Recognize that HNO3 is an oxyacid, which contains hydrogen, oxygen, and another element (in this case, nitrogen).
Determine the polyatomic ion present in HNO3. The NO3 part is the nitrate ion (NO3^-).
Recall the naming rule for oxyacids: If the polyatomic ion ends in '-ate', the acid name will end in '-ic'. Therefore, nitrate (NO3^-) becomes nitric acid.
Combine the name of the polyatomic ion with the appropriate suffix to name the acid: HNO3 is named nitric acid.