Nameberry Favorites · Nature, Place and Word Names
Nameberry's Favorite Celestial Names
Across 3 pages
of 3
Dawn
English word name
"dawn, sunrise"
Associated with the first light of the day, and more figuratively with new beginnings and fresh starts, Dawn's heyday came in the 1960s and 70s in the US, Canada and the UK. It had been in the charts…
Dion
Diminutive of Dionysius, Greek
"child of heaven and earth; of Zeus"
A variation of Greek Dionysius, itself derived from the name of the god of wine, revelry, and dance, Dion gives a nod to mythology while also having historical ties to a student of Plato, to a Greek…
Eclipse
English word name
"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…
Eira
Welsh
"snow"
This Welsh nature name that can be pronounced exactly like the male Ira. Or, to avoid confusion, you could just name her Snow.
Helios
Greek
"sun"
The name of the young Greek sun god, brother to the moon goddess Selene and the dawn goddess Eos, Helios is depicted as riding across the sky each day in a chariot pulled by four horses. A…
Idalia
Greek, Germanic
"behold the sun; work, labor"
A pretty, if unusual choice for a summer baby, particularly a girl with an ancestor named Ida. An epithet of the goddess Aphrodite, Idalia is derived from the Greek place name Idalion. It may also be…
Io
Greek mythology name
Io may be one of the slightest names in the book, but there aren't many two-letter names with as much substance as this Greek mythological example. Io, a name used for the largest moon of Jupiter,…
Juno
Latin
"queen of the heavens; young"
Juno is an ancient name that feels as fresh as if it had been minted, well, not yesterday, but in 2007. Since the release of the popular indie film Juno , this lively but strong Roman goddess name…
Jupiter
Latin
"godfather"
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…
Lua
Galician and Catalan form of Luna, Portuguese, Latin
"moon; to set free"
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…
Luan
Portuguese, Albanian, Vietnamese, Irish, French
"moon; lion; ethics; warrior; light"
Luan is a handsome, unusual boy's name with surprisingly diverse origins. It's a rare Portuguese name meaning "moon", an Albanian name meaning "lion", a Vietnamese name meaning "justice; ethics", and…
Lumi
Finnish
"snow"
Lumi may be a rare girls' name in the USA and England, but it comes in the Top 50 in Finland, where it means snow. Given the popularity of Winter, Holly, Ivy and many other wintery-christmassy names,…
Mars
Roman mythology
"god of war; male; red planet"
Mars is a name with interesting potential, ticking the boxes as a mythological name, a space name, and a single syllable choice ending in -s. For parents wanting something unexpected, Mars could work…
Mercury
Latin
"Roman messenger god"
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…
Nyx
Greek mythology name
"night"
In Greek mythology, Nyx was a powerful goddess and the embodiment of the night, giving this name a dark yet mystical feel. She is often depicted as one of the first deities, an offspring of Chaos who…
Oberon
Variation of Auberon
"elf king; noble bear"
The Shakespearean character Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream is King of the Fairies, but the name, with its bold 'O' beginning has plenty of strength alongside its magical qualities. Oberon was…
Ra
Egyptian
"sun"
The name of the sun god of Egyptian mythology could only be used in combination with a longer name.
Rain
Word name
Among a small shower of rain-related names, this pure version can have a cool, refreshing image. Richard Pryor named his now-grown daughter Rain, and Rain is also one of the nature-named Phoenix…
Ravi
Hindi
"sun; conferring"
A title of the Hindu sun god, made cross-culturally famous by sitar player Ravi Shankar.
Reyansh
Hindi
"ray of light"
This unusual Indian name, which refers to one of the names of Lord Vishnu, has been one of the fastest-growing boys' names of the last decade. It first managed to climb into the US Top 1000 in 2014.…