In 1941 , Glenn T. Seaborg named the newly created element plutonium after Pluto . This was to keep the tradition of naming new elements after newly discovered planets . In 1941 , Glenn T. Seaborg named the newly created element plutonium after Pluto , in keeping with the tradition of naming elements after newly discovered planets , such as uranium , which was named after Uranus , and neptunium , which was named after Neptune .