As minor planet discoveries are confirmed, they are given a permanent number by the IAU's Minor Planet Center (MPC), and the discoverers can then submit names for them, following the IAU's naming conventions. The list below concerns those minor planets in the specified number-range that have received names, and explains the meanings of those names.
Based on Paul Herget's The Names of the Minor Planets,[6] Schmadel also researched the unclear origin of numerous asteroids, most of which had been named prior to World War II. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: SBDB New namings may only be added to this list below after official publication as the preannouncement of names is condemned.[7] The WGSBN publishes a comprehensive guideline for the naming rules of non-cometary small Solar System bodies.[8]
Philip Vidal Streich (born 1991), American winner of the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award (IFYS) recipient
Paul Allen (1953–2018), American computer industry executive and co-founded Microsoft, financial supporter of the Spacewatch program, of SpaceShipOne civilian suborbital space flight, and the radio-astronomy Allen Telescope Array (ATA)
George Francis Hotz (born 1989), American winner of the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and Seaborg SIYSS Award (Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar) Award recipient
Recognized as a symbolic figure of French-American friendship, Marie-Josephe Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (1757–1834), on his own initiative served as a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution and as commander-in-chief of the Garde Nationale during the French Revolution
Miwada Gakuen is a girls' school, established by a Confucian, Masako Miwada (1843–1927), in 1887 to provide an opportunity for the education of women. The organizational meeting of the Japan Spaceguard Association was held in the hall of this school on 1996 Oct. 20
Sunao Hasegawa (born 1969) manages the two-stage light-gas guns facility at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science at JAXA. The facility is used to study high-velocity impact processes. Hasegawa contributes asteroid observations made by the Japanese infrared satellite AKARI.
Korawich Niyomsatian, Thai winner of the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) Award recipient
Natnaree Siriwon, Thai winner of the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) Award recipient
Nathaphon Supokaivanich, Thai winner of the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS) Award recipient
Vera Yakovlevna Brodskaya (born 1923) worked at the Pulkovo Observatory for more than 30 years. As librarian and curator of the library fund she was the initiator and main compiler of The Catalogue of editions of astronomical observatories of the world available in the Pulkovo Observatory library
Boudewijn Maria Ignatius Büch (1948–2002) was a Dutch writer, poet and television presenter. He is well known for his successful novel De kleine blonde dood ("Little blond death", 1985), on which a film was based in 1993. The name was suggested by C. E. Koppeschaar
Godfried Jan Arnold Bomans (1913–1971) was a popular Dutch author known for his books of modern-day fairy tales and his short, humorous pieces full of parody and acerbic wit. His young-adult fantasy novel Eric in the Land of the Insects (1940) was turned into a film in 2004. The name was suggested by L. E. Timmerman
Dmitrij Il'ich Kozlov (1919–), Russian engineer and scientist, winner of the Lenin Prize, of the State Prize twice, and the gold medal of the Association of Assistance to the National Industry of France
Gavrila Romanovich Derzhavin (1743–1816) was a great Russian poet, the immediate predecessor of Pushkin. In his verses he glorified the Russian war victories of the eighteenth century. He was also the author of striking satirical verses, as well as lyrics about love and landscapes
Alla Nikolaevna Bayanova (Levitskaya) (1914–2011) is a Romanian, Soviet and Russian singer, performer of Russian songs and romances, author of music for many romances.
Josef Šíma (1891–1971) was a Czech imaginative, abstract and surrealist painter, who lived in France from 1921. His sources of inspiration spanned nature, crystals, cosmic visions, landscape and female bodies, to fascination by stories of ancient mythology such as Falling Icarus or Leda and the Swan
Charles Birkenstock (c. 1860–1928) was the director of the Bureau Central Météorique (founded in 1910) and the Société astronomique d´Anvers (founded in 1905).
Fumi Yoshida (born 1966), a Japanese astronomer. She studied the size distributions of sub-kilometer asteroids with the Subaru Telescope at the Mauna Kea Observatory on Hawaii in collaboration with Tsuko Nakamura, who discovered this minor planet.
Kouhei Yamashita (born 1953) was the project manager of the successfully launched STARS-II nanosatellite, built at Kagawa University in Japan. He is also an astrophotographer of nebulae and star clusters.
Masaaki Kawata (born 1964) is the director of the Oita Sekizaki Kaiseikan (Observatory and Museum). He makes nightly contributions to his local community by operating the observatory's 0.6-m reflector telescope and contributes to public outreach of astronomy.
The Chikumagawa River originates in Nagano prefecture and flows through Niigata prefecture with many historic sites lying along it. Chikumagawa Ryojo no Uta (A poem of a journey along the River Chikuma) is a widely-known poem written by the prominent Japanese novelist and poet Shimazaki Toson.
Toshiko Nagao (1939–2021), was a Japanese amateur astronomer and astronomy communicator. She also assisted Kazuro Watanabe, who co-discovered this minor planet.
