# Meanings of minor-planet names: 52001–53000

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

* 47,000s
* 48,000s
* 49,000s
* 50,000s
* 51,000s
* 52,000s
* 53,000s
* 54,000s
* 55,000s
* 56,000s
* 57,000s
* 52,001…
* 52,101…
* 52,201…
* 52,301…
* 52,401…
* 52,501…
* 52,601…
* 52,701…
* 52,801…
* 52,901…

## 52001–52100

| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
| 52005 Maik | 2002 CL$_{13}$ | Maik Meyer (born 1970), German amateur astronomer | MPC · 52005 |
| 52008 Johnnaka | 2002 EP$_{111}$ | John Yoshio Naka (1914–2004), the preeminent American bonsai master of the late 20th century. | JPL · 52008 |
| 52030 Maxvasile | 2002 PX$_{33}$ | Massimiliano Vasile (born 1970) is a professor of Space Systems Engineering at the University of Strathclyde. He has developed innovative techniques for the design and optimization of space trajectories and is an astrodynamics expert. He is leader of the EuTN STARDUST project on asteroid and space debris monitoring and mitigation.. | JPL · 52030 |
| 52057 Clarkhowell | 2002 PS$_{130}$ | Francis Clark Howell (1925–2007), generally known as "F. Clark Howell", was an American anthropologist. | JPL · 52057 |

## 52101–52200

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

## 52201–52300

| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
| 52225 Panchenko | 1968 OF$_1$ | Vladislav Yakovlevich Panchenko (born 1947), an authority in laser information technologies, scientific instrumentation technologies, non-linear optics and medical physics. | JPL · 52225 |
| 52226 Saenredam | 1974 PA | Pieter Jansz. Saenredam (1597–1665), Dutch Baroque-era painter and engraver | JPL · 52226 |
| 52228 Protos | 1977 RN | Greek word for "first", the discoverer's first minor planet detection | JPL · 52228 |
| 52231 Sitnik | 1978 RX$_1$ | Grigorij Fedorovich Sitnik (1911–1996), professor of the Moscow State University. | JPL · 52231 |
| 52242 Michelemaoret | 1981 EX | Michele Maoret (born 1971), a mathematics teacher and president of the association of scientific education 'Luigi Lagrange', which is involved in the teaching of physics, mathematics and astronomy. | JPL · 52242 |
| 52246 Donaldjohanson | 1981 EQ$_5$ | Donald Johanson (born 1943), an American paleoanthropologist who discovered the fossil of a female hominin australopithecine known as "Lucy". | JPL · 52246 |
| 52260 Ureshino | 1982 KA | Ureshino, a city located in Saga prefecture, Kyushu island, Japan | JPL · 52260 |
| 52261 Izumishikibu | 1982 VL$_4$ | Izumi Shikibu (born c. 976) was a Japanese poet from the 11th century Heian period. She wrote Izumi Shikibu Nikki, which was a notable diary containing waka poems about her affairs with the Imperial Prince. It is said that she was born in Shiroishi district and spent her younger days in Shiota in Saga Prefecture, Japan. | JPL · 52261 |
| 52266 Van Flandern | 1986 AD | Tom Van Flandern (1940–2009), astronomer and lunar occultations analylist at the U.S. Naval Observatory in the 1970s | JPL · 52266 |
| 52267 Rotarytorino | 1986 EP$_2$ | The "Rotary Club Torino", the third oldest Rotary Club in Italy and from its foundation in 1925 has contributed with its services to the development of science and technology, the most important enterprises in the Piedmont scientific and industrial area. | JPL · 52267 |
| 52270 Noamchomsky | 1988 CH$_5$ | Noam Chomsky (born 1928), an American linguist and philosopher. | JPL · 52270 |
| 52271 Lecorbusier | 1988 RP$_3$ | Le Corbusier (Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, 1887–1965), Swiss-French architect and city planner | JPL · 52271 |
| 52285 Kakurinji | 1990 OX$_2$ | Kakurinji, built by Prince Shotoku in AD 589, is a historically significant Buddhist temple complex in Kakogawa city, Hyogo prefecture. | JPL · 52285 |
| 52291 Mott | 1990 TU$_1$ | John R. Mott (1865–1955), American organizer of the modern ecumenical movement and Peace Prize Nobelist | JPL · 52291 |
| 52292 Kamdzhalov | 1990 TB$_2$ | Yordan Kamdzhalov (born 1980), Bulgarian conductor. | JPL · 52292 |
| 52293 Mommsen | 1990 TQ$_3$ | Theodor Mommsen (1817–1903), German classical historian, epigraphist, and Nobelist | JPL · 52293 |
| 52294 Detlef | 1990 TJ$_4$ | Detlef Ninnemann (born 1944), a German patent attorney and electrical engineer. | JPL · 52294 |
| 52295 Köppen | 1990 VK$_4$ | Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940), a Russian-German botanist-climatologist. | JPL · 52295 |

