starling legacy master list

Regulus

Latin

"prince"

The traditional name of the brightest star in the constellation Leo and a minor character in the "Harry Potter" series might be a good pick for parents interested in a regal name but turned off by…

Rigel

Astronomy, Arabic

"foot, leg"

This might sound and look like a blend of Ryan, Riley, and Nigel, but it is in fact the name of the seventh brightest star in the sky. Found in the constellation of Orion, its name comes from the…

Saturn

Roman mythology name

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.

Scorpio

Latin

"scorpion"

Of all the astrological names —think Leo, Aries, Gemini— Scorpio probably has the most dramatically potent presence, which could prove something of a burden to a young boy. In the soap…

Sirius

Latin from Greek

"burning"

Yes, it's the name of the brightest star in the sky, but can't you just hear people saying, "Are you serious?" Singer Erykah Badu used it as a middle name for son Seven.

Sky

Nature name

Sky is an ambigender nature name that was first legitimized as the character of Sky Masterson in the 1950 musical Guys and Dolls , played in the film version by Marlon Brando. It's a name we…

Solaris

Latin

"of the Sun"

A surprisingly modern word name, only recorded since the 20th century, Solaris is also the title of a 1961 science fiction novel by Polish author Stanisław Lem, which has been adapted for the big…

Taurus

Sign of the Zodiac, Latin

"bull"

The Zodiac name hasn't caught on like Leo or Aries, though it did appear in the US Top 1000 for five consecutive years back in the '70s.

Tycho

Greek, Dutch, Old Norse

"hitting the mark; chance, luck; thunder"

A name with a number of variations including the Danish Tyge, the Swedish Tyko, and the Dutch Tygo, which are popular throughout modern Europe. Tycho was also the name of both a 5th century Greek…

Umbriel

Literature, Latin

"shadow"

Created by English poet Alexander Pope for a melancholy sprite in the 1712 poem The Rape of the Lock . He likely took the Latin word umbra "shadow". A moon of Uranus is named after the character.

Uranus

Greek mythology name

"the heavens"

In Greek mythology, Uranus is Father Sky, god of the heavens and father of the Titans. All admirable, inspirational qualities, and Uranus should even score extra points as a planetary, celestial…

Vesper

Latin

"evening star"

While this is usually thought of as a girls' name because of the Bond Girl connection, its sound is masculine and there's no reason it couldn't work for boys.

Vulcan

Latin

"to flash"

Vulcan was the Roman god of fire (from which, volcano) and metalworking, but this name is now more familiar as the pointy-eared humanoids on "Star Trek," represented by Mr. Spock.

Xanthus

Latin, from Greek, variation of Xanthos

"golden-haired"

Spelt Xanthos in Greek, this alternate name for Apollo has a noble sound (pronounced ZHAN-thus) and can always be shortened to Xan.

Zenith

English

"the point in the sky or celestial sphere directly above an observer"

Zenith is an uplifting if quirky word name, meaning the top or the peak. Eight boys received the name in one recent year, only a third of those who were called Nadir -- the low point!