The story
The name is for Theophrastus, the first Greek mineralogist, 373/372-288/287 B.C., + -ite. The new mineral and the name were approved by the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
theophrastite
Today it means: A trigonal-hexagonal scalenohedral emerald green mineral containing hydrogen, nickel, and oxygen. Full definition →