This little-known Ancient Roman name might make a fresh spin on the popular Ella, Ayla, Isla contingent. The "ae" is pronounced "ee" (think Aesop's fables).The Annals of Aeliana is a children's fantasy series by Ryan Watters. The meaning is thought to derive from the Greek helios, or sun.

Aelia

This female form of the ancient Latin Aelian has an appealing sound, though kids might have a hard time handling that initial "ae" spelling. Just remember that the "ae" is pronounced "ee" (think Aesop's fables).The Annals of Aeliana is a children's fantasy series by Ryan Watters. 

The meaning is uncertain but is thought to derive from the Greek helios, which means sun.

Aeliana

Akosua means "born on a Sunday," which relates the name to the sun and thus to fire.
 
The Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast frequently name their children after the day of the week they were born and the order in which they were born. Most Ghanaians have a name using this system (think Kofi Annan, whose name means born on a Friday). 
 
Akosua is the name for girls born on a Sunday. The name for boys born on a Sunday is Kwasi.

Akosua

Alpenglow

This name of a third-century Christian martyr has an romantic, appealing feel in the modern world. It first came to American attention via Prince's love interest in the film Purple Rain. 
 St. Apollonia of Alexandria propelled her name into great popularity in the Middle Ages; her name is invoked against toothaches.
 Apolonia, one 'l', is the name of a character in John Steinbeck's novel, The Pearl.

Apollonia

Part-April, part-Felicity, but with the wonderfully whimsical feel of Serendipity. Apricity debuted in the US charts for the first time in 2022.

Apricity

Has a nice fresh, early morning meaning, but not the most mellifluous of sounds.  Also spelled Arpineh.

Arpina

Asahi

Cyra is an unusual name that can be pronounced either SEER-a or SI-ra, rhyming with Keira or Tyra. This name may be a feminine variation of Cyrus but is also a Persian name that stands on its own.  One noted bearer is writer Cyra McFadden.

Cyra

Daystar

Pleasant-sounding word that could morph into a unique Sunday-picnic-type name. 

Dimanche

Cross classic Eleanor with rising vintage star Theodora and you get Eleadora, a beautiful Greek name with a wonderful meaning.

Eleadora

Eleodora

Eliane is a melodic name with the very fashionable El- beginning. Lovely and lilting as it is, be aware that there are many El- variations around these days, and little girls called Ellie as a result.


Eliane

Elidi is intriguing but potentially confusing. Try the French Elodie instead. 

Elidi

Günes

The feminine form of Helios or Helio is occasionally heard in Spain and Portugal. In Greek mythology, Helia is one of the Heliades, daughters of the sun god Helios by Clymene the Oceanid.

Helia

A lesser-known Welsh name with a beautiful sunny meaning.

Heulwen

Himari

Himawari is the Japanese word for sunflower and modern word name. The most famous bearer is Himawari Akaho, a silver-medal-winning basketball player from Japan. Himawari is more frequently used as a character name, as in Himawari Uzumaki from Naruto and the anime series Himawari!

Himawari

Hinata is a unisex Japanese name and surname but is primarily seen as a given name among women. It has many possible meanings, most of which have something to do with the sun.

Hinata

A habitational surname denoting ancestors from one of the numerous English towns called Holloway. It first broke into the charts as a female name in 2020, when it was given to six baby girls.

Holloway

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.
 
Idalia is currently attracting more attention after being featured in the Netflix series From Scratch.

Idalia

A warm, sunny, and extremely rare name, even within its native France. Idalie would be especially perfect to honor an Ida.

Idalie

This lovely, rhythmic Hindu nature name relates to the mythical Kalinda Mountains, from which a sacred river flows.
 Kalinda Sharma is a major character on the TV show The Good Wife, making Kalinda one of the most familiar <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/539/hindi-names-for-girls">Hindi names for girls</a>

Kalinda

Kalindi is a lovely, rhythmic name refers to one of the seven sacred rivers of India. 

Kalindi

Kiara can be considered a variation of both the Italian name Chiara and the Irish name Ciara. Chiara is the Italian form of Clara, meaning "bright" or "clear," while Ciara is the feminine form of male given name Ciar, derived from the old Irish cíar, meaning "dark." 
 
Kiara is also an Australian name derived from an Aboriginal word for the white cockatoo, and has roots as a Korean name meaning "first ray of sun".
 
Simba's daughter in The Lion King, Kiara fits in with stylish modern names like Keira and Kaia.

Kiara

In Nepal, India and Pakistan, Kiran is used for both boys and girls - as can be seen from internationally acclaimed (female) author Kiran Desai and (male) Nepali soccer player Kiran Chemjong. Nepali-American Fox news anchor Kiran Chetry is another famous, female bearer of this name. With its light-filled meaning, and similarity to names such as Kieran and Karen, this name works well outside Asia.

Kiran

English speakers might want to pronounce this lovely name like the familiar Mary or Merry, but the correct Persian pronunciation includes the h -- meh-ree.

Mehri

This cute as a button name stems from the Goonayandi word for the sun and can be used as a unisex name.

Mirri

Since it's also Spanish for "nothing," this name wouldn't be great for a girl's self-esteem. 

