Charon

The story

1. Ancient Greek · derived fromΧάρων
2. Latin · borrowed fromCharōn
3. English todayCharon

From Latin Charōn, from Ancient Greek Χάρων (Khárōn). The name of the moon was coined by American astronomer James W. Christy in 1978, in reference to a fictional moon of Pluto in a novel by Edmond Hamilton but also influenced by its similarity to Char, a pet name for Charlene, his wife's name — hence the alternative American pronunciation, which is used at NASA.