Luminous Names

Nickname sometimes heard on its own, sort of an updated Sally and playmate of Hallie.

This Roman family — whose most famous bearer was Emperor Hadrian, of wall fame — possibly derives from Greek helios, meaning sun.

A new aspirational name with two shining meanings.

An archaic astrological term for the planet Venus. You may also recognize Evenstar as a name of Arwen Undómiel in The Lord of the Rings series.

Elon Musk and Grimes used Sideræl as a middle name for their daughter, whose full name is Exa Dark Sideræl but is nicknamed Y. They modeled the name after the word sidereal, which Grimes defines as "the true time of the universe, star time, deep space time, not our relative earth time." Will it inspire any babies named Sideræl or Sidereal? We won't hold our breath, but we'll be watching.

This Danielle/Monique hybrid offers a new twist on an old favorite.

Tarabai is an Indian name with a lot of feminist clout. Tarabai Bhosale was a 17th century Maratha queen who was a skilled military leader in her own right and successfully resisted the Mughal empire on behalf of her people. More recently Tarabai Shinde is often regarded as the author of India’s first feminist text - in which she rails against both the patriarchy and the caste system. Meaning feminine star, Tarabai is a perfect name for your budding feminist.

A combination of Spanish rosa "rose" and aurea "gold". This name was used by Pedro Calderón de la Barca for a character in his play Life Is a Dream (1635), and more recently by Mexican author Laura Esquivel in her 1989 novel Como agua para chocolate.

An ultra-positive word name, notably the middle of musician Quincy Jones.

Once a truly gender-neutral name in Israel, now used more often for boys. You may also consider Ora, Orli, or Orit.

This intriguing name from Armenia has a lovely meaning "rainbow" and was used for the adorable protagonist of the film by the same name who hides in a suitcase and ends up going on an adventure to Turkey.

A pretty international form of Helena used in many Slavic languages, also sometimes spelled Yelena.

A Portuguese and German variant of Lucia which was particularly popular in Brazil during the 20th century.

Jember is an Amharic boy name used in Ethiopia. Pronounced "JEM-bair", this name has a gorgeous meaning — sunset, sunrise, or horizon. Jem would be a sweet nickname.

Also spelled Thiên in Vietnamese, this is the middle name of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's son Pax, adopted from Vietnam in 2007.

Certainly qualities desired for our sons.