Comets are generally named after their discoverer. For example, comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 got its name because it was the ninth short-periodic comet discovered by Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker and David Levy.

How a comet is being named?

Comets are assigned formal names by The International Astronomical Union. They divided each of the twelve months into two parts, and assigned each half-month a letter. The twenty-four letters are A-H and J-Y. The number following the letter indicates its order in the discoveries for that half-month.

How do scientists choose names for comets?

If the object was a comet, it could unofficially be named after its discoverer, and if it was an asteroid, that individual could choose a name—within reason (we'll get back to this). The name, selected by the team that first discovered the object, is Hawaiian: 'Oumuamua.