Asteroid Name Generator
Minor planet names from Ceres to the Belt
Generate asteroid names in the style astronomers actually use: classical mythological names like Vesta, Psyche and Toutatis, new Greek and Latin forms that pass Minor Planet Center rules, and gritty miner-given rock names for science fiction settings and games.
About asteroid names
Real asteroid names follow rules set by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center, and knowing them is the quickest way to make an invented one sound authentic. A name must be 16 characters or fewer, pronounceable, a single word where possible, and not offensive or purely commercial. The first asteroids discovered in the 1800s were given classical feminine names (Ceres, Pallas, Juno, Vesta, Hygiea, Psyche), and that Greco-Roman habit stuck for most of the main belt. Later conventions assign mythology by orbit: near-Earth objects get gods of motion and danger (Apollo, Icarus, Toutatis, Apophis), Jupiter Trojans take heroes of the Trojan War (Hektor, Patroclus, Achilles), centaurs are named for centaurs (Chiron, Pholus, Chariklo), and distant trans-Neptunian objects use creation deities from many cultures (Quaoar, Sedna, Varuna).
Before naming, every asteroid carries a provisional designation such as 2004 MN4, which later becomes a number plus a name: (99942) Apophis. Science fiction rarely bothers with that, and instead asteroids get the names miners, smugglers and survey crews give them: Halvorsen's Rock, the Splinter, Tumbler's Reef.
This generator mixes all of those registers: real named minor planets from the famous to the obscure, new names built on the same classical patterns, and belt-frontier rock names for novels, tabletop campaigns and space games.
How to choose asteroid names
- For a hard-science feel, use a classical name that is not a famous god: Eunomia, Interamnia, Herculina and Patientia sound like real belt objects because they are.
- Match the name to the orbit the way the IAU does: Trojan War heroes for Jupiter Trojans, centaurs for centaurs, underworld and creation gods for the distant ones, gods of speed or danger for Earth-crossers.
- Keep it to 16 characters or fewer with no spaces if it should pass as an official minor planet name; Greek and Latin feminine endings in -a, -e and -is look the most period-correct.
- For mining colonies and smuggler haunts, let the name describe the rock or the luck it brought: Paydirt, Widowmaker Rock, Prospector's Folly.
- Add a provisional designation in the text (2031 KX7) for a newly discovered object and give it a real name only once your characters have a reason to.
Frequently asked questions
How are real asteroids named?
The discoverer proposes a name after the orbit is well known, and the IAU's Working Group for Small Body Nomenclature approves it. Names must be short, pronounceable and inoffensive; military or political figures must be dead for 100 years, and pet names and commercial names are rejected.
Why do so many asteroid names sound like Greek goddesses?
The first asteroids were discovered in the early 1800s, when planets and moons were all named from classical mythology, so Ceres, Pallas, Juno and Vesta set a feminine Greco-Roman pattern that astronomers followed for decades, even feminizing names like Bettina and Johanna.
What is the difference between an asteroid and a minor planet?
Minor planet is the formal catch-all for anything that orbits the Sun and is not a planet, dwarf planet or comet. Asteroid usually means a rocky minor planet of the inner solar system, while icy bodies beyond Neptune are called trans-Neptunian objects.
Can I name an asteroid after myself or a friend?
Not by paying for it; naming rights belong to the discoverer and are approved by the IAU. Professional astronomers and citizen discoverers do frequently name asteroids after teachers, scientists and artists, which is why thousands of real asteroid names are ordinary surnames.
