Mercury (god) in the context of Common name (chemistry)

In chemistry, a trivial name is a non-systematic name for a chemical substance. That is, the name is not recognized according to the rules of any formal system of chemical nomenclature such as IUPAC inorganic or IUPAC organic nomenclature. A trivial name is not a formal name and is usually a common name.

Generally, trivial names are not useful in describing the essential properties of the thing named, such as the molecular structure of a chemical compound. And, in some cases, trivial names can be ambiguous or carry different meanings in different industries or different geographic regions (for example, a trivial name such as white metal can mean various things). A limited number of trivial chemical names are retained names, an accepted part of the nomenclature.