There is something about looking up at the night sky that makes you want to name your baby after it.
Stars, constellations, moons, planets, mythology tied to the cosmos. Celestial names carry a kind of magic that is genuinely hard to find anywhere else. They feel timeless because they literally are. The stars your baby is named after existed long before any of us and will exist long after.
I put this list together for parents who want a name that feels infinite. Something that looks as good on a birth certificate as it does whispered under the night sky.
Star and Constellation Names for Girls
I genuinely cannot pick a favourite in this section. Every single one of these carries something luminous and ancient at the same time.
- Lyra
- Vega
- Nova
- Stella
- Andromeda
- Cassiopeia
- Electra
- Alcyone
- Celeste
- Astrid
- Astra
- Estelle
- Seren
- Starla
- Cressida
- Ariel
- Calypso
- Phoebe
- Theia
- Selene
Star and Constellation Names for Boys
Bold, astronomical, and every one of them sounds like someone who already knows their place in the universe.
- Orion
- Sirius
- Atlas
- Caelum
- Corvus
- Perseus
- Cygnus
- Draco
- Altair
- Rigel
- Castor
- Pollux
- Aries
- Phoenix
- Aquilo
- Lynx
- Delphin
- Indus
- Tucana
- Pavo
Moon Names for Girls
If you are drawn to lunar energy, to the idea of a name that glows at night and pulls the tides, you are going to love this section. Moon names for girls are some of the most beautiful in any language.
- Luna
- Selene – Greek goddess of the moon
- Phoebe – Greek meaning “bright,” also a moon of Saturn
- Diana – Roman goddess of the moon and hunt
- Theia – Titan goddess associated with the moon’s origin
- Artemis – Greek goddess of the moon and hunt
- Cynthia – another name for Artemis, meaning “from Mount Cynthus”
- Hecate – Greek goddess associated with the moon
- Elara – a moon of Jupiter
- Callisto – a moon of Jupiter and a Greek nymph
- Io – innermost moon of Jupiter, Greek goddess
- Europa – a moon of Jupiter, Greek mythological figure
- Titania – largest moon of Uranus, Shakespeare’s fairy queen
- Ariel – a moon of Uranus
- Miranda – a moon of Uranus, Shakespearean heroine
- Oberon – wait, that is for boys. Putting it in its own section
- Rhea – a moon of Saturn, Titan goddess
- Tethys – a moon of Saturn, Greek sea goddess
- Dione – a moon of Saturn, Greek sea goddess
- Nix – a moon of Pluto, Greek goddess of night
Moon Names for Boys
Just as beautiful, just as celestial, and genuinely underused for boys compared to girls.
- Oberon – largest moon of Uranus, Shakespeare’s fairy king
- Titan – Saturn’s largest moon
- Triton – Neptune’s largest moon, Greek sea god
- Proteus – a moon of Neptune, Greek sea god
- Nereid – a moon of Neptune
- Charon – largest moon of Pluto, ferryman of the underworld
- Deimos – a moon of Mars meaning “dread”
- Phobos – a moon of Mars meaning “fear”
- Ganymede – largest moon in the solar system, Zeus’s cupbearer
- Callisto – works beautifully for a boy too
- Enceladus – a moon of Saturn, Giant in Greek mythology
- Mimas – a moon of Saturn
- Hyperion – a moon of Saturn, Titan god
- Phoebe – also a moon of Saturn, works cross-gender
- Iapetus – a moon of Saturn, Titan
Planet Names and Their Mythology
Every planet in our solar system was named after a Roman or Greek god. Which means every planet name is also a mythological name. I love this dual meaning so much. Your baby gets both.
- Venus – goddess of love, the brightest planet in our sky
- Mars – god of war, the red planet
- Mercury – messenger god, fastest planet
- Jupiter – king of the gods, largest planet
- Saturn – god of time and harvest
- Juno – queen of the gods, also an asteroid
- Ceres – goddess of grain, a dwarf planet
- Vesta – goddess of the hearth, one of the largest asteroids
- Pallas – an epithet of Athena, also an asteroid
- Eris – goddess of discord, a dwarf planet beyond Pluto
- Sedna – Inuit sea goddess, a distant dwarf planet candidate
- Haumea – Hawaiian goddess of childbirth, a dwarf planet
- Makemake – Rapa Nui creator god, a dwarf planet
- Quaoar – Native American creation deity, a distant object
- Ixion – Greek mythological king, another distant object
Celestial Goddess and God Names
Some names are not from a star or planet directly but from the ancient figures that ancient cultures connected to the sky and cosmos. I find these some of the most striking celestial names of all.
- Helios – Greek god of the sun, warm and striking for a boy
- Sol – Latin for “sun,” minimal and powerful for either gender
- Eos – Greek goddess of dawn, short and luminous for a girl
- Aurora – Roman goddess of dawn, glowing and beautiful
- Nyx – Greek goddess of night, two letters, infinite presence
- Hemera – Greek goddess of day
- Aether – Greek god of the upper sky
- Uranus – god of the sky itself
- Erebus – god of deep darkness, shadowy and striking
- Hypnos – god of sleep, gentle and celestial
Celestial Names That Work for Both Girls and Boys
Some celestial names sit beautifully in the middle. I love these because they give you complete flexibility and they sound stunning either way.
- Nova
- Phoenix
- Orion
- Sol
- Soleil
- Zenith
- Cosmo
- Seren
- Caelum
- Astro
- Lynx
- Cygnus
- Io
- Pax
- Aries
- Lyric
- Indus
- Echo
- Aether
- Equinox
More Beautiful Celestial Girl Names
I kept finding names I could not leave off this list. Here are the ones that did not fit a category but were too good to cut.
- Solange
- Celestine
- Lunara
- Starling
- Vesper – Latin meaning “evening star”
- Noctua
- Elara
- Seraphina
- Luminara
- Zariah
- Calliope
- Thessaly
- Electra
- Ianthe
- Solstice
More Beautiful Celestial Boy Names
And the boys equivalent. Names I kept coming back to that belong on this list even if they needed their own space at the end.
- Altair
- Ptolemy
- Galileo
- Kepler
- Copernicus – nickname Coper or Nico
- Cosimo
- Stellan
- Rigel
- Vega – works beautifully for a boy too
- Zephyr
- Caelum
- Aquilo
- Oberon
- Castor
- Corvus
- Draco
- Hyperion
- Enceladus
- Ganymede
- Charon
- Titan
- Triton
- Helios
Wrapping It Up
Celestial names are unlike any other category because they connect your baby to something that has existed since long before any of us were here.
Every star on this list was burning before your baby was born. Every constellation was mapped by people who looked up at the same sky you do and felt the same sense of wonder you feel right now.
That is what a celestial name carries. And I think that is a beautiful thing to give a child.