View source for Template:MinorPlanetNameMeaningsDisclaimer

{{bots|deny=AWB}}
{{hatnote|This is a partial list of [[Astronomy:Meanings of minor planet names|meanings of minor planet names]]. Also see [[Astronomy:List of named minor planets (alphabetical)|list of named minor planets (alphabetical)]] for a condensed version without naming citations.}}

As [[Astronomy:Minor planet|minor planet]] discoveries are confirmed, they are given a permanent number by the [[Organization:International Astronomical Union|IAU]]'s [[Organization:Minor Planet Center|Minor Planet Center]] (MPC), and the discoverers can then submit names for them, following the IAU's [[Astronomy:Astronomical naming conventions|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 [[Astronomy:Small Solar System bodies|small Solar System bodies]] are published in MPC's ''[[Organization:Minor Planet Center#Publications|Minor Planet Circulars]]'' several times a year.<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive">{{cite web
  |title      = MPC/MPO/MPS Archive
  |work       = Minor Planet CenterMinor Planet Circulars
  |url        = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html
  |accessdate = 27 July 2016}}</ref> Recent citations can also be found on the [[Astronomy:JPL Small-Body Database|JPL Small-Body Database]] (SBDB).<ref name="JPL-Discovery">{{cite web
  |title      = JPL – Solar System Dynamics: Discovery Circumstances
  |url        = https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?asteroids#discovery
  |publisher  = [[Organization:Jet Propulsion Laboratory|Jet Propulsion Laboratory]]
  |accessdate = 25 June 2019}}</ref> Until his death in 2016, German astronomer [[Biography:Lutz D. Schmadel|Lutz D. Schmadel]] compiled these citations into the ''Dictionary of Minor Planet Names'' (DMP) and regularly updated the collection.<ref name="DoMPN">{{cite book
  |title      = Dictionary of Minor Planet Names
  |last       = Schmadel | first = Lutz D. | authorlink=Lutz D. Schmadel
  |publisher  = Springer Berlin Heidelberg
  |date       = 2003
  |url        = https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-540-29925-7
  |isbn       = 978-3-540-00238-3
  |accessdate = 27 July 2016}}</ref><ref name="DoMPN-Addendum">{{cite book
  |title      = Dictionary of Minor Planet Names – Addendum to Fifth Edition: 2003–2005
  |last       = Schmadel | first = Lutz D. | authorlink=Lutz D. Schmadel
  |publisher  = Springer Berlin Heidelberg
  |date       = 2006
  |url        = https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-540-34361-5
  |isbn       = 978-3-540-34360-8
  |accessdate = 27 July 2016}}</ref> Based on [[Biography:Paul Herget|Paul Herget]]'s ''[[Astronomy:The Names of the Minor Planets|The Names of the Minor Planets]]'',<ref name="Herget">{{Cite book
  |title      = The Names of the Minor Planets
  |first      = Paul
  |last       = Herget
  |authorlink = Paul Herget
  |publisher  = Minor Planet Center, Cincinnati Observatory
  |location   = Cincinnati, Ohio
  |date       = 1968
  |oclc       = 224288991}}</ref> Schmadel also researched the unclear origin of numerous asteroids, most of which had been named prior to World War II. {{USGovernment|sourceURL=SBDB}} New namings may only be added after official publication as the preannouncement of names is condemned by the [[Astronomy:Astronomical naming conventions#Minor planets|Committee on Small Body Nomenclature]].<ref name="MPC-Preannouncement">{{cite web
  |title      = Guide to Minor Body Astrometry – When can I name my discovery?
  |work       = Minor Planet Center
  |url        = https://minorplanetcenter.net/iau/info/Astrometry.html#name
  |accessdate = 20 July 2019}}</ref><noinclude> 
{{Documentation}}
</noinclude>