Why is ClO named hypochlorite?

Answer 1

If you mean ClO-, this is not a systematic name. There are quite a few ions made of chlorine and oxygen, and the general name for them is chlorates, (where the -ate ending signifies oxygen). If there is a lower amount of oxygen than in another compound we often change the ending to -ite, and the prefix hypo means 'below' , so basically we are saying this is an anion containing chlorine and oxygen, but not very much oxygen. Systematically, we call it the chlorate(I) ion.

Answer 2

The prefix "hypo-" in hypochlorite indicates that the chlorine atom in the compound has a lower oxidation state compared to other chlorine-containing ions. In the case of ClO-, the chlorine atom has an oxidation state of +1, making it hypochlorite.

Answer 3

ClO is the chlorine monoxide.
ClO- is the anion hypochlorite.