pluto roman name origin from an 11 years old kid

The Story of Venetia Burney: How an 11-Year-Old Named Pluto

Sometimes, the greatest ideas come from the most unexpected places. The naming of Pluto is one such story, where a young girl’s imagination left a permanent mark on astronomy. Venetia Burney, an 11-year-old schoolgirl from Oxford, England, suggested the name Pluto, which became the official name of the celestial body discovered in 1930.


The Discovery of Pluto

On February 18, 1930, Clyde Tombaugh, a young astronomer working at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, discovered a new planet-like object beyond Neptune. This discovery was the result of years of painstaking work, searching for the elusive “Planet X” predicted by astronomer Percival Lowell.

Once the discovery was confirmed, the question arose: What should this new celestial body be called?


Enter Venetia Burney

At the time, Venetia Burney was a curious and bright girl with a love for mythology and astronomy. On the morning of March 14, 1930, she was having breakfast with her grandfather, Falconer Madan, a retired librarian from the prestigious Bodleian Library at Oxford University.

When Madan read aloud about the new planet’s discovery from The Times, Venetia immediately suggested the name “Pluto.” She explained that Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld, was a fitting name for such a distant, cold, and mysterious object far away in the darkness of space.


How the Name Reached the Astronomical Community

Impressed by his granddaughter’s idea, Madan shared it with his friend Herbert Hall Turner, an astronomer at the University of Oxford. Turner, in turn, cabled the suggestion to the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, where the name was met with enthusiasm.

The astronomers at Lowell had been considering several other names, including Minerva, Zeus, and Cronus, but Venetia’s suggestion resonated deeply. The Roman god Pluto was associated with darkness and the underworld, qualities that seemed perfect for this distant, shadowy planet.

On May 1, 1930, the name “Pluto” was officially adopted.


A Name Rich in Symbolism

The name Pluto carried additional significance. Its first two letters, “P” and “L,” were a nod to Percival Lowell, whose efforts and predictions had set the stage for Pluto’s discovery.

Moreover, the mythological connections strengthened the tradition of naming planets after Roman gods, aligning Pluto with the likes of Jupiter, Neptune, and Mars.


Venetia’s Modest Fame

Although Venetia’s suggestion became world-famous, she never sought the limelight. Over the years, she lived a quiet life, becoming a teacher and later working as an accountant. However, as interest in Pluto grew, Venetia’s story gained attention, and she was interviewed multiple times about her role in naming the distant planet.

When asked how she felt about Pluto’s reclassification as a “dwarf planet” in 2006, Venetia, then 87 years old, reportedly took the news in stride, saying, “At my age, I’ve had the satisfaction of seeing it named, and that’s enough for me.”


Fun Fact: Venetia Burney’s Legacy

Venetia Burney’s suggestion not only named a planet but also inspired the naming of NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft, which explored Pluto in 2015. The spacecraft even carried an instrument named Venetia Burney Student Dust Counter in her honor.


A Young Mind, an Eternal Legacy

Venetia Burney’s story is a testament to how a single idea, born from curiosity and creativity, can leave a lasting impact. Thanks to her, Pluto continues to inspire awe and wonder, not only as a celestial body but as a symbol of the power of imagination—proof that even an 11-year-old can reach the stars.