Updated November 2023
Across 10 pages
of 10
Arabic, Hebrew
"splendour, light, glow; shaking, trembling"
A succinct variation of Ziya, Zia is an Arabic boy name, with a glowing meaning, also used as the Urdu and Bengali transcription. Notable bearers of the name include Bangaledeshi politician Ziaur…
Latin
"light"
A warm and simple alternative to Luna, derived from Latin lumen "light".
Hebrew
"I have a light"
Spelling variation of Lior.
A delicate name with an ancient pedigree, more appealing to some than Lucille. It elaborates on Lucy and even Lucia and feels more distinctive than Lucinda.
English word name
"signal light"
A word name with an appealing and illuminating meaning.
Slovene and Croatian variation of Lucia, Italian
Form of Lucia currently popular in Slovenia and Croatia.
One step removed from Nora, if you're looking for something similar with stronger cultural ties.
"an obscuring of light when one celestial body passes over another"
An evocative word name denoting a rare celestial phenomenon when the sun and moon are aligned so that the moon casts a shadow over the Earth (a solar eclipse), or when the moon is right in front of…
Japanese
"light or radiance"
A unisex Japanese name with a beautiful and radiant meaning, it is notably borne by chess prodigy Hikaru Nakamura, and is a central character in the manga series The Summer Hikaru Died .
"light or fire of God"
The name of an angel in the Zohar, Nuriel is related to the Arabic name Nur.
Portuguese, German
"famous wealth"
A handsome Portuguese name derived from the old Germanic saint's name Audamar or Otmar. Especially common in Brazil.
"the time of light between one night and the next"
Many African tribes have a tradition of naming children for the day or time they were born -- Friday, Afternoon -- a practice finding new life in the Western world as word names become more popular.
Diminutive of Yelena, Russian
"bright and shining light"
New name in the pool of international names, added by lovely supermodel Alyona Osmanova.
Light, bright unisex name. Hikari is more popular for girls in Japan these days.
Spanish
Lucero is a relative or nickname of Luz, meaning light. This intriguing name is swimming just beneath the Top 1000 for girls in the US, but is used for boys too. It is especially popular in Latin…
Lumen is a Latin word meaning "light", and the term used for the measurement of light output (making it an attractive choice for science-buffs). The name was used for a female character in the TV…
Hebrew or Greek
"my candle; ocean spirit"
A simple but unusual name with roots in disparate cultures, Neri appears in the Bible as a male name and is still sometimes used for boys as well as girls. The appeal of Neri are its deep roots…
"light of God"
Unisex name in Israel, ideal for a Hanukkah baby.
Greek, feminization of Fotis or Fotios
Toula came to light as the name of the heroine of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," short for Fotoula, a variant of Fortini, a feminine version of Fotis or Fotios, meaning "light". Toula is cute and…
German
"grace + god is my light"
A pretty and substantial German smoosh name, a combination of Hanne and Eleonore. Most popular in Germany from the 1930s to the 1950s. Former German Chancellors Helmut Kohl and Helmut Schmidt both…