Meanings of minor planet names: 202001–203000

As minor planet discoveries are confirmed, they are given a permanent number by the IAU's Minor Planet Center (MPC), and the discoverers can then submit names for them, following the IAU's naming conventions. The list below concerns those minor planets in the specified number-range that have received names, and explains the meanings of those names.

Official naming citations of newly named small Solar System bodies are approved and published in a bulletin by IAU's Working Group for Small Bodies 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 which had been named prior to World War II. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: SBDB New namings may only be added to this list below after official publication as the preannouncement of names is condemned.^[7] The WGSBN publishes a comprehensive guideline for the naming rules of non-cometary small Solar System bodies.^[8]

202001–202100

Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
202092 Algirdas	2004 TD₁₇	Algirdas (1296–1377), a monarch of medieval Lithuania.	JPL · 202092
202093 Jogaila	2004 TP₁₇	Jogaila, later Władysław II Jagiełło (1348–1434) was the Grand Duke of Lithuania (1377–1434) and then the King of Poland (1386–1434). He joined two states that became the leading power of eastern Europe and was the founder of Poland's Jagiellon dynasty.	IAU · 202093

202101–202200

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
There are no named minor planets in this number range

202201–202300

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
There are no named minor planets in this number range

202301–202400

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
202373 Ubuntu	2005 EW₃₀₂	Ubuntu, a philosophy focusing on people's relations with each other, emphasizes unity. Its origin is in the native languages of southern Africa and it is one of the founding principles of the new South Africa	JPL · 202373

202401–202500

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
There are no named minor planets in this number range

202501–202600

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
202599 Harkányi	2006 HS₁₈	Béla Harkányi (1869–1932), a Hungarian astrophysicist and mathematician.	IAU · 202599

202601–202700

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
202605 Shenchunshan	2006 HY₃₀	Shen Chun-shan (1932–2018), Chinese physicist and president of the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan	JPL · 202605
202614 Kayleigh	2006 HD₅₈	Kayleigh Lucille Stamp (1996–2010), the eldest granddaughter of the Australian discoverer David R. Herald	JPL · 202614
202686 Birkfellner	2007 CH₅₄	Wolfgang Birkfellner (born 1970), an Austrian medical physicist and amateur astronomer.	JPL · 202686

202701–202800

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
202704 Utena	2007 GN₆	Utena, city in north-east Lithuania	JPL · 202704
202736 Julietclare	2007 KB₂	Juliet Clare Datson (born 1980), astronomer, former student of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg, Germany	JPL · 202736
202740 Vicsympho	2007 LB₃₀	Victoria Symphony, Canadian orchestra based in Victoria, British Columbia	JPL · 202740
202778 Dmytria	2007 UN₃	Dmytro Yatskiv (1963–2004), laser physicist and observer at Kyiv satellite laser ranging station	JPL · 202778
202784 Gangkeda	2008 DJ₆₉	Gangkeda, the Mandarin Chinese Pinyin abbreviation for the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Xiānggǎng Kējì Dàxué), which was founded in 1991	JPL · 202784
202787 Kestecher	2008 OG	Natalie Kestecher (born 1961), Australian radio producer	JPL · 202787
202790 Babits	2008 QR₃	Mihály Babits (1883–1941), Hungarian poet, writer, literary historian and translator.	JPL · 202790

202801–202900

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
202806 Sierrastars	2008 SW₂	Sierra Stars Observatory (G68), located in Markleeville, California	JPL · 202806
202819 Carlosánchez	2008 SY₈₁	Carlos Sánchez Magro (1944–1985), Spanish astrophysicist and pioneer in infrared astronomy	JPL · 202819

202901–203000

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Named minor planet	Provisional	This minor planet was named for...	Ref · Catalog
202907 Meisenheimer	1996 RH₁	German astronomer Klaus Meisenheimer (1951–2023).	IAU · 202907
202909 Jakoten	1996 TF₁₂	Jakoten, a traditional Japanese food	JPL · 202909
202930 Ivezić	1998 SG₁₇₂	Željko Ivezić (born 1965), a Croatian-American astrophysicist, telescope builder for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDDS) and a principal author of the SDSS Moving Object Catalogue	JPL · 202930

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References

^ "WGSBN Bulletin Archive". Working Group Small Body Nomenclature. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
^ "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
^ "JPL – Solar System Dynamics: Discovery Circumstances". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
^ Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 27 July 2016.
^ 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.
^ Herget, Paul (1968). The Names of the Minor Planets. Cincinnati, Ohio: Minor Planet Center, Cincinnati Observatory. OCLC 224288991.
^ "Guide to Minor Body Astrometry – When can I name my discovery?". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
^ "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.

Preceded by 201,001–202,000	Meanings of minor planet names List of minor planets: 202,001–203,000	Succeeded by 203,001–204,000

[WGSBN-Bulletin-Archive-1] "WGSBN Bulletin Archive". Working Group Small Body Nomenclature. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2021.

[MPC-Circulars-Archive-2] "MPC/MPO/MPS Archive". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 27 July 2016.

[JPL-Discovery-3] "JPL – Solar System Dynamics: Discovery Circumstances". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 25 June 2019.

[DoMPN-4] Schmadel, Lutz D. (2003). Dictionary of Minor Planet Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. ISBN 978-3-540-00238-3. Retrieved 27 July 2016.

[DoMPN-Addendum-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.

[Herget-6] Herget, Paul (1968). The Names of the Minor Planets. Cincinnati, Ohio: Minor Planet Center, Cincinnati Observatory. OCLC 224288991.

[MPC-Preannouncement-7] "Guide to Minor Body Astrometry – When can I name my discovery?". Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 20 July 2019.

[WGSBN-Naming-Guidelines-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.

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