Who thinks we should give our Moon a "real name?"?

Question

Moon is like naming your child, Human. Or naming Earth, Planet. Or naming your dog, Dog. And don't tell me "Luna" is the moon's real name, either. Luna is the generic term in Latin for the generic term in English, Moon. I'm thinking we should petition to give it a real name like we did the other 239 classified moons in our solar system. Since it is one of the many elements that allow for life on Earth to exist at all, it deserves a distinct name. The Sun being named, Sun, is okay because it is actually classified as a star. But "The Moon" . . .

Any thoughts?

Answer 1

It has been called the Moon or Luna for a few millenia, how would you like it if you were called Veronica.

So answer is a resounding NO.

Answer 2

I'm okay with "the moon" or "luna".

In particular, I like the fact that our moon is THE (capitalised for emphasis, not to shout) moon, as it was first. Not neccesarilly the first to be created, but the first we knew.  Other moons get names, and they are still A moon, but only Earth's moon is THE moon.

Similarly, the sun is THE sun.  Not just any star, and not just any sun (as any single-star planetary system has A sun).

I will admit I prefer the Latin names Terra (Earth), Sol (the sun), and Luna (the moon), but the terms "the sun", "the earth", and "the moon" have been in common use for centuries now.

It seems silly to me to rename the Heavens now.  Why not spend yout time working on something important instead?  Something like ending hunger or breaking our dependance on petroleum.

Answer 3

you mean like the way we name mountains and bodies of waters?

the thing is there is only 1 moon for the Earth, so when u say "moon" everyone knows which one.

Answer 4

I think we should call it "The Thomas" after me.

Answer 5

Actually, I named my cat "Cat" because he had no personality at all.

Moon's name?  Meh, unnecessary, but okay, why not?

We need a name that hasn't already been used.  Preferably opf a Roman God, in keeping with tradition.

Actually, Luna was the Roman goddess of the Moon before she was supplanted by Diana.  So either of those names would be technically acceptable.

Breaking with tradition, we could go with Artemis or Selene (selenology already being "study of the moon").

Answer 6

I like it as it is and as it has always been. Besides, what would we call the man in the moon if we changed the name of the moon?

Answer 7

Yes it needs a name . Artemis is the best

Answer 8

The Moon has had another name for thousands of years but it is not often used.  It's Selene.  The Moon is occasionally referred to by its Latin name, Luna, in order to distinguish it from other natural satellites, with a related adjective lunar, The Greek name was Selene (from the Greek deity Selene goddess of the Moon and sister of Apollo).  Some branches of lunar science use the prefix "seleno".

.

Answer 9

Since our Moon was the first one of interest to us, and is the only one visible in our sky, called it the Moon is enough.

Why waste time and effort on naming something that is unique and doesn't need a designation - the other satellites in our solar system are not unique (for example Jupiter has 63 so far, so none are unique to Jupiter).

If your child was the only human on Earth, calling it Human would make sense.

If your dog was the only canine on the planet, calling it Dog would also make sense.

Answer 10

Your analogy is wrong.

Imagine a friend called Paul.  Paul is strange.  He guesses lottery numbers (not enough to get very rich, but enough to win a bit more than he pays, every single week).

He keeps this up for decades.  

You begin to meet other people who have the same gift (or luck).  You call them pauls.  Oh, this guy is just a paul.

Next you are saying, maybe we should give Paul a real name.  We know he is a paul, but he should also have a real name, not just a common word like paul.

The Moon was the English-language name of our Satellite.  It was called Selene by the Greeks and Luna by the Latins.

At the Renaissance, when astronomers were writing in Latin, they used the Latin names for the planets.  Most of the names caught on in all the languages of Europe (using Terra and Luna to make Terre and Lune in French, for example).  However, the names never caught on in English, where the original names of Earth (meaning the home soil -- where we can grow our food) and Moon continued to be used (the word month comes from the same root as Moon).

The use of the word "moon" as a generic term for satellites is not so widespread in the scientific community (and is not recognized by the International Astronomical Union).  If we were to give our Moon a name chosen as per the same rules as for the other major satellites, it would be called Luna or (maybe) Selene.

Answer 11

I vote for Selene!

Answer 12

How about verona?

Answer 13

Let's leave it as moon.  I don't think I could cope with calling it something else after the devastation of learning that Pluto isn't a planet.  Everything I learned as a child about our solar system would be shattered to pile on a different name for the hunk of rock orbiting the Earth. :-)