Where did Venus get its name?

The planet Venus is named for the Roman goddess of love and beauty. The Romans used the names of their most important gods and goddesses for the brightest objects in the sky.

Venus is the brightest visible planet and the brightest object in the sky after the sun and the moon. Since Venus appears brightly in the morning and evening, some people thought it was actually two separate bodies. For a time, Venus was called the "morning star," or Eosphorus, and the "evening star," or Hesperus. Some of the Romans also called its morning appearance "Lucifer," sharing the name with the Biblical character.