Nada

The Hawaiian word for sunflower is also used figuratively for people who gaze toward the sun, and has a nice resonance with Lion King name Nala.

Nanala

Nedda

Nuha is an Arabic name meaning wise, and also a name from Semitic mythology of unknown origin, belonging to an ancient sun goddess.

Nuha

A particularly beautiful member of the Orane/Oriana clan, Oriane is the first name of a major character in Proust's In Search Of Lost Time, the Duchesse de Guermantes.

Oriane

Related to the more common Solana, Salana has a pleasantly rhythmic pan-cultural feel.

Salana

Savita is among the most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/539/hindi-names-for-girls">Hindi names for girls</a>, and one that could easily immigrate. Want more ideas? How about the Italian or Spanish Sarita or the simplified Vita or the Scandinavian Sunniva?

Savita

Would undoubtedly be confused with the geographical Syria. 

Siria

Solaira

A bright and warm possibility for a summertime girl, Solana has been heard in a few video games. Solana Rowe is the real name of the singer known as SZA. Names with sunny meanings are red-hot, with Soleil, Sunny, and Sol amongst the most fashionable today. Spanish Solana — meaning "sunshine" — is a welcome addition to the party that entered the US Top 1000 for the first time in 2023.

Solana

An English innovation based on Latin solaris "of the sun", or on its English cognate "solar". Toyota used it for one of its cars, and Mila Kunis played a character by the name in the 2010 post-apocalyptic action film The Book of Eli.

Solara

Sunny Italian surname name for a little girl.

Solari was the name of a character on Xena: Warrior Princess.

Solari

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 screen several times. An unexpected route to Sol or Solly as nicknames.


Solaris

Modern name based on the Latin for "sun", with a bright and pretty sound.

Soleia

An attractive French word name known here via former child TV star Soleil Moon Frye, aka Punky Brewster. It started to be lightly used in the U.S. in the 1920s and is now attracting some attention as both a sunny nature and an international word name. It's currently in the Nameberry Top 500.

Soleil

Solstice graduated from word to official first name when author Lionel Shriver used it for a character in her novel Big Brother. But of course, there were people named Solstice before: 16 baby girls were given the name in the US in 2021 (and it is occasionally used for boys too).

The word solstice is derived from the Old French and Latin term meaning "point at which the sun seems to stand still." There are pagan celebrations around the time of the winter and summer solstices, June 21 and December 21, the longest and shortest days of the year, which makes Solstice one of the best <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/577/names-for-december-babies">names for babies born in December</a> or June.

Solstice

Common in Scandinavia, this name has rarely come to our shores. The name of the heroine in Ibsen's Peer Gynt, Solveig is currently a widely-used name in Norway. Pronounced authentically, with a silent 'g', it becomes much more appealing.

Solveig

Souline was unknown in the US until 2019, when YouTubers Landon McBroom and Shyla Walker chose it for their baby daughter. The following year it debuted on the charts with 36 parents following suit. It's as soulful as it sounds, with meanings that embrace both the sunny and somber sides of life. 
 
Mother names Solana and Solange are both more familiar. Solana is a Spanish name with a sunny meaning and is the original first name of singer SZA. And Solange is a French name with saintly origins.

Souline

Long synonymous with the American outlaw Harry Longabaugh, aka The Sundance Kid, who got his nickname from the town of Sundance, Wyoming, where he was incarcerated as a teenager. The place name Sundance was taken from the sun dance ceremony practiced by local Native American tribes.

 Country music singer Mark Wystrach and his wife named their daughter Sundance in 2019.

Sundance

A bright and cheery flower name, which could make a great bold middle.

Sunflower

Suni, which sounds just like Sunny, is the nickname of astronaut Sunita Williams.

Suni

Sunna was a mythological goddess of the sun. As a mythology name that easily translated into English yet is unique and uplifting, Sunna feels like an all-around winner.

Sunna

Sunniva was an Irish-born saint who fled to Norway, where she hid in an island cave with her followers and eventually died.  After miracles were reported on the island, the cave was excavated and Sunniva's intact body was found.  Sunniva is the patron saint of Western Norway.  Her name would make a fascinating and unusual choice for a modern baby girl, and if her story is a bit grim, you can take refuge in the upbeat nickname Sunny or Sunni.

Sunniva

This name is very wearable in English-speaking countries and has a lovely meaning.

Suree

The graceful Indian Suria or Surya may remind Americans more of little Miss Suri Cruise than of the pantheon of Hindi gods and goddesses.

Suria

A sweet and lively name with two distinct derivations. It can be a short form of Sylvia or a variant spelling of its French form Sylvie, meaning "of the forest". Or, it can be a Norwegian and Swedish variant of Solveig, meaning "sun strength".

Sylvi

A sweet little name with one of the most poetic meanings around: it means "warmth from the sun" in Welsh. Though it's among the undiscovered <a href="https://nameberry.com/baby-names/172/welsh-names">Welsh names</a>, it's one that deserves wider use.

Tesni

Yuuhi

lina.111's list "girl names that mean SUN" of 58 great name ideas: Aelia - Yuuhi!