The responsibility of providing mineral names for new species rests with the author(s) of the original paper (with approval of the Commission on New Minerals and Mineral Names (CNMMN) of the International Mineralogical Association (IMA)).

Minerals are commonly named based on the following :

Named for the chemical composition or some other physical property (e.g. halotrichite, batisite, rhodonite).
Named for reasons that have been lost to antiquity (e.g., ice, quartz) or from long usage (e.g., cinnabar).
Named for the locality in which the mineral was first found (e.g., ilmenite, andesine).
Named by applying a prefix to an existing mineral (e.g., meta-, para-, clino-, ortho-, ferro-, see Ferri-clinoferroholmquistite).
Named after a prominent scientist or other person, living or dead (e.g., roeblingite, perovskite).
Named for mythical creatures or deities (e.g. chabazite, neptunite, tapiolite)