Named in memory of Lewis Swift (1820-1913), famous U.S. comet hunter. The first of his 13 discoveries, P/Swift-Tuttle (1862 III) {see planet (5036) for the co-discoverer}, parent of the Perseid meteors, is also the most famous. He discovered his last comet at the age of 79. Name suggested by I. Hasegawa.

Henry Norris Russell (October 25, 1877 – February 18, 1957) was an American astronomer who, along with Ejnar Hertzsprung, developed the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram (1910). In 1923, working with Frederick Saunders, he developed Russell–Saunders coupling which is also known as LS coupling.

Edwin Powell Hubble (November 20, 1889 – September 28, 1953) was an American astronomer who played a crucial role in establishing the field of extragalactic astronomy and is generally regarded as one of the most important observational cosmologists of the 20th century. Hubble is known for showing that the recessional velocity of a galaxy increases with its distance from the earth, implying the universe is expanding.

Wilhelmina Iwanowska (1905–1999), distinguished Polish astronomer, worked at the Vilnius (1927–1940) and Torun (1945–1999) universities and was the Vice President of the IAU from 1973 to 1979. She was the first Director of the Institute of Astronomy of the Copernicus University in Torun. Prof. Iwanowska was elected an Honorary Member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada on 1973-09-22, in the year of the 500th anniversary of the birth of Copernocis. Prof. Iwanowska had traveled and lectured extensively in Canada that year.