# Meanings of minor planet names: 444001–445000

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). Before May 2021, citations were published in MPC's Minor Planet Circulars for many decades. Recent citations can also be found on the JPL Small-Body Database (SBDB). 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.
Based on Paul Herget's The Names of the Minor Planets, 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. The WGSBN publishes a comprehensive guideline for the naming rules of non-cometary small Solar System bodies.

## Index100K200K300K400K500K600K

* 439,000s
* 440,000s
* 441,000s
* 442,000s
* 443,000s
* 444,000s
* 445,000s
* 446,000s
* 447,000s
* 448,000s
* 449,000s
* 444,001…
* 444,101…
* 444,201…
* 444,301…
* 444,401…
* 444,501…
* 444,601…
* 444,701…
* 444,801…
* 444,901…

## 444001–444100

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

## 444101–444200

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

## 444201–444300

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

## 444301–444400

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

## 444401–444500

| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
| 444411 Lutherbeegle | 2006 AR$_{51}$ | Luther Beegle (b. 1966), an American planetary scientist. | IAU · 444411 |
| 444414 Mikehankey | 2006 AQ$_{56}$ | Mike Hankey (b. 1972) is an American and the Operations Manager for the American Meteor Society. | IAU · 444414 |
| 444418 Rohitbhartia | 2006 BM$_{30}$ | Rohit Bhartia (b. 1975), an American planetary scientist. | IAU · 444418 |
| 444419 Francismccubbin | 2006 BR$_{34}$ | Francis McCubbin (b. 1982), an American planetary scientist. | IAU · 444419 |

## 444501–444600

| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
| 444562 Visaginas | 2006 SP$_{368}$ | Visaginas, a town in northeastern Lithuania. | IAU · 444562 |

## 444601–444700

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

## 444701–444800

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

## 444801–444900

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

## 444901–445000

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