Sodium's Latin name, 'natrium', derives from the Greek 'nítron' (a name for sodium carbonate). Its original source is likely to be the Arabic work 'natrun'. A number of modern languages still call the element natrium instead of sodium, and it's this name that its chemical symbol, Na, comes from.

Why is it Na for sodium?

Na.” A soft, silvery white and highly reactive metal, sodium was first isolated in 1807 by Humphry Davy during the process of electrolysis of sodium hydroxide. It's symbol and name derive from the Latin Natrium or Arabicnatrun and the Egyptian word ntry (Natrun), all of which refer to soda or sodium carbonate.

What happened to make sodium become Na +?

When a sodium atom transfers an electron to a chlorine atom, forming a sodium cation (Na⁺) and a chloride anion (Cl^-), both ions have complete valence shells, and are energetically more stable. The reaction is extremely exothermic, producing a bright yellow light and a great deal of heat energy.