At first glance it would seem an odd choice to have an element named after a medieval philosopher whose rather modest contribution to the world of science was proposing the heliocentric model of the solar system (which was first proposed several millennia before by Aristarchus). To be fair, Copernicus backed up his model with a good deal of math and lay the groundwork for later astronomers and mathematicians so such an honor is not undeserved.

Of somewhat less interest is the element itself which was synthesized by smashing a zinc atom against a lead one; a marriage that lasted just a few milliseconds before disintegrating. It was, again, the ever industrious team based out of Darmstadt to whom credit for the discovery went.