In 1787, Carl Axel Arrhenius found a new mineral near Ytterby in Sweden and named it ytterbite, after the village. Johan Gadolin discovered yttrium's oxide in Arrhenius' sample in 1789, and Anders Gustaf Ekeberg named the new oxide yttria. Elemental yttrium was first isolated in 1828 by Friedrich Wöhler.
Godine 1787. Carl Axel Arrhenius pronašao je novi mineral blizu Ytterbyja u Švedskoj i imenovao ga "iterbit", po tom selu. Johan Gadolin je otkrio itrijev oksid u Arrheniusovom uzorku 1789., i Anders Gustaf Ekeberg nazvao je novi oksid "yttria". Elementarni itrij prvi je izolirao Friedrich Wöhler 1828.