URANUS: The Planet Whose Name Wasn't Quite Right

UranusMarch 13, 1781: Sir William Herschel discovers the planet Uranus.

It was the first planet to be discovered since prehistoric times, and thus the first not worshipped as a god by the ancients.

He wanted to call it Georgium Sidus ("The Star of George") after England’s Mad King, who was kinging at the time of the American Revolution, which had started a few years earlier.

Well, everybody recognized that Georgium Sidus wasn’t quite right as a name.

French astronomers proposed calling it Herschel, after its discoverer.

That, of course, was worse.

It thus fell to German astronomer Johann Bode to come up with the name Uranus, giving rise to countless offputting jokes.

LEARN MORE ABOUT URANUS.

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

10 thoughts on “URANUS: The Planet Whose Name Wasn't Quite Right”

  1. Perhaps it would have been preferable if he broke with tradition and gave it the Greek form, Ouranos, rather than the Latin, Uranus.

  3. Professor: “Would you like to try the smelloscope, Fry?”

    Fry: “Hey, as long as you don’t make me smell Uranus.”

    Leela: “I don’t get it.”

    Professor: “I’m sorry, Fry, but astronomers renamed Uranus in 2620 to end that stupid joke once and for all.”

    Fry: “Oh. What’s it called now?”

    Professor: “Urectum. Here, let me locate it for you.”

    Fry: “Hehe, no, no, I think I’ll just smell around a bit over here.”

  4. +J.M.J+

    Shoulda gone with Minerva, in retrospect. Though I wonder how the neopagan feminists would treat another planet named after a goddess?

    In Jesu et Maria,

  6. My favorite joke about this planet comes from The Animaniacs. Yakko sings a neat little song about the planets & when Wakko points out, “Hey, you forgot Uranus!” Yakko, from his little spaceship while he waves at the camera, says, “Goodnight, folks!”

    Kills me every time.

  7. I went to the planetarium the other day and the man who made the presentation on the planets pronounes Uranus in a strange way–kinda like YUR-nus. I think it might have to do with the hundreds of middle schoolers who come to his presentation every day–no need to rile them up!

  8. I went to the planetarium the other day and the man who made the presentation on the planets pronounes Uranus in a strange way–kinda like YUR-nus. I think it might have to do with the hundreds of middle schoolers who come to his presentation every day–no need to rile them up!

    Yeah, they were trying out that pronunciation all the way back when I was in high school, but even at the time I didn’t think that “Urine-us” was much of an improvement on “Your-anus.”

    One might try to get some mileage out of “You-RAN-us”….

  9. I was taught to call it Urine-iss. I always thought it sounded gross…I heard someone pronounce it the typical way and it didn’t sound any better.

    I’ve heard it’s properly said yooRAHNus, but for one I doubt that that is correct, for two no one knows what you’re saying, and for three it’s difficult to say.

  10. I’m guessing we should all be grateful that Pluto was discovered in 1930. Otherwise, what would Walt Disney have named Mickey Mouse’s dog?

    Minnie Mouse: Mickey! Get Uranus out of my flower garden! All the plants are dying!

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