Aelita

A whimsical choice from the 1923 sci-fi novel Aelita by Aleksey Tolstoy, the name belongs to a Martian princess who lives on Mars in an advanced yet divided society. In the book (and its subsequent film), her name is said to mean "starlight seen for the last time".

While that may be the meaning in the fictional Martian language, Tolstoy may have been inspired by the Ancient Greek element aer meaning "wind, atmosphere, mist, space", along with names such as Elita ("noble, pious"), Aelia ("sun"), Elizaveta ("pledged to God"), or similar.

The name briefly ranked in Latvia back in the 60s and has featured on characters in the 2006 animated series Code Lyoko and the 2014 video game Lifeless Planet. There's also a Russian literary award called the Aelita Prize for works of science fiction, while artist Aelita Andre is a real life bearer.

The name is said somewhere between ou-LEE-tuh and ie-LEE-tuh (like the sounds in out and lie).

Pronounced ay-LEE-tuh.

As of October 2026, Aelita ranked #10940 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #7288 in 2022.