## 52301–52400

| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
| 52301 Qumran | 1991 RQ$_2$ | Qumran, Palestine, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found | JPL · 52301 |
| 52308 Hanspeterröser | 1991 TE$_3$ | Hans-Peter Röser (born 1949), director of the Institute of Space Studies at the University of Stuttgart. | JPL · 52308 |
| 52309 Philnicolai | 1991 TQ$_7$ | Philipp Nicolai, German Lutheran pastor and poet, author of the hymns Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (Wake, awake! for night is flying) and Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (How brightly beams the morning star!) | JPL · 52309 |
| 52316 Daveslater | 1992 BD | David C. Slater (1957–2011), a U.S. physicist with Southwest Research Institute. | JPL · 52316 |
| 52334 Oberammergau | 1992 FS$_3$ | Oberammergau, Bavaria, Germany, festival place of a famous Passion Play | JPL · 52334 |
| 52337 Compton | 1992 RS | Arthur Holly Compton, American physicist and Nobelist | JPL · 52337 |
| 52341 Ballmann | 1992 SB$_2$ | Helga Ballmann (born 1954), the personal assistant of the Director of the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Heidelberg. JPL | MPC · 52341 |
| 52344 Yehudimenuhin | 1992 YM$_1$ | Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), an American-born violinist and conductor, is considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. | JPL · 52344 |
| 52384 Elenapanko | 1993 HZ$_5$ | Elena Alekseevna Panko (born 1958), a Ukrainian astronomer at Nikolaev State University | JPL · 52384 |
| 52387 Huitzilopochtli | 1993 OM$_7$ | Huitzilopochtli is an Aztec god associated with the sun. His name, meaning "hummingbird of the south" came from the Aztec belief that the spirits of killed warriors followed the sun through the sky during four subsequent years. Thereafter they were transformed into hummingbirds. | JPL · 52387 |

## 52401–52500

| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
| 52421 Daihoji | 1994 LA | Daihōji, north of Kumakōgen, Japan, 44th destination of the Shikoku Pilgrimage | JPL · 52421 |
| 52422 LPL | 1994 LP | The University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory | JPL · 52422 |
| 52426 Ritaalessandro | 1994 PF | Rita Alessandro (b. 1989), an Italian amateur astronomer. | IAU · 52426 |
| 52455 Masamika | 1995 AD$_1$ | Masa-aki Takanashi (1959–2001) and his wife Mika, Japanese amateur astronomers | JPL · 52455 |
| 52457 Enquist | 1995 AE$_4$ | Anna Enquist (born 1945), a Dutch author and poet, who studied psycho-analysis at Leiden and piano at the conservatory of Den Haag. | JPL · 52457 |
| 52480 Enzomora | 1995 UM$_5$ | Gian Vincenzo Mora, Italian amateur astronomer | JPL · 52480 |
| 52487 Huazhongkejida | 1995 XO$_2$ | The Chinese Huazhong University of Science and Technology (Huazhongkejida or HUST) is a research university located in Wuhan, Hubei province. It was the first university in central China to establish an Astronomy Department. | IAU · 52487 |
| 52500 Kanata | 1996 DC$_1$ | KANATA, Japanese for "Far Away", name of the new 1.5-m telescope of Hiroshima University | JPL · 52500 |

## 52501–52600

| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
| 52558 Pigafetta | 1997 FR | Antonio Pigafetta (c. 1492—c. 1531) was an Italian navigator and geographer. He participated in the first circumnavigation of the globe from 1519 to 1522. | JPL · 52558 |
| 52570 Lauraco | 1997 JC$_1$ | Laura Colombini (born 1986), a European Languages and Cultures graduate of the University of Modena, is the first daughter of one of the co-discoverers of this minor planet. | IAU · 52570 |
| 52589 Montviloff | 1997 PY$_3$ | Nicolas Montviloff, French co-founder of the Observatoire des Pises, and current president of the Société astronomique de Montpellier | JPL · 52589 |

