Roman Mythology Names (With Meanings and Popularity)

The Roman god of the underworld, the former ninth planet, a cartoon dog...but not a baby.

Little known name of the goddess of the harvest — her name literally means nourishment, and is the origin of the word cereal. A possibility for the parent seeking something original, but with the aura of Roman myth. Her Greek counterpart is Demeter.

The Anatolian mother goddess Cybele had a place in Greek, Roman, Trojan, and Anatolian mythology. Today, she has special meaning as a symbol of gender nonconformity.

Another name for Jupiter, king of the Roman gods, this jovial name is eminently ready for modern use. Feminine variations include Jovita and Jovie.

Adventurous parents are starting to look back to names of ancient gods like Mercury, Zeus, and Apollo. This one is also a planet and a metallic element, and has a friendly nickname, Merc. The Roman god Mercury, which derives from the Latin words for trade or wages, is the patron of tradesmen and travelers and the fastest-moving planet in the solar system. Mercury is the planet associated with the sign of Virgo, so this is one of the prime names for Virgo babies.

If you've rejected all the names on earth, you might move on to the sixth planet from the sun, also the Roman god of agriculture and plenty, and the origin of Saturday.

Nona is a name sometimes given to the ninth child -- but unlikely to serve that purpose today. Musical cred: the name of a song by Motley Crue.

This Roman mythology (and planet) name would be very hard to handle. It derives from a root meaning cloud.

Jupiter's partner Juno has entered the mainstream, so it's possible that her divine mate could follow. But not necessarily for boys — Jupiter is currently mostly female in the US, thanks to its similarity to Juniper. Stars including Ed Sheeran and Ashley Tisdale recently welcomed daughters named Jupiter, which could shift the balance even more towards the girls.

The meaning of this ancient Roman god's name relates to transitions, hence its connection to the name of the first month of the new year, a time of fresh beginnings. Janus is usually depicted as a two-faced god facing in opposite directions, since he looks both to the future and the past. It's no surprise then, that Janus is one of the premiere January baby names. The Slavic form Janusz is more commonly used than the English, represented by the Polish cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, who has shot all of Steven Spielberg's films from Schindler's List to Lincoln.

Properly spelled Luã, this is a light and bright alternative to mega-popular Luna, with the same celestial meaning. Lua is also an attractive choice for tech-heads, with Lua being a popular programming language.

Nox was the Roman goddess of the night, equivalent to the Greek Nyx, from which her name was derived. Although identical in sound, Nox is unrelated to the Scottish masculine name Knox.

A cool name, representing the Roman goddess of peace and offering a positive message to bestow upon a child. Pax is one of the most stylish new names that mean peace.

A classic virtue name for girls stretching back to the Pilgrim times, in more recent years, Honor has become one of the unisex baby names with a near-even gender split. Rarely used on boys before the 2010s, it has nearly doubled in use over the last decade.

Lucina, deriving from Latin lucus "grove" and also associated with lux "light", is an epithet given in Roman mythology to the goddess Juno (and sometimes also Diana) in her role as goddess of childbirth. A stately and unusual route to Lucy, more delicate than Lucinda.

This name of the goddess of peace creates a lovely ideal.

Any boy with this name, a synonym for power via the Greek mythology figure, better be strong of body, and of psyche.

In the days of huge families, this name of the Roman goddess of prophecy and childbirth, and one of the Fates, would be saved for bambina number ten. Now it might be used for a girl born in October, the tenth month.