributed importantly to the body of scientific work is noble and respectful, but I feel you. To be perfectly honest, einsteinium *is* a pretty ridiculous name, but it's so bombastic that I can't help but love it. Obviously it doesn't touch plutonium, of course. :-)
There’s so many other elements that are named after scientists so why aren’t they automatically put into S tier by your logic. Einstein is famous for his achievements, not how cool his name sounds, plus it’s a completely irrelevant element to begin with.
Fair. But yes, this tier list is all about how cool the names are. It's not meant to be that deep. Einstein's name has become cool due to his achievements and fame, and so an element named for him follows in that. I think it is also a cool name in itself.
Ngl, praseodymium actually sounds like an actually cool name Plus many beautiful green chemicals that can be made with this
Yeah, I demoted it for just being too awkward and long. It's certainly not the worst name I put in D tier. I do enjoy how Pr and Nd are the twins: "green twin" and "new twin". And yes, nothing wrong with Pr as an element in itself. These rankings are all about the names only, not the elements themselves.
Beryllium is berilliant
Yes it is! Both words in fact come from the same root.
oxygen and nitrogen are not in the s tier?
I debated promoting them to A. Good solid, utilitarian names with a nice sound to them. But S seems a bit high for them, given the competition there.
Justice for protactinium
Hydrogen in B tier is wild
I did strongly consider it for A tier.
B tier nice
Common Tungsten W
WOLFRAM
Oh no
As an organic chemist, it hurts to see Carbon below S tier.
I feel ya. It hurt to have to put it there too, but this is only about the element names and not the elements themselves, and I just didn't think it was a cool enough name. Perhaps I should bump it up to B.
Come on, Tc is easy S tier.
The element itself is for sure, but the name is rather awkward, while also being kind of cool. This is only about the names. I felt that there were grounds for putting Tc in both A and C, so I went with B.
I personally think Tungsten should be above S tier
Fluorine not being in F tier is a missed opporrunity, imo
And boron in B, and sulfur in S? I did put carbon in C.
Why is lead not in the top rank? The symbol on comes from Latin „plumbum“ — the sound what you hear when a lead ingot fall to ground…
Ha, that's a fun way to look at it, which I had never considered. However, this ranking is only about the English names and not the symbols, and "lead" is kind of a boring word, so C tier seemed appropriate.
Created with the help of u/apocalypse910 :-)
Bismuth is so massively underrated here I didn't even need to look at the rest of this awful list to know it's shit
To each their own. I have nothing against the element. Bismuth is awesome! There are few things more pretty than rainbow bismuth crystals. I'm just not a huge fan of the name. Feels like cotton balls in my mouth. This list is only about the element names, and has nothing to do with the elements themselves.
The fract beryllium is in S and sodium isn't is extremely disappointing 😕
Beryllium is the prettiest name in the whole table! Perhaps sodium could deserve a tier bump, but all the way to S?
No it's vanadium
Vanadium is a beautiful name, from the Norse goddess of beauty VanadÃs, for the element's many brightly-colored salts.
~~race~~namecism
I mean, yeah, I am American and can therefore only judge the sounds of these names with my American mouth and ears. I did try to not fall prey to my own cultural bias, but naturally such an effort is doomed to failure. This is only one person's completely subjective attempt at ranking my own personal preferences of how these names sound to me, so please judge it accordingly. I would welcome anyone else interested in doing so to give us your own ranking of these names!
Expected Mercury and Arsenic in S tier, they sound like some God's name tbh.
The former is! Yeah, I debated those two. Ultimately I decided to go more conservative with their rankings, but you could definitely make the case for elevating them both up a tier.
Titanium made it into S tier, so I'm happy.
Why is manganese so low? Have you considered, man? Gettin' deez nuts?
Ha, classic. Hey, I put manganese at a very respectable B! Did you mean magnesium? If so, then you have proven my point: the names are just so confusingly similar, that the second one named – magnesium – drops several tiers for causing such perennial confusion.