Names That Mean Dawn

Shahar

Hebrew

"dawn"

Subtle choice for a baby born in the early morning.

Ostara

Old High German

"dawn"

In Germanic mythology, Ostara is the goddess of springtime, fertility, and dawn. Her existence as a mythological figure was pieced together by scholar Jacob Grimm, who used evidence such as the…

Aotea

Maori

"white cloud"

A vowel-rich Māori name with a nature-inspired and dreamy meaning. New Zealand is known in Māori as Aotearoa, which can be translated as "land of abiding day" or "land of the long white cloud".

Austra

Latvian

"dawn"

To most, the name Austra is most likely to be connected to Australia (or Austria), but to Latvians, Austra was the goddess of the dawn.

Zorka

Hungarian diminutive of Zora

"dawn"

Shachar

Hebrew

"dawn"

Zarja

Slovene

"dawn"

A pretty Slovene name related to the Slavic goddess of the dawn.

Aurian

Literary name inspired by Latin

"gold, dawn or breeze"

The eponymous character of the fantasy novel Aurian by Maggie Furey. It may have been inspired by the Latin aurum "gold", or by names like Aurora ("dawn") or Aura ("breeze"), also derived from the…

Eos

Greek; Welsh

"dawn; nightingale"

Eos -- that's pronounced with a short e like eros without the r -- is the Greek Titan of the dawn. Any ancient name with a sleek modern feel has definite revival possibilities. Eos could be an…

Zerlin

Arabic

"beautiful dawn"

Not a spunkier version of Merlin, Zerlin has roots in the Middle East, Spain and Eastern Europe and is thought to mean "beautiful dawn". The countries where this name is most heard are Israel,…

Zerlina

Arabic

"beautiful dawn"

Zerlina is a variation of Zerlin, meaning "beautiful dawn". Zerlina is most famous as the wily, clever servant girl in Mozart's opera Don Giovanni , where she is the only character to seemingly get…

Zerline

French variant of Zerlin and Zerlina

"beautiful dawn"

Although a variant of the operatic Zerlina, Zerline has her own theatrical tale. She is the star character of the opera Fra Diavolo by Daniel Auber. Zerline, daughter of the innkeeper of Terracina,…

Rox

Greek

"dawn"

Likely derived from the Greek name Roxanne, Rox was a short form popular in America in the mid-19th Century. Like Max and Lux, it seems sleek and contemporary and particularly suited to modern life.

Gry

Norwegian

"dawn"

Gry is becoming a popular name in Denmark where it is currently in the Top 50. Despite its beautiful meaning, the similarity of its sound to the English word gruel is unlikely to make this a winning…

Fioralba

Italian

"flower of the dawn"

A lush, romantic flower name for people who think Rose, Violet and Lily are 1000 times too popular.

Eostre

Old English from German

"dawn"

Eostre is the Anglo-Saxon goddess of Spring and dawn. In ancient times, the pagans had festivals and feasts celebrating Eostre, but this practice was eventually overtaken by the Christian Easter…