Chemical Element: holmium

(Modern Latin: chemical element; Holmia, the Latinized form of Stockholm; rare earth)

Chemical-Element Information

Symbol: Ho
Atomic number: 67
Year discovered: 1878 and 1879.

Discovered by: J. L. Soret in 1878 and independently by Per Teodor Cleve (1840-1905), a Swedish chemist in 1879.


  • Cleve named the element from the Latinized word Holmia for Stockholm, his native city.
  • The element occurs associated with other rare earths in the minerals gadolinite, euxenite, xenotime, samarskite, and others.
  • The metal and its compounds are used for research purposes and their limited applications are based largely upon distinctive electronic and magnetic properties.

Name in other languages:

French: holmium

German: Holmium

Italian: olmio

Spanish: holmio


Information about other elements may be seen at this Chemical Elements List.

A special unit about words that include chemo-, chem- may be seen here.