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All 500 asteroid names
A: 67 names
- Abundantia
- Achilles
- Adeona
- Adonis
- Adria
- Aegina
- Aegle
- Aemilia
- Aeneas
- Agamemnon
- Agate Hollow
- Aglaja
- Aglaope
- Ajax
- Albion
- Aletho
- Alexandra
- Alinda
- Alkeste
- Alkmene
- Althaea
- Altjira
- Amalthea
- Amaranth Reef
- Amarynthe
- Amathusa
- Amor
- Amphitrite
- Amycus
- Anchises
- Andromache
- Angelina
- Annefrank
A, continued
- Antandria
- Anteros
- Antigone
- Antilochus
- Antiope
- Anvil Rock
- Apollo
- Apophis
- Apulia
- Aquilegia
- Arawn
- Arche
- Arethusa
- Ariadne
- Aristaeus
- Arjuna
- Armorica
- Artemis
- Asbolus
- Asclepius
- Ashfall Reach
- Ashgrave
- Asia
- Astraea
- Astraeus
- Atala
- Atalante
- Aten
- Athor
- Atira
- Aurora
- Ausonia
- Ausonis
- Autonoe
B: 23 names
- Bacchus
- Bactriana
- Baetica
- Bamberga
- Baptistina
- Basalt Crown
- Baucis
- Beacon Rock
- Beatrix
- Bellona
- Bennu
- Bertha
- Betulia
- Bienor
- Blackwake
- Bloodstone Drift
- Bonanza Rock
- Borasisi
- Boulderfall
- Braille
- Brimstone Drift
- Broken Crown
- Brunhild
C: 33 names
- Caledonia
- Calystra
- Camilla
- Camillo
- Cantabria
- Cappadocia
- Carbon Ridge
- Castalia
- Cerberus
- Ceres
- Ceto
- Chalkis
- Chaos
- Chariklo
- Chiron
- Cilicia
- Cinderheap
- Cinnabar Drift
- Circe
- Claimjumper
- Cobble Rock
- Colchis
- Coldspar
- Concordia
- Condor's Roost
- Copperback
- Crantor
- Cruithne
- Cuno
- Cybele
- Cyllarus
- Cyllene
- Cyrene
D: 19 names
- Dactyl
- Daedalus
- Dalmatia
- Danae
- Daphne
- Davida
- Deadman's Tumble
- Dejanira
- Deucalion
- Diana
- Didymos
- Dike
- Dimorphos
- Dinkinesh
- Diomedes
- Dione
- Dionysus
- Doris
- Drifter's Bane
E: 24 names
- Echeclus
- Echo
- Egeria
- Elatus
- Elektra
- Eleusa
- Elpis
- Emberfall
- Erato
- Erigone
- Eros
- Etruria
- Eudaimonia
- Eugenia
- Eukelade
- Eunomia
- Euphemia
- Euphrosyne
- Euporie
- Eurybates
- Eurydike
- Eurydome
- Eurynome
- Euterpe
F: 10 names
- Felicitas
- Feronia
- Fides
- Flint Reach
- Flora
- Florence
- Fool's Haven
- Fortuna
- Freia
- Frigga
G: 16 names
- Galatea
- Galatia
- Gallia
- Gallows Drift
- Ganymed
- Garnet Shard
- Gaspra
- Gedrosia
- Geographos
- Gerda
- Ghostlight Reef
- Goldfinch Rock
- Golevka
- Graphite Hollow
- Gravestone Rock
- Grindstone Reef
H: 37 names
- Halvorsen's Rock
- Hardscrabble
- Hardtack
- Harmonia
- Harpalyke
- Harrier Reef
- Hathor
- Hebe
- Hecuba
- Hegemone
- Hekate
- Hektor
- Hel
- Helena
- Helvetia
- Hematite Reach
- Hephaistos
- Hera
- Heracles
- Herculina
- Hermes
- Hermione
- Herse
- Hertha
- Hesperia
- Hestia
- Hibernia
- Hidalgo
- Hilda
- Hippodamia
- Hollowmere
- Homestead Rock
- Huya
- Hygiea
- Hylonome
- Hyperenor
- Hyrcania
I: 24 names
- Ialysa
- Ianthe
- Icarus
- Ida
- Idalion
- Illyria
- Imbria
- Indigo Shoal
- Ino
- Interamnia
- Iocaste
- Ionaea
- Iphigenia
- Irene
- Iris
- Ironclad Rock
- Ironmere
- Isis
- Ismara
- Italica
- Itokawa
