Meanings of minor-planet names: 54001–55000
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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).[1] Before May 2021, citations were published in MPC's Minor Planet Circulars for many decades.[2] Recent citations can also be found on the JPL Small-Body Database (SBDB).[3] 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.[4][5]
Based on Paul Herget's The Names of the Minor Planets,[6] 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.[7] The WGSBN publishes a comprehensive guideline for the naming rules of non-cometary small Solar System bodies.[8]
54001–54100
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| There are no named minor planets in this number range | |||
54101–54200
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54182 Galsarid | 2000 HA66 | Gal Sarid (born 1981) is a research scientist at the Florida Space Institute who studies the thermal evolution of comets and asteroids, and the early compositional evolution of the solar system. | IAU · 54182 |
54201–54300
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54237 Hiroshimanabe | 2000 JD18 | Hiroshi Manabe, Japanese illustrator | JPL · 54237 |
| 54288 Daikikawasaki | 2000 JV53 | Daiki Kawasaki (born 1996), the discoverer's oldest grandchild. | JPL · 54288 |
54301–54400
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54362 Restitutum | 2000 KP38 | Latin term for "something that has been replaced or restored to its former place"; this minor planet was originally lost soon after discovery, then found again † | MPC · 54362 |
| 54391 Adammckay | 2000 KO67 | Adam McKay (born 1986) is a postdoctoral fellow at the American University and NASA-GSFC (USA) who studies the volatile composition of comets through high-resolution spectroscopy at optical and IR wavelengths. | IAU · 54391 |
54401–54500
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54402 Jonathanbradshaw | 2000 LA2 | Jonathan Bradshaw (b. 1965) is an English-Australian occultation observer who in 2021 noticed the single blink of a star 7.4 radii from dwarf planet Quaoar where no event was expected. Independent observations by R. Langersek and J. Broughton led to it being reported to Paris Observatory as a Neptune-like ring, with nothing detected on the outbound side. | JPL · 54402 |
| 54403 Langersek | 2000 LD2 | Renato Langersek (b. 1964) is a Slovenian-Australian occultation observer who co-discovered dwarf-planet Quaoar's unique Q1R ring, having recorded a star's brief disappearance in 2021. The discovery surprised the science community when it was announced in 2023. The ring is an enigma in that its radial distance far exceeds the long-established Roche Limit. | JPL · 54403 |
| 54411 Bobestelle | 2000 LH10 | George Robert ("Bob") Stetson and Estelle Marie Ives, the discoverer's parents | JPL · 54411 |
| 54439 Topeka | 2000 MG3 | Topeka, Kansas | JPL · 54439 |
54501–54600
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54509 YORP | 2000 PH5 | YORP effect | JPL · 54509 |
| 54510 Yakagehonjin | 2000 PD7 | Yakage honjin, located in southwestern Okayama, was a traditional accommodation for the daimyo and other Shogunate officials while on the road in the Edo Period. Only upper-class persons could stay or have meals there. It is designated as an important cultural property of Japan. | IAU · 54510 |
| 54521 Aladdin | 2000 QD1 | Aladdin is the central character in a well-known folk tale of the same name. The story originates from western China or possibly the Middle East. It tells of Aladdin's battle with evil sorcerers to gain control of a magic lamp containing a genie who emerges to grant wishes whenever the lamp is rubbed. | JPL · 54521 |
| 54522 Menaechmus | 2000 QS1 | Menaechmus, 4th-century B.C. Greek mathematician, credited with the discovery of the conic sections | JPL · 54522 |
