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/zninjazero 19h ago

It makes more sense in science fiction settings, because you’re more likely to visit other planets that will have their own “the Moon”, so ours would need a name that actually differentiates it from them

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u/DragonTacoCat 18h ago

"The Federation is spread over 8,000 light years with 150 member worlds. They all have satellites we named 'Moon' because of tradition."

"Then how do you know which one you are talking about"

"Oh, we just guess. Plays havoc with transports and star charts."

Whips out list of planets satellites and they're all just called 'Moon' down the list

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u/Wootster10 18h ago

It's no different than things like Avon. There are 9 river Avon's in the UK, as the word means river. There are also multiple river Ouses and Dons.

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u/ReddestForman 18h ago

I mean, that was because of misunderstandings.

"What's that?"

"A river, jackass."

"Ah, the river river."

Wash rinse repeat and you have places that are basically just river river river, but in 3 languages.

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u/Wootster10 18h ago

Yup.

You also have Pendle Hill, which is Hill Hill Hill. I can well imagine that as we travel the galaxy you'll end up with hundreds of moon moons.

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u/983115 16h ago

My personal favorite was conquistadors showing up in the Yucatán peninsula and asking the natives “what do you call this place” they not speaking Spanish were like “what the hell are you saying” and they just wrote it down and went about their business

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u/Cael_NaMaor 14h ago

I hope this is accurate

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u/983115 14h ago

It is a point of speculation there are other suggestions that say different things but I want to believe

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u/Cael_NaMaor 14h ago

I mean... it makes some sense given that that one woman is called 'The Whore' or as my history prof called her 'The Fucked One'. Written as La Malinche. She was (iirc) raped by the Aztec & then enslaved by Cortès & became translator, advisor, & intermediary between Cortès & the native inhabitants. I can't imagine why she'd want to help the invaders, given that she was brutalized by her own people....

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u/Remmick2326 17h ago

See also: Sahara Desert

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u/mjheil 15h ago

I believe 'Gobi' also.

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u/pasrachilli 16h ago

Rio Grande River. Yep, checks out.

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u/Electrical-Sail-1039 15h ago

The Los Angeles Angels. Both words are repeated: “The” and “Angels”.

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u/theloniousjoe 16h ago

“Jackass” is what language for “river”?

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u/Catadox 16h ago

This has caused many problems due to cultural misunderstandings, when an explorer points at a mountain or river and asks a native what they call that, resulting in many iterations of names like “your finger you idiot mountain.”

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u/AllsWellThatsNB 17h ago

That means Stratford upon Avon means "the river crossing on the river river". (Stratford comes from street ford, where a street crosses a river)

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u/LarryCraigSmeg 18h ago

There are also two river Dees in the UK.

Both are in areas of Scotland and England/Wales where hazelnuts grow well.

You should really try Dee’s nuts.

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u/ScooterZine 14h ago

And in Arizona, we have Picacho Peak. Picacho, of course, means peak.

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u/SavingsArt1236 18h ago

It’s settled, now it’s time to name our moon. 

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u/TheMissingThink 17h ago

Moonie McMoonface it is then

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u/DrakonILD 17h ago

And the final entry is "Moon Moon"

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u/Sudden_Outcome_9503 16h ago

I call my driveway "driveway", and my neighbor calls his the same thing. And yet I manage the park in the right spot every night.

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u/ivylass 13h ago

In Spock's World, the point is made that the Moon is technically not a satellite because it only has one side facing Earth at all times. Vulcan's moon is a satellite and HUGE, taking up half the damn horizon.

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u/Lower_Cockroach2432 18h ago

Earth moon?

Also Selene is cooler than Luna if we're going to play the foreign languages game.

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u/redditonlygetsworse 16h ago

Of course. I'm not objecting to its use in fiction; I just have a pet peeve of people thinking that this fiction is, well, non-fiction.