Polonium was named after Marie Curie’s native country, Poland.
Marie Curie and Pierre Curie discovered polonium in 1898 while studying uranium ore called pitchblende. They identified it as a previously unknown radioactive element and named it polonium after Poland, which at the time was partitioned among neighboring empires and did not exist as an independent state.
Polonium is a chemical element with the symbol Po and atomic number 84. It is a highly radioactive, silvery metal in the oxygen group of the periodic table. The Curies found that pitchblende was more radioactive than its uranium content could explain, leading them to search for additional elements.
Radium was discovered by the Curies later in 1898, but it is not named after Poland. Curium honors Marie and Pierre Curie, while francium honors France. These names are related to the same scientific era but represent different naming choices.