Yuichi Tsuda (born 1975) is a Japanese space engineer, pioneer of solar-sail technology used in the IKAROS mission, and project manager on the Hayabusa2 asteroid sample-return mission.
Kenichi Hyodo (born 1967) is a well-known amateur astronomer in Ehime Prefecture and keen observer and photographer of comets, nebulae and star clusters. He is currently a member of the Oriental Astronomical Association and Astronomical Society of Oita.
23571 Zuaboni Discovered 1995 Jan. 1 by M. Cavagna and E. Galliani at Sormano. Patrizia Zuaboni (born 1958), an affectionate friend of both discoverers, contributed to the idea that they should get married
Alpi Apuane, the marble mountains, are one of the most original relief areas in Italy, known for the variety of its landscape and environment. Its precious Carrara marble is known worldwide. The presence of ancient human settlements has left important historical and cultural witness. The name was suggested by M. Di Martino.
Alexandr Osipovich Gelfond (1906–1968) studied and taught mathematics at the University of Moscow. His main contributions were in the theory of interpolation and approximation of functions of a complex variable, in number theory and the study of transcendental numbers and in the history of mathematics.
Yoshimi Ichimura (born 1952) is an active Japanese amateur astronomer and high-school teacher. He discovered comet C/1987 W1 (Ichimura), as well as the supernovae 2005lx, 2007ss, 2008A and 2008hi
Nagano Prefecture lies in the center of Honshu Island, Japan. It shares borders with eight prefectures, the most in Japan. In 1998 the 18th Winter Olympic Games were held there.
Czech amateur astronomer and telecommunication engineer Jan Kolář (born 1936) served for decades as chairman of the Optical Group of the Czech Astronomical Society and was elected an honorary fellow of the Society in 2001. He constructed "Bikukr", a pair of telescopes for high-quality deep-sky visual observation.
Tohoku is the name of the northeastern part of Honshu island, Japan. The Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 March 11 occurred offshore. About 25000 lives were lost and many facilities were demolished
Savina Dine Kim (born 1994) is a finalist in the 2012 Intel Science Talent Search, a science competition for high-school seniors, for her biochemistry project.
EunBe Kim (born 1993) is a finalist in the 2012 Intel Science Talent Search, a science competition for high-school seniors, for her biochemistry project.
Huihui Fan (born 1994) is a finalist in the 2012 Intel Science Talent Search, a science competition for high-school seniors, for her plant-science project.
Neil Kamlesh Mehta (born 1994) is a finalist in the 2012 Intel Science Talent Search, a science competition for high-school seniors, for his biochemistry project.
Anirudh Prabhu (born 1994) is a finalist in the 2012 Intel Science Talent Search, a science competition for high-school seniors, for his mathematics project.
Joseph Joachim (1831–1907) was a Hungarian violist, conductor and composer, and a close friend of Mendelssohn and Brahms. He is known for his revival of Bach's sonatas for violin solo
Jan Cuypers (1956–2017) was an astronomer working at the Royal Observatory at Uccle. Involved in several public and astronomical duties at the observatory, he was very much appreciated by all his colleagues.
Jef Neve (born 1977) is a Belgian jazz and classical music pianist. A 2000 graduate of the Lemmens Institute in Leuven, he wrote the soundtrack for the 2012 VRT series "In Vlaamse Velden" ("In Flandern Fields").
The graduates and faculties of the Department of Astronomy of Nanjing University ("Nanda") on the occasion of its 120th anniversary for their contribution to astronomy ("Tianwen", from the I Ching).
Li Qibin (1936–2003), the director of the Beijing Astronomical Observatory (1987–1998) and twice president of the Chinese Astronomical Society (1989–1992 and 1995–1998).
Carlson R. Chambliss (born 1941) is an astronomer and Emeritus Professor at Kutztown University in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. He has written books on numismatics, philately, and blackjack, and created and sponsored numerous awards in his name honoring achievements in academia and science, especially astronomy.
William Patrick Dillon (born 1992), son of the American discoverers Elizabeth and William G. Dillon. He was with them on the discovery night: "Daddy, I want to go home now. This place is cold and spooky." "Just one more image, son. Keep your eyes on the heavens!"
Horgoš, a Serbian village near the border to Hungary, where the second discoverer, László L. Kiss grew up. The population is mainly Hungarian and numbers almost 8000.
Jakob "Japie" van Zyl (1957–2020) was a pioneer in understanding the Earth system using remote sensing data. A prolific researcher, passionate mentor, and outstanding leader, Jakob rose throughout his 33-year JPL career to become Director of Solar System Exploration and associate director of JPL for Strategy.
Kevin Schindler (born 1964) is outreach manager at Lowell Observatory. He oversees all aspects of Lowell's education and outreach programs, including personnel, programming, exhibits and gift shop
Martin H. Robinson (born 1952) is a clinical oncologist, based in Sheffield, U.K. An enthusiastic amateur astronomer, he was for many years clinical director of Weston Park Hospital. The name derives from transliteration of his initials (MHR), by which he is known to his colleagues.
