Luminous Names

A strong, handsome Indian name with cross-cultural appeal.

An ancient Germanic name belonging to an 8th century duke of Bavaria, as well as to a modern-day prince of Bulgaria. It is a diminutive form from Tasso, which probably derives from the Germanic name Taginbert, a cognate of Dagobert.

An energetic unisex Japanese name with dozens of potential meanings depending on the kanji characters used.

Tegwen is nowhere near as pretty as its meaning. Other -wen names -- Anwen, Bronwen, Rhonwen -- have more appeal.

The name of the Muse of dancing in Greek mythology. Arguably the least usable of the nine Muses' names, despite serious competition from Melpomene and Polyhymnia. Those two at least have obvious nicknames, Mel and Polly -- and don't have "sick" in the middle. However, if you use the Greek pronunciation, that syllable is not emphasized, and you've got nicknames Tess, Coco, and Terri.

Also spelled Thiên in Vietnamese, this is the middle name of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's son Pax, adopted from Vietnam in 2007.

Lúthien Tinúviel is an elf princess in J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium, who falls in love with a mortal human, Beren, and chooses to become mortal herself rather than to live without him. Tinúviel is a Sindarin name given to her by Beren, meaning "daughter of twilight" and therefore "nightingale".

Means "moonlight" in Tamazight.

Uma is a sweet, strong name for a Hindu goddess... and a Hollywood one. But as popular as Uma Thurman is, other parents have not yet picked up on her name, making it a rarity.

A title given to the elf Arwen in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, meaning "evening star" and usually rendered poetically as Evenstar. Like her revered ancestor Lúthien, Arwen chooses to become mortal in order to marry her human love, Aragorn.

Girlish, but has a nice feeling of uniqueness and unity.

This short but strong name, commonly heard in Israel, has a lot of crossover potential, and is among the most usable on the minuscule menu of U names.

It's the name of an Old Testament archangel that's symbolically given to boys born during Chanukah, but the possibility of unsavory nicknames (urinal?) make the short form Uri a better bet.

Really offbeat, upbeat multi-cultural name with light sound and meaning. Valo might make a more unique spin on Milo.

Valo, an unusual entry in the o-ending category, can work for girls in the US. On Nameberry, it's especially popular among visitors from Bangladesh.

In France, this would be like naming your child 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.

This Latin word used for evening spiritual services was introduced to baby namers by the Eva Greene character Vesper Lynd in the modern James Bond film Casino Royale in 2006, based on the Ian Fleming novel, and is just now beginning to provoke interest among namers, with its spiritual reference and soft, whispery sound.

Said to refer to either Jupiter or Venus, either of which would be preferable as a name.

One of the few rainbow names that is masculine, Walken is a Noongar Aboriginal word.