Uranus is undoubtedly the planet with the funniest name, just ask any 6th-grade boy. Ok, if we are being honest, just about everyone has made a joke or two about Uranus, but while this name does sound funny, it sure beats what it was originally called.

Back in March of 1781, astronomer William Herschel first recognized it as a planet. Prior to that, people assumed it was a distant star because that is how it looks to the naked eye.

Using a telescope, Herschel found that it was actually a planet. This is the first planet to be discovered using a telescope. It was a big deal because it also dramatically changed what scientists thought concerning how far away the sun could influence objects, but that is another story.

As a citizen of the United Kingdom, King George the III wanted to reward Herschel for his findings and the great accomplishment. So, he provided him with a pension that allowed him to become a full-time astronomer.

In general, the person who discovers a new object in space has the honor of naming it, and this was no exception. When asked by his colleagues what he wanted to name this newly discovered, Herschel thought it would be nice to honor his King, and named it Georgium Sidus, which means George’s Star.

So yes, originally Uranus was named George. It really just doesn’t have the same ring to it and certainly doesn’t fit in with the names of all the other planets.

Not surprisingly, everyone in the scientific community hated this name and many refused to use it. Various astronomers proposed other names, including naming it Neptune (the planet now known as Neptune was not yet discovered).

Eventually, German astronomer Johann Bode proposed naming it Uranus, and it seemed to stick and became widely accepted.

In the UK, however, astronomers continued to call it George all the way up until 1850. By that point, they finally gave up on the name and accepted the consensus decision to name it Uranus.

I wish it were still named George!

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about a second giant hole has opened up on the sun’s surface. Here’s what it means.