Yuki Sarugaku (born 1978), now at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Tokyo, recently completed his doctoral dissertation at the University of Tokyo on the dust trails of comets.
Herb Elliott (born 1938), Australian athlete who won gold by a wide margin in the 1500-m at the 1960 Olympics with a record that stood for seven years. At 22 he retired having never been beaten over the mile equivalent distance. He has been voted by his peers as history's greatest middle-distance runner.
William Sealy Gosset (1876–1937), British mathematician and chemist at Oxford. His most important contribution, published under the pseudonym "Student", was the derivation of a statistic, known as "t", that plays a central role in tests of hypotheses based on the analysis of small samples.
Édouard Goursat (1858–1936), French mathematician who made contributions to many areas of mathematical analysis. He was associated with several French universities and was regarded as an outstanding teacher. His monumental Cours d´analyse mathématique (1900–1910) was used by generations of students.
Erik Olaf Gustafson, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his environmental sciences project.
Catherine Michelle Haber, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for her behavioral science project.
Joshua Wayne Hammer, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his biochem, medicine, health, and microbiology project.
John Douglas Reiji Haswell, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his biochem, medicine, health, and microbiology project.
Connor Joseph Ivens, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his physical science project.
Brigg Lowell Jannuzi, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his earth and space science project.
Bethany Lynne Johnson, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for her biochem, medicine, health, and microbiology project.
Rohit G. Kamat, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his botany and zoology project.
Gokul Krishnan, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his biochem, medicine, health, and microbiology project.
Matthew Brice Lepow, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his earth and space science project.
Morgan McKay Monroe, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for her physical science project.
Matthew Michael Mooney, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his environmental sciences project.
Christopher Scott Mowers, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his physical science project.
Prithwis Kumar Mukhopadhyay, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his environmental sciences project.
Matthew James Nanni, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his botany and zoology project.
Shubha Srinivas Raghvendra, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for her behavioral science project.
Keshav Ramaswami, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his biochem, medicine, health, and microbiology project.
Jaron Shalom Rottman-Yang, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his biochem, medicine, health, and microbiology project.
Laurie Ann Rumker, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for her biochem, medicine, health, and microbiology project.
Rick Schinco Schaffer, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his botany and zoology project.
Brandon H. Shih, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his environmental sciences project.
Ambrose Geoffrey Soehn, a finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his physical science project.
Benjamin Paul Song, American finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his biochem, medicine, health, and microbiology project.
Karl Mikael Sorensen, American finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for his botany and zoology project.
Catherine Soto, American finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for her biochem, medicine, health, and microbiology project.
Katherine Michaela Strube, American finalist in the 2007 Discovery Channel Young Scientist Challenge (DCYSC), a middle school science competition, for her physical science project.
Korean reunification (Tongil is the Korean word for reunification). The asteroid was named with the hope for an early reunification of the southern and northern parts of Korea, divided since 1945. It was the first minor-planet discovery by a Korean amateur astronomer. Src
Karen Lorraine Harvey (born 1942; née Angle), an American astrophysicist who has investigated extensively the relationship of solar magnetic fields to coronal heating, x-ray emission, large active regions, ephemeral active regions and the solar cycle. Her work has provided fundamental statistical data on the nature and evolution of the solar magnetic field. She is married to American astrophysicist John Warren Harvey.
Toshihiko Hamane (born 1963), curator of the Gunma Astronomical Observatory (D80) in Japan. He assisted Yoshihide Kozai, director of GAO from 1997 to 2012, especially in the field of school education of astronomy and planetary science. He is also a popularizer of astronomy.
Kinoshita Daisuke (born 1974), of the Institute of Astronomy at the National Central University, Taiwan, studies asteroids and comets. He has also worked on instrumentation and operations at Lulin Observatory, and has contributed to the development of astronomy in Taiwan.
Hermann Grassmann (1809–1877), German mathematician, physicist, linguist, scholar, and neohumanist. His interests included Sanskrit, phonetics and theology. He was also a very inventive mathematician. His researches in noncommutative algebraic systems foreshadowed the development of the vector calculus and n-dimensional spaces.
Tatsuaki Hashimoto (born 1963) works on spacecraft guidance and control at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Tokyo. He was engaged in the attitude and orbit control systems of spacecraft such as the Hayabusa sample return mission to asteroid Itokawa.
Léo Delibes, 19th-century French composer of ballets and operas, whose works accompanied many observing nights in the control room of the telescope with which this minor planet was discovered
Hirohisa Kurosaki (born 1970), of the Japan Aerospace Explorarion Agency, works on asteroids, space debris and remote sensing. He has discovered many asteroids.
Patrick Dufour (born 1968), a French amateur astronomer and developer of tools and software for astronomy. He is working on robotics in astronomy together with Laurent Bernasconi, who discovered this minor planet.
