Most surface features on Venus are named after women.
The International Astronomical Union established this naming tradition for Venusian geography. Craters generally honour famous or historically significant women, while larger features such as regiones, coronae, and planitiae often draw on goddesses and female figures from mythology and history.
The system gives Venus a distinctive map. Aphrodite Terra is named for the Greek goddess of love, Ishtar Terra for a Mesopotamian goddess, and the vast Lakshmi Planum for the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. These names reflect the planet’s association with female deities and figures across cultures.
There are important exceptions. Maxwell Montes honours physicist James Clerk Maxwell, while Alpha Regio, Beta Regio, and Ovda Regio retained names assigned before the current convention was adopted. “Astronomers,” “rivers,” and “birds” are not the general IAU theme for Venus.