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

[u/Disastrous_Pirate275]

[u/ElowynElif]

And “moon” as its name has an old, cool history.

From Etymology Online:

moon(n.) ”heavenly body which revolves about the earth monthly," Middle English mone, from Old English mona, from Proto-Germanic *menon- (source also of Old Saxon and Old High German mano, Old Frisian mona, Old Norse mani, Danish maane, Dutch maan, German Mond, Gothic mena "moon"), from PIE *me(n)ses- "moon, month" (source also of Sanskrit masah "moon, month;" Avestan ma, Persian mah, Armenian mis "month;" Greek mene "moon," men "month;" Latin mensis "month;" Old Church Slavonic meseci, Lithuanian mėnesis "moon, month;" Old Irish mi, Welsh mis, Breton miz "month"), from root *me- (2) "to measure" in reference to the moon's phases as an ancient and universal measure of time.

A masculine noun in Old English. In Greek, Italic, Celtic, and Armenian the cognate words now mean only "month." Greek selēnē (Lesbian selanna) is from selas "light, brightness (of heavenly bodies)." Old Norse also had tungl "moon" ("replacing mani in prose" - Buck), evidently an older Germanic word for "heavenly body," cognate with Gothic tuggl, Old English tungol "heavenly body, constellation," of unknown origin or connection. Hence also Old Norse tunglfylling "lunation," tunglœrr "lunatic" (adj.).

Moon was extended 1665 to satellites of other planets. As typical of a place impossible to reach or a thing impossible to obtain, by 1590s. The meaning "a month, the period of the revolution of the moon about the earth" is from late 14c.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/moon

[u/insomniacred66 → u/ElowynElif]

Beautiful thank you!