# Whence Pluto's moon "Charon"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 22, 2022, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638 "2022-06-22T15:56:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/21 "2022-06-23T12:59:08Z")
I’ll get back to you on that in about 20 hours… ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/22 "2022-06-23T13:15:40Z")
That doesn’t seem right. Are you the god of time, or is time the god of you? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/23 "2022-06-23T13:30:20Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > On June 24, 1978, Christy first suggested the name _Charon_ as a scientific-sounding version of his wife Charlene’s nickname, “Char”. “Scientific sounding”? It is a Greek Mythology-sounding name to me. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/24 "2022-06-23T13:35:08Z")
In light of Pluto being _divorced_ from the list of planets, it’s only fair that James Christy divorce his wife Charlene. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/25 "2022-06-23T14:08:23Z")
Or reclassify himself as a dwarf. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/26 "2022-06-23T14:22:22Z")
Persephone was already in use as an asteroid name; [Wikipedia link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/399_Persephone) ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/27 "2022-06-23T15:46:48Z")
Growing up, I saw Persephone every day. We had a Hirum Powers life-size bust of Proserpine (i.e. Persephone) in our foyer, til my father had it sold at Christie’s Auction House. Similar to this: [![](https://www.pafa.org/sites/default/files/artworkpics/1864_5_l.jpg) ](https://www.pafa.org/sites/default/files/artworkpics/1864_5_l.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/28 "2022-06-23T16:03:32Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Persephone was already in use as an asteroid name; Which means the IAU won’t approve assigning it to a satellite. At least I understand that’s the current rule. But there are a surprising number of name conflicts among solar system bodies, some as recent as 2001: > **[Name conflicts with minor planets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Name_conflicts_with_minor_planets)** > > There are several real or apparent name conflicts between different Solar System bodies, in spite of efforts to give every named body a distinct name. Most of these conflicts are between asteroids and natural satellites of planets, which are named according to different but partially overlapping schemes. Most satellites are named after people and divinities in Greek and Roman mythology; this is rarely true of asteroids currently, with the exception of centaurs and Jupiter trojans, but formerly ma... ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/29 "2022-06-23T16:11:47Z")
Most of my input comes from reading. I assumed it was “ch” as in “chomp” or “chunk” or “Chewbacca”. This is the first I’ve heard it should be “sh”. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/30 "2022-06-23T16:18:32Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > As an interesting corollary, this etymology is used as justification for pronouncing it with a soft “sh”, rather than the hard “k” of the Greek. Wait it’s pronounced the same as Sharon Stone’s first name? 😕 I always assumed it was pronounced like the ferryman of mythology. So lame. Funny enough, Charon was named on my first birthday. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/31 "2022-06-23T16:21:31Z")
I’m sure this is well-established lore at this point, but something about this triggers my BS-radar. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/32 "2022-06-23T16:31:14Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Most of my input comes from reading. I assumed it was “ch” as in “chomp” or “chunk” or “Chewbacca”. This is the first I’ve heard it should be “sh”. If it were actually named for the Greek mythological character, the pronunciation would be /k/, such as in _character_ or _Christmas_. At least that’s the way that letter (chi) is usually transliterated/pronounced in English. Unfortunately, that sometimes causes confusion with Greek names that have a kappa such as Cronus (confused with Chronos). ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/33 "2022-06-23T16:55:40Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Unfortunately, that sometimes causes confusion with Greek names that have a kappa such as Cronus (confused with Chronos). So our beloved mod isn’t pronounced like Shronos? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/34 "2022-06-23T17:02:30Z")
I prefer Iuggoth for the hypothetical Planet X. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/35 "2022-06-23T19:41:54Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > If it were actually named for the Greek mythological character, the pronunciation would be /k/, such as in _character_ or _Christmas_. At least that’s the way that letter (chi) is usually transliterated/pronounced in English. Unfortunately, that sometimes causes confusion with Greek names that have a kappa such as Cronus (confused with Chronos). Of course, I also went awhile thinking names like Euripides was pronounce YOU-rip-eye-dzz. (Why isn’t Aristotle Ah-ri-STOW-tull-ee?). Since I’d encountered Argentinian _bolas_ in cowboy lore, I thought a hyperbola was a hyper-BOH-la until my English teacher laughed at me. Ah well - English and foreign pronunciation. Reminds me of G B Shaw wondering if fish could be spelled “ghoti”. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2022, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/36 "2022-06-23T19:56:03Z")
Try to rationalize the pronunciation of “bicycle”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2022, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/37 "2022-06-24T13:00:59Z")
There is actually a difference in the pronunciation of chi and kappa, but it’s not usually a distinction that’s significant in English. Certainly the sound of chi is closer to an English k than it is to an English ch. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2022, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/38 "2022-06-24T13:04:19Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Try to rationalize the pronunciation of “bicycle”. Any other pronunciation would be inconsistent with tricycle. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2022, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/39 "2022-06-24T13:44:13Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > (Why isn’t Aristotle Ah-ri-STOW-tull-ee?) In Greek, his name was Aristoteles, and was pronounced something like Ah-ris-TOTE-uh-lees. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2022, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638/40 "2022-06-24T17:14:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > There is actually a difference in the pronunciation of chi and kappa, but it’s not usually a distinction that’s significant in English. Certainly the sound of chi is closer to an English k than it is to an English ch. What, it’s “kye” not “cheye”? I did four years of physics and did not pick up on this. Now it’s all Greek to me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-plutos-moon-charon/966638.md?page=3)