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William Herschel wanted to name the new object he had found, "Georgium Sidus" ("George's Star"), or the "Georgian Planet" to honor his patron, King George III.
The name was unpopular outside Britain (not surprising) so astronomer Jérôme Lalande proposed "Herschel" in honor of its discoverer.
This symbol, therefore, represents the letter "H" (for Herschel) with a planet suspended from the cross bar!
Of course, ultimately Uranus, Latinized version of Ouranos (Greek god of sky) and father of Saturn, prevailed.
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