How Did Earth Get Its Name?
And why it doesn’t follow conventional planetary names
It might not be readily apparent, but if you look at the solar system, one thing stands out. Every planetary body in our solar system is named after a Roman god. Mercury, the god of merchants and travelers. Venus, the goddess of beauty. Mars, the god of war. Jupiter, the king of the gods. And so forth. Even Pluto, our system’s maligned dwarf planet, was named after the god of the dead. Every planet in the solar system is named after a Roman god save for Earth. Earth (or Terra) was not a Roman god. So, how did Earth get its name? How does one name the planet they live on?
The origins of Earth’s name has to do with the origin of Earth’s place in the universe. Before people realized that Earth was a planet orbiting a star, they believed that it was the center of the universe. Early humans stared upward and saw stars circling around in the heavens. From their place on the ground, it looked as though the firmament revolved around Earth. Each of these orbiting stars was given a name. People didn’t realize that planets and stars were different for centuries. While planets moved differently across the sky from distant stars, they appeared similar enough that distinctions were not easily made.
