---
title: "List of scientific units named after people"
chunk: 1/1
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scientific_units_named_after_people"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:01:42.657615+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

This is a list of scientific units named after people. For other lists of eponyms (names derived from people) see eponym.  By convention, the name of the unit is properly written starting with a lowercase letter (except where any word would be capitalized), but the first letter of its symbol is a capital letter if it is derived from a proper name.


== SI units ==
ampere (A), electric current – André-Marie Ampère
becquerel (Bq), radioactivity – Henri Becquerel
degree Celsius (°C), temperature – Anders Celsius
coulomb (C), electric charge – Charles-Augustin de Coulomb
farad (F), capacitance – Michael Faraday
gray (Gy), absorbed dose of radiation – Louis Harold Gray
henry (H), inductance – Joseph Henry
hertz (Hz), frequency – Heinrich Rudolf Hertz
joule (J), energy, work, heat – James Prescott Joule
kelvin (K), thermodynamic temperature – Lord Kelvin
newton (N), force – Isaac Newton
ohm (Ω), electrical resistance – Georg Ohm
pascal (Pa), pressure – Blaise Pascal
siemens (S), electrical conductance – Werner von Siemens
sievert (Sv), radiation dose equivalent – Rolf Sievert
tesla (T), magnetic flux density – Nikola Tesla
volt (V), electric potential, electromotive force – Alessandro Volta
watt (W), power, radiant flux – James Watt
weber (Wb), magnetic flux – Wilhelm Eduard Weber


== CGS units ==
biot (Bi), electric current – Jean-Baptiste Biot
buckingham (B), electric quadrupole moment – A. David Buckingham
debye (D), electric dipole moment – Peter Debye
eotvos (E), gravitational gradient – Loránd Eötvös
galileo (Gal), acceleration – Galileo Galilei
gauss (G or Gs), magnetic flux density – Carl Friedrich Gauss
gilbert (Gb), magnetomotive force – William Gilbert
goeppert-mayer (GM), two-photon absorption cross section – Maria Goeppert Mayer
kayser (kayser), wavenumber – Heinrich Kayser
maxwell (Mx), magnetic flux – James Clerk Maxwell
oersted (Oe), magnetic field strength – Hans Christian Ørsted
poise (P), dynamic viscosity – Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille
Rayl or Rayleigh (Rayl), acoustic impedance – John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh
rayleigh (R), photon flux – Robert Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh
stokes (S or St), kinematic viscosity – George Gabriel Stokes


=== No longer in use ===
franklin (Fr), electric charge – Benjamin Franklin
clausius (Cl), entropy – Rudolf Clausius


== Others ==
angstrom (Å), distance – Anders Jonas Ångström
baud (Bd), symbol rate – Émile Baudot
Bark scale, psychoacoustical scale – Heinrich Barkhausen
brewster (B), stress optic coefficient – David Brewster
centimorgan (cM), recombination frequency – Thomas Hunt Morgan
curie (Ci), radioactivity – Marie and Pierre Curie
dalton (Da), atomic mass – John Dalton
darcy (D), permeability, – Henry Darcy
decibel (dB) dimensionless proportions and ratios, e.g. relative power levels – Alexander Graham Bell
degree Fahrenheit (°F), temperature – Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
degree Rankine (°R), temperature – William John Macquorn Rankine
Dobson unit (DU), atmospheric ozone – Gordon Dobson
erlang (E), dimensionless volume of telecommunications traffic – Agner Krarup Erlang
fermi (fm), distance – Enrico Fermi
hartley (Hart), information – Ralph Hartley
hartree (Ha), energy – Douglas Hartree
Hounsfield scale, radiodensity – Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield
jansky (Jy), electromagnetic flux – Karl Jansky
langley (ly), solar radiation – Samuel Pierpont Langley
langmuir (L), gas exposure dose – Irving Langmuir
neper (Np), relative power level – John Napier
degree Öchsle (°Oe), density – Ferdinand Öchsle
Rockwell scale (HR), indentation hardness – Stanley Rockwell
röntgen (R), dosage of X-rays or gamma radiation – Wilhelm Röntgen
Richter magnitude, earthquake power – Charles Francis Richter
Scoville units, capsaicin content of chili peppers – Wilbur Scoville
shannon (Sh), information – Claude Shannon
siegbahn (xu), distance – Manne Siegbahn
svedberg (S or Sv), sedimentation rate – Theodor Svedberg
sverdrup (Sv), volume transport rate – Harald Sverdrup
torr (Torr), pressure – Evangelista Torricelli
troland (Td), luminance (human eye) – Leonard Troland


=== Natural unit systems ===
Planck units – Max Planck
Stoney units – George Stoney


=== No longer in use ===
Mercalli intensity scale, earthquake effects – Giuseppe Mercalli
degree Réaumur (°R), temperature –  René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur
degree Delisle (°D), temperature – Joseph-Nicolas Delisle
degree Newton (°N), temperature – Isaac Newton
degree Rømer (°Rø), temperature – Ole Rømer
degree Baumé (°Bé), density – Antoine Baumé
einstein (E), photochemistry – Albert Einstein
poncelet (p), power – Jean-Victor Poncelet
faraday (Fd), electrical charge – Michael Faraday


== See also ==
List of eponyms
Lists of etymologies
List of obsolete units of measurement
List of unusual units of measurement
List of humorous units of measurement
List of scientists whose names are used as SI units
List of scientists whose names are used as non SI units


== References ==