Browse every name in Gemstone Names, or use the generator to discover one at random.

Gemstones and minerals, and the older words behind them.

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• A
• Agate
  stone of the Achates (traditional)
• Alexandrite
  named in honor of Alexander II
• Amazonite
  stone of the Amazon (a misnomer)
• Amber
  originally referred to ambergris, later extended to fossilized resin
• Amethyst
  not drunken
• Apatite
  deceiver
• Aquamarine
  seawater
• Aventurine
  by chance
• B
• Beryl
  a pale green precious stone
• Bloodstone
  blood-spotted stone
• C
• Carnelian
  cornel-cherry red, later 'flesh-colored'
• Chalcedony
  uncertain, traditionally tied to the city of Chalcedon
• Charoite
  stone of the Chara River
• Chrysoprase
  golden leek (describing its gold-tinted green color)
• Citrine
  lemon-colored stone
• Coral
  the coral organism/gem material
• D
• Diamond
  unconquerable (a reference to its extreme hardness)
• E
• Emerald
  green gemstone
• F
• Fluorite
  flowing stone
• G
• Garnet
  resembling pomegranate seeds
• H
• Heliodor
  gift of the sun
• Hematite
  blood-colored stone
• I
• Iolite
  violet stone
• J
• Jade
  stone believed to cure kidney and side ailments
• Jasper
  a spotted or speckled stone
• K
• Kunzite
  named in honor of George Frederick Kunz
• Kyanite
  dark blue
• L
• Labradorite
  named for Labrador
• Lapis Lazuli
  stone of blue (sky stone)
• Larimar
  Larissa's sea
• M
• Malachite
  mallow-green stone
• Moldavite
  stone of the Moldau
• Moonstone
  stone with a moon-like glow
• Morganite
  named in honor of J. P. Morgan
• N
• Nephrite
  kidney stone
• O
• Obsidian
  named for Obsius (the spelling is likely a scribal alteration of Obsianus)
• Onyx
  fingernail
• Opal
  precious stone
• P
• Pearl
  possibly named after the shape of the shellfish that produces it
• Peridot
  possibly simply 'gem'
• Prehnite
  named in honor of Hendrik von Prehn
• Pyrite
  fire stone
• Q
• Quartz
  uncertain; the exact origin of the word is debated among linguists
• R
• Rhodochrosite
  rose-colored
• Rhodonite
  rose stone
• Ruby
  red stone
• S
• Sapphire
  blue stone (though the Greek word may originally have referred to lapis lazuli, not corundum)
• Sardonyx
  banded sard
• Selenite
  moon stone
• Sodalite
  sodium stone
• Spinel
  thorn (a reference to the pointed shape of its crystals)
• T
• Tanzanite
  named for its country of origin
• Topaz
  possibly named for an ancient island source (disputed)
• Tourmaline
  a Sinhalese term for colored gems
• Turquoise
  the Turkish stone
• U
• Unakite
  named for the Unaka range
• V
• Variscite
  named for the Vogtland (Variscia) region
• W
• Wulfenite
  named in honor of Franz Xaver von Wulfen
• X
• Xenotime
  vain honor
• Z
• Zircon
  gold-colored