It was named by the Norwegian expedition under Olaf Holtedahl, 1927–28, probably for Jens Esmark, professor of mineralogy at the University of Kristiania (Oslo), Norway.
Jens Stoltenberg | Jens-Peter Herold | Jens Galschiøt | Jens Frahm | Jens Voigt | Jens Eriksen | Jens Ulltveit-Moe | Jens Munk | Jens Mouris | Jens Lehmann | Jens Juel | Jens Christian Grøndahl | Jens Staubrand | Jens Peter Jacobsen | Jens Johansson | Walter Jens | Jens Olsen's World Clock | Jens Lindemann | Jens Lekman | Jens Knippschild | Jens Juel (diplomat) | Jens Jensen (landscape architect) | Jens Jensen | Jens Gunderssen | Jens Esmark | Jens Eisert | Salome Jens | Morten Thrane Esmark | Jens Zetlitz Monrad Kielland | Jens Weidmann |
Thorite was discovered in 1828 on the island of Løvøya, Norway, by the vicar and mineralogist, Hans Morten Thrane Esmark, who sent the first specimens of this black mineral to his father, Jens Esmark, who was a professor of mineralogy and geology.