Baby Name Meanings
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 5 pages
of 5
Latin
"Star and moon"
Stella and Luna are stylish night sky name for girls , from the Latin words for star and moon. The two names were smooshed together by children's book author Janell Cannon in 1993. Cannon gave the…
"star of the sea"
Stella Maris ("star of the sea") is an historic title for the Virgin Mary, in use since at least the early medieval period. Although it actually arose from a scribal error in the etymology of the…
Slavic
"star"
Zorya is the name of the two star goddess in Slavic mythology, Zorya Utrennyaya and Zorya Vechernyaya, referring to the morning and evening stars, respectively. It's used as a name in Russia and…
"eagle"
An evocative ancient word that's used as a first name in the New Testament, among other places. It's also the name of an eagle-shaped constellation. That said, contemporary interest in the name…
Medieval variation of Esther, Persian
The disgraced heroine of The Scarlet Letter 's name, after long neglect, just might have a chance at revival, following in the wake of sister-name Esther. We've characterized her elsewhere as an…
English, Frisian, Spanish, Slavic
"thought or sweetheart"
An Ethiopian place-name and multicultural diminutive for many names, including the Slavic Tatiana and the Spanish Cayetana. Tana is also a rare Frisian name, meaning "thought", as well as a masculine…
Irish word name
A modern Irish word name that has been appearing (albeit very quietly) in the Irish charts since the 2010s, Realta has the celestial meaning of "star". Pronounced as RAYL-tuh in some parts of Ireland…
Ojibwe
"there are many stars"
Greek, Latinised
"starry"
Asterius is the Latin form of the Greek Asterios and an alternate form of Asterion. The name belonged to various figures in Greek mythology, including a king of Crete and the infamous Minotaur.…
Literary name
"star lover"
Invented by 16th-century English poet Sir Philip Sidney for the hero of his sonnet sequence Astrophel and Stella , this name is derived from the Greek elements aster "star" and philos "lover".…
Star name, Latin
"entry hall"
A star in the constellation Triangulum Australe, also the name of a publishing imprint and an assisted living corporation, probably because it has that streamlined corporate I-could-be-a-car-name…
Botanical, from Greek
"star-flower (English name)"
The Calytrix flower is endemic to much of Australia and is part of the myrtle family. They are commonly known as star flowers, due to their dainty (usually bright white) 5 petalled flowers. The name…
French variation of Danica
"morning star"
This Danielle/Monique hybrid offers a new twist on an old favorite.
Greek
"ill-starred"
Desdemona is as Shakespearean as a name can be, but because the beautiful and innocent wife of Othello came to such a tragic end, her name has been avoided for centuries. But at this point in time,…
French
This French word for star sounds like even more of a celebrity-worthy choice than Star or Esther or Estella or Stella. But count on English speakers who never took high school French to stumble over…
"evening, evening star"
Hesper is a feminine form of Hesperus, the name of the Greek mythological personification of the Evening Star. The Hesperides are daughters of nymphs of the evening. Hesper may be related to the name…
Form of Hesperus or Hesperia, Greek
In Greek mythology, Hesperus was the personification of the planet Venus, also known as the Evening Star, while Hesperia is one of his daughters. This masculine name combines elements of both and has…
Hespera is a variation of Hesperia, the feminine form of Hesperus. In Greek mythology, Hesperus is the Evening Star or the planet Venus. Hesperus is the son of the dawn goddess Eos or her Roman…
Hesperia is the name of one of the Hesperides, known as the daughters of Hesperus or evening. Hesperus is the personification of the evening star in Greek mythology, better known as Venus in Roman…
Hesperos or Hesperus is the personification of the evening star in Greek mythology; in Roman myth, that role is held by Venus. There's a Longfellow poem called "The Wreck of the Hesperus" about a…