## 52601–52700

| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
| 52601 Iwayaji | 1997 SJ$_{16}$ | Iwaya-ji [ja], east of Kumakōgen, Japan, 45th destination of the Shikoku Pilgrimage | JPL · 52601 |
| 52602 Floriansignoret | 1997 TY$_5$ | Florian Signoret (b. 1983), a French computer scientist and amateur astronomer. | IAU · 52602 |
| 52604 Thomayer | 1997 TZ$_9$ | Josef Thomayer (1853–1927), Czech professor of internal medicine at the Charles University of Prague | JPL · 52604 |
| 52633 Turvey | 1997 WL$_{23}$ | Barry Sydney Turvey (born 1950) has devoted many years to the cause of popularizing astronomy in the UK, as Membership Secretary, Merchandising Manager and Council Member of the Society for Popular Astronomy. | JPL · 52633 |
| 52649 Chrismith | 1997 YX$_{11}$ | Christine Elizabeth Smith, American elementary school teacher | JPL · 52649 |
| 52655 Villermaux | 1998 AF$_6$ | Jacques Villermaux (1935–1997), a French amateur astronomer and Professor of Chemical Engineering. | IAU · 52655 |
| 52665 Brianmay | 1998 BM$_{30}$ | Brian May, British astrophysicist, chancellor of Liverpool John Moores University, and lead guitarist and songwriter for the rock group Queen | JPL · 52665 |
| 52670 Alby | 1998 DC$_3$ | Alberto ("Alby") Colombini (born 1989) is a graduate accountant, employed in a transport company, and an amateur soccer player. He is the second son of one of the co-discoverers of this minor planet. | IAU · 52670 |
| 52681 Kelleghan | 1998 DK$_{34}$ | Deirdre Kelleghan (born 1957) is an Irish astronomer, artist and educator. She invents, designs and enacts creative workshops to help children understand our solar system through drawing. Her activities take place in schools, libraries, science centres and observatories throughout Ireland. | JPL · 52681 |
| 52691 Maryrobinettek | 1998 FC$_6$ | Mary Robinette Kowal (b. 1969), an American science fiction writer and puppeteer. | IAU · 52691 |

## 52701–52800

| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
| 52703 Bernardleblanc | 1998 FW$_{72}$ | Bernard Leblanc (1941–2015), a French professor at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure Louis Lumière in Paris. | IAU · 52703 |
| 52767 Ophelestes | 1998 MW$_{41}$ | Ophelestes, a Trojan warrior, was killed by an arrow of Teucer, who was causing much havoc with his bow amongst the ranks of the Trojans. | JPL · 52767 |

## 52801–52900

| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
| 52860 Méganediet | 1998 SX | Mégane Diet (b. 1988), a French Optical Ground Station engineer at Centre National d'Études Spatiales. | IAU · 52860 |
| 52872 Okyrhoe | 1998 SG$_{35}$ | Okyrhoe, mythological daughter of Chiron and Chariklo | JPL · 52872 |
| 52873 Grootaerd | 1998 SP$_{35}$ | Jean-Pierre Grootaerd (born 1956), Belgian amateur astronomer. | JPL · 52873 |

## 52901–53000

| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
| 52959 Danieladepaulis | 1998 TY$_2$ | Daniela de Paulis (b. 1969), a French media artist and Artist in Residence at the SETI Institute. Founder and Director of the global project A Sign in Space. | IAU · 52959 |
| 52963 Vercingetorix | 1998 TB$_{16}$ | Vercingetorix (ca. 82 BC – 46 BC) was a King of the Arverni and military leader of the Celtic people against the Roman invasion. He beat Julius Caesar's forces at the Battle of Gergovia (52 BCE), but surrendered during the battle of Alesia, presumably because of superstitions related to the lunar eclipse of 26 Sep. 52 BCE. | JPL · 52963 |
| 52965 Laurencebentz | 1998 TK$_{17}$ | Laurence Bentz (b. 1958), a French medical doctor. | IAU · 52965 |
| 52975 Cyllarus | 1998 TF$_{35}$ | Cyllarus, mythological centaur. | JPL · 52975 |
| 52982 Marieclaire | 1998 UY$_{15}$ | Marie-Claire Hainaut (née Rouelle, b. 1965), a Belgian physicist and painter. | IAU · 52982 |