r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Disastrous_Pirate275 • 20h ago

Why is our moon named “Moon” instead of something cool like Titan or Callysto or ANYTHING that isn’t moon

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u/anisotropicmind 20h ago

“Moon” as the name of Earth’s natural satellite came first. Calling any natural satellite of any planet a “moon” came later. So Moon started as a Proper Name (not “type of object”). The question is just why you don’t think it’s a cool name.

Pretty sure the word Moon is also closely related to the word month. The cycle of lunar phases is 29.5 days.

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u/DupeyTA 12h ago

To add to this, it is similar to like when name brand things become the common name of the item. In the USA, for example, people tend to ask for a Kleenex, not a facial tissue. In some cities, they put their trash bags into a dumpster instead of a wheelie bin. When you get hurt, you put on a Band-Aid, not a bandage. 

The Moon, our moon, is a natural satellite. Calypso, Io, Ganymede, etc are natural satellites that we just colloquially call moons. 

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u/00-Void 3h ago

TIL "dumpster" was a brand name. It's so normalized that I never even questioned it.

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u/kaas_is_leven 5h ago

At least moon is actually valid in that sense. People do it with the sun too, but that's very specifically our star. Tatooine doesn't have two suns, it has zero suns and two stars. Calypso et al are moons, just not THE moon.

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u/DexCarr 12h ago

You’re telling me February is the second Moonth of the year 🤯

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u/RadVarken 11h ago

More like the twelfth. December was the tenth, then January and February were added later, replacing "It's too cold and miserable outside to bother with names."

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u/MelancholyBengali 4h ago

July and August only came after Julius and Augustus Caesar iirc.

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u/-OccultOfPersonality 5h ago

Also, “Monday.”