Template:MinorPlanetNameMeaningsDisclaimer

Every time a new minor planet is discovered, they are given a permanent number by the IAU's Minor Planet Center (MPC). The discoverer can then create and submit a name for them. The name has to follow the IAU's naming conventions. This list shows the minor planets that are in the correct range and the meanings of those names.

The official names of newly named small Solar System bodies are approved and published in a bulletin by IAU's Working Group Small Body Nomenclature (WGSBN).^[1] Before May 2021, citations were published in MPC's Minor Planet Circulars for many decades.^[2] Recent citations can also be found on the JPL Small-Body Database (SBDB).^[3] Until his death in 2016, German astronomer Lutz D. Schmadel compiled these citations into the Dictionary of Minor Planet Names (DMP) and regularly updated the collection.^[4][5] Based on Paul Herget's The Names of the Minor Planets,^[6] Schmadel also researched the unclear origin of numerous asteroids. Most of these asteroids were named after World War II.  This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Government document "SBDB". New namings may only be added to this list below after official publication. Adding names before they are officially announced is not allowed.^[7] The WGSBN publishes a complete guideline for the naming rules of non-cometary small Solar-System bodies.^[8]

1. ↑ "WGSBN Bulletin Archive". Working Group Small Body Nomenclature. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
2. ↑ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
3. ↑ "JPL – Solar System Dynamics: Discovery Circumstances". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
4. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
5. ↑ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2006). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – Addendum to Fifth Edition: 2003–2005. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN 978-3-540-34360-8. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
6. ↑ Herget, Paul (1968). The Names of the Minor Planets. Cincinnati, Ohio: Minor Planet Center, Cincinnati Observatory. OCLC 224288991.
7. ↑ "Guide to Minor Body Astrometry – When can I name my discovery?". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
8. ↑ "Minor Planet Naming Guidelines (Rules and Guidelines for naming non-cometary small Solar-System bodies) – v1.0" (PDF). Working Group Small Body Nomenclature (PDF). 20 December 2021.