- Ivar
- Ivory Tumble
- Ixion
J: 4 names
- Jasper Drift
- Jet Drift
- Johanna
- Juno
K: 22 names
- Kallichore
- Kalliope
- Kalyke
- Kalypso
- Kamira
- Karyatis
- Kassandra
- Kasteria
- Kessler Drift
- Kestrel Drift
- Keystone Rock
- Khufu
- Kindling Drift
- Kleopatra
- Klio
- Klotho
- Klymene
- Klytia
- Koronis
- Korydalla
- Kyrenia
- Kythera
L: 28 names
- Lachesis
- Laetitia
- Lampado
- Lantern Rock
- Last Ditch
- Laurentia
- Leda
- Lemnia
- Lempo
- Leto
- Leucus
- Leukothea
- Liberatrix
- Ligurea
- Lindia
- Lodestone
- Logos
- Lomia
- Long Shadow
- Loreley
- Lucania
- Lucina
- Lucky Strike Rock
- Lumen
- Lusitania
- Lutetia
- Lydia
- Lyrnessa
M: 21 names
- Maja
- Massalia
- Medusa
- Melanippe
- Melete
- Meliboea
- Melpomene
- Menoetius
- Metis
- Midas
- Miner's Rest
- Minerva
- Minos
- Miriam
- Mithra
- Mneme
- Mnemosyne
- Moraine Rock
- Moshup
- Mother Lode
- Myrrhine
N: 15 names
- Naxia
- Nefertiti
- Nemausa
- Nemesis
- Nereus
- Nerione
- Nessus
- Nestor
- Niobe
- Nisyra
- Nomad's Anchor
- Nuwa
- Nyctimene
- Nysa
- Nyx
O: 16 names
- Obsidian Shard
- Ochre Drift
- Odysseus
- Okyrhoe
- Old Thunderhead
- Olenia
- Oljato
- Onyx Crown
- Ophelia
- Ophiria
- Orcus
- Oreithyia
- Orpheus
- Orseis
- Orus
- Osprey Shoal
P: 38 names
- Pales
- Pallas
- Pandora
- Pannonia
- Panopaea
- Parthenope
- Parthia
- Pasithea
- Patientia
- Patroclus
- Paydirt
- Pebble Haven
- Peitho
- Pele
- Pelion
- Perimede
- Phaedra
- Phaenna
- Phaethon
- Pharae
- Pherusa
- Philomela
- Philophrosyne
- Phocaea
- Pholegandra
- Pholus
- Platinum Shoal
- Polana
- Polyhymnia
- Polymele
- Pomona
- Praxidike
- Priamus
- Proserpina
- Prospector's Folly
- Protogeneia
- Psyche
- Pyrite Crown
Q: 2 names
- Quaoar
- Quetzalcoatl
R: 8 names
- Rampart Drift
- Raven's Perch
- Regolith Rock
- Rhadamanthus
- Rhodia
- Rhodope
- Rustheap
- Ryugu
S: 39 names
- Sabina
- Salacia
- Sallow Rock
- Saltpan Rock
- Samothrake
- Sandcastle Rock
- Sappho
- Sarmatia
- Scandia
- Scree Drift
- Scylla
- Scythia
- Sedna
- Sekhmet
- Selam
- Seleucus
- Semele
- Sentinel Reef
- Sequana
- Shieldwall Reef
- Sibylla
- Sikinos
- Silverback Shoal
- Sirona
- Sisyphus
- Siwa
- Skyrosa
- Slagheap
- Slagline Reef
- Slipstream Rock
- Sogdiana
- Sophrosyne
- Spindle Rock
- Sponde
- Steins
- Stonebreaker
- Stormcrow Drift
- Sylvia
- Symaea
T: 31 names
- Tailings Rock
- Tailspin Rock
- Talus Reach
- Tantalus
- Tarraco
- Teleste
- Telos
- Tenedra
- Terpsichore
- Thalassae
- Thalia
- The Cairn
- The Knuckle
- The Splinter
- Thelxinoe
- Themis
- Thereus
- Thessaly
- Thetis
- Thisbe
- Thisoa
- Thule
- Thyone
- Thyra
- Tolosa
- Toro
- Toutatis
- Troilus
- Tumbler's Reef
- Typhon
- Tyrrhena
U: 6 names
- Umber Reach
- Una
- Undina
- Urania
- Urda
- Ursula
V: 10 names
- Vala
- Varda
- Varuna
- Velanthe
- Velleda
- Vesta
- Vibilia
- Victoria
- Vigil Rock
- Virginia
W: 2 names
- Wayfarer's Rock
- Widowmaker Rock
X: 1 name
- Xanthippe