Why Saturn’s backwards moons have Norse names

The IAU’s naming scheme for the Norse group.

Published 2026-10-23

The IAU reserves names from Norse mythology — mostly giants — for Saturn’s retrograde moons.^[4]

An exception

Phoebe has a Greek name because it was discovered and named long before the others.^[4]

Few names

Only 31 of the Norse group’s 210 known members have names at present.^[4]

Fornjot’s name

Fornjot was named after Fornjót, a giant in Norse mythology.^[1]

Numbered citations link to the sources list on the Fornjot overview page.