It is a convention between chemists.
The common name for Sodium Chloride is table salt. But salt and Sodium are not the same thing. There is no real "common" name for Sodium itself, but I assume you mean Sodium Chloride.
Sodium (Anglo) = Na = natrium (Latin, Dutch)
Sulfur is represented by the symbol S because it is derived from its Latin name "sulfurum." Sodium, on the other hand, is represented by the symbol Na because it comes from the Latin name "natrium." The symbols of elements are based on their historical names and origins.
natrium
The symbol of sodium is Na, which comes from the Latin word natrium.
Sodium is an element and therefore has a "symbol" rather than a "formula". The symbol, Na, is already given in the question.
Na-short for Natrium (Latin Name for Sodium)
The CHEMICAL symbol for sodium is 'Na'. 'Na' is short for the Latin name name for sodium, which is 'nadium'. Similarly. potassium (K) is from the Latin for 'kalium'.
Na is the chemical symbol for sodium. Na is from the word natrium, which is Latin for sodium carbonate.
"Na" comes from the Latin name for sodium, "natrium".
Na, the symbol for sodium. Natrium is the Latin name of sodium.
The symbols for elements are based on their Latin names. Sulphur is spelled as "sulfur" in modern English, hence its symbol "S." Sodium comes from the Latin word "natrium," leading to its symbol "Na." Silicon's symbol "Si" is derived from its name in Latin, "silicium."