| 54563 Kinokonasu | 2000 QJ147 | Kinoko Nasu (born 1973) is a Japanese author. His best-known works are Tsukihime, Fate/stay night, and Kara no Kyoukai (English title "Garden of Sinners"). All have been produced as anime series. | JPL · 54563 |
| 54564 Kiyoshiizumi | 2000 QZ148 | Kiyoshi Izumi (born 1959), Japanese amateur astronomer and meteor observer since 1971. | JPL · 54564 |
| 54598 Bienor | 2000 QC243 | Bienor, mythological centaur that attended Pirithous' wedding, fought in the ensuing battle against the Lapiths, and was killed by Theseus | JPL · 54598 |
54601–54700
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54610 Toichisakata | 2000 RG52 | Toichi Sakata (b. 1948) contributed to the promotion of science and technology in Japan. In addition, during his tenure as the President of the Japan Space Forum, he made a great contribution to the development of asteroid observation and debris observation, and worked hard to operate the Bisei Spaceguard Center. | IAU · 54610 |
| 54693 Garymyers | 2001 FM6 | Gary Myers, American amateur astronomer, member of the Huachuca Astronomy Club | JPL · 54693 |
54701–54800
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54720 Kentstevens | 2001 JY2 | Kent Stevens (born 1952) has considerable expertise in Artificial Intelligence and Modeling and Simulation. He was a former Observatory Director at Hidden Valley Observatory in South Dakota and re-designed, engineered and replaced the original telescope following a severe vandalism incident. | JPL · 54720 |
54801–54900
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54810 Molleigh | 2001 MS24 | Molleigh Elena Struble (1994–2010) grew up near Yerkes Observatory, where she volunteered for educational programs such as one connecting Yerkes and the Science Museum, Tokyo. | JPL · 54810 |
| 54820 Svenders | 2001 NV1 | Enders Robinson (1929–2022) and Sven Treitel (1930–2024), American pioneers of applied geophysical signal analysis † | MPC · 54820 |
| 54827 Kurpfalz | 2001 NQ8 | The County Palatine of the Rhine ("Kurpfalz") goes back to a territory of the Holy Roman Empire. In the Congress of Vienna in 1815 it was separated from Rheinland. The region around Heidelberg–Mannheim (now a part of Baden–Württemberg) is today still called "Kurpfalz" referring also to the people talking "Kurpfälzisch". | JPL · 54827 |
| 54852 Mercatali | 2001 OZ16 | Antonio Mercatali (born 1962), an amateur astronomer and astrometrist of minor planets from Livorno, Italy | JPL · 54852 |
| 54862 Sundaigakuen | 2001 OW25 | Sundaigakuen, a high school in Tokyo, the alma mater of Japanese discoverer Hiroshi Maeno | JPL · 54862 |
| 54863 Gasnault | 2001 OG28 | Olivier Gasnault (born 1973) specializes in remote sensing and is deeply involved in the exploration of the Moon and Mars, both from orbit and on the ground with the Curiosity Rover. Name and citation provided by S. Le Mouelic. | JPL · 54863 |
54901–55000
| Named minor planet | Provisional | This minor planet was named for... | Ref · Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54902 Close | 2001 OG77 | Gary Close (1940–1999), American director of Hopkins Planetarium † | MPC · 54902 |
| 54932 Waltharris | 2001 OH103 | Walt Harris (born 1964) is a professor at the University of Arizona who studies thin atmospheres with an emphasis on comets. He also develops instrumentation for high-resolving power spectroscopy that has been used in ground and suborbital observations of comets and the interplanetary medium. | IAU · 54932 |
| 54963 Sotin | 2001 PS12 | Christophe Sotin (born 1958), chief scientist of the proposed Titan orbiter Oceanus at JPL and director of the Laboratory for Planetology and Geodynamics at the University of Nantes | JPL · 54963 |
| 54967 Millucci | 2001 PF29 | Vincenzo Millucci (born 1947), an Italian science communicator and professor of mathematical physics at the University of Siena. He established the university's Torre Luciana Observatory in Florence. | JPL · 54967 |
| 54983 Simone | 2001 QE | Simone Tombelli (b. 1966), a member of Gruppo Astrofili Montelupo. | IAU · 54983 |