Naming your children is one of the most gratifying, beautiful, and important decisions you will ever make, but at the same
With all this weight on your shoulders and so many options available, choosing a name can become a paralizing task. Our advice: Don’t let it get to you too much. A name is just a name and what really matters is how much you love them, how well you raise them and the values and personality they will associate with that name.
Still, you want to name them something original, but not absurd; something inspired, but not pretentious; something beautiful, but not flamboyant. Here’s where we come to help you.
We have brainstormed and compiled this huge list of baby name ideas inspired by astronomy and space, hopefully you will find the perfect name you are looking for here. We wish you and your baby the best!.
Table of Contents
- Names inspired by planets and moons
- Names inspired by stars, constellations, and mythology
- Names inspired by historical figures and space exploration
- Names inspired by science fiction
Why choose a name inspired by space?
Celestial objects that receive a proper name instead of just an alphanumeric designation are often named after heroes, historical figures or mythological deities so they can be a great source of inspiration when you want to select a name that evoques virtues such as beauty, strength and courage.
J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter saga named a lot of characters in the series after stars and constellations, and while you don’t have to go as far as to name your child Regulus, it shows how effective the technique can be to pick a name and how rich and vast the pool of space-based names is.
But that’s enough talk. Let’s get to the list.
Planet and moon’s names
In this
Boy names
| Name | Origin | Famous people and pop culture |
| Apollo | Greek god of the Sun. Name of NASA’s missions that took mankind to the moon for the first time. | Gwen Stefani’s son is named Apollo Apollo Creed from the Rocky movies |
| Atlas | One of Saturn’s moons that give shape to its rings. Named after the Titan god who held the world on his shoulders in Greek mythology. | Atlas Norton, son of actor Edward Norton |
| Ferdinand | Outermost irregular moon of Uranus | Multiple Kings of Spain, Portugal and Aragon Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician |
| Helios | Greek Titan god of the sun. Also means Sun in Greek. A common variation is Elio in Italian. | Cleopatra’s son was named Alexander Helios |
| Janus | One of Saturn’s inner moons. Popular in Scandinavian countries. | Janus Friis, founder of Skype and Kazaa |
| Jupiter | Jupiter Hammon, American poet | |
| Mars | Fourth planet in the solar system. Named after the Roman god of war. | Bruno Mars (stage name), singer |
| Mercurio | Mercury in Italian and Portuguese. First planet in the solar system. Roman god of trade. | Mercurio, Mexican pop band |
| Oberon | Outermost and second largest moon of Uranus. | King of fairies in Shake’speare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream |
| Stephano | One of Uranus’ moons | Character from Shakespeare’s The Tempest |
| Titan | Saturn’s largest moon. Name for the gods that preceded the Olympian gods in Greek mythology. | Titan Leeds, American publisher |
| Vulcan | A hypothetical planet that was thought to exist between Mercury and the Sun in the 18th century. Its existence has been disproved. |
Girl names
| Name | Origin | Famous people and pop culture |
| Astrid | Asteroid family in the central region of the asteroid belt. Also means “divine beauty” in old Norse languages | Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Spanish-French actress |
| Belinda | Inner moon of Uranus | Belinda Peregrin, Mexican pop singer Belinda Bauer, Australian actress |
| Bianca | Inner moon of Uranus | Bianca Balti, Italian supermodel |
| Cordelia | Innermost moon of Uranus | Character in Shakespeare’s King Lear |
| Dia | One of Jupiter’s moons | Sister of Callisto in Greek mythology |
| Diana | Roman goddess of the moon | Diana, Princess of Wales |
| Despina | One of Neptune’s moons | Despina Vandi, Greek singer |
| Eris | Second largest dwarf planet in the Solar System. | Greek goddess of strife and discord |
| Galatea | One of Neptune’s moons | Galatea Brand, character in James Bond’s novel, Moonraker |
| Juliet | Inner moon of Uranus | Juliet Capulet from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet Juliet Grey, Writer |
| Juno | Queen of the heavens in Roman mythology. Jupiter’s wife. | Juno Wright, daughter of actor Jeffery Wright |
| Kalindi | Sanskrit for The Sun. Also one of the sacred rivers in India. | |
| Larissa | One of Neptune’s moons. Named after one of Poseidon’s lovers. | Larissa Wilson, English actress Larissa Riquelme, Paraguayan model |
| Luna | Latin and Spanish word for Moon | Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter book series |
| Leda | One of Jupiter’s moons | Spartan Queen in Greek mythology. Mother of Helen of Troy |
| Miranda | One of Uranus round moons | Miranda Bailey, character from Grey’s Anatomy Miranda Kerr, Australian model |
| Monday | “Day of the Moon” | Monday Settman, character in the film Seven Sisters. |
| Ophelia | Inner moon of Uranus | Ophelia Benson, American author |
| Pandora | Inner moon of Saturn. | Pandora Delevingne, mother of the actress Cara Delevingne |
| Penelope | Minor planet/asteroid located in the main asteroid belt. Named after Odysseus’ wife in The Odyssey | Penelope Cruz, Spanish actress Penelope Fitzgerald, English writer |
| Phoebe | Saturn’s moon. Named after a Titan goddess, grandmother of Apollo. | Phoebe Buffay, character in the sitcom Friends Phoebe Adele Gates, daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates |
| Portia | Inner moon of Uranus. | Portia de Rossi, actress Shakespeare’s protagonist in The Merchant of Venice |
| Rhea | Second largest moon of Saturn | Rhea Durham, model |
| Sedna | Dwarf planet in the outside of the Solar System. Named after the Inuit goddess of the sea. | |
| Selene | Greek for Moon. Common variations are Selena and Selina. | Selena Gomez, American singer Selina Kyle, Catwoman from the Batman comics |
| Soleil | French word for Sun. | Soleil Moon Frye, actress |
| Theia | Theorical planet that collided with Earth billions of Years ago. The impact would have formed the Moon. Named after the Titan Goddess. | |
| Titania | Largest moon of Uranus | Character in Goethe’s Faust |
| Venus | Only planet in the Solar System with a female name, brightest object in the night sky after the Moon. Named after the Roman goddess of beauty. | Venus Williams, Tennis player |
Gender neutral names
| Name | Origin | Famous people and pop culture |
| Ariel | Shiniest moon of Uranus. Means ‘lion of God’ | Ariel Winter, American actress from the Modern Family sitcom Ariel Ortega, Argentinian soccer player |
| Sol | Latin word for Sun | Sol Campbell, English soccer player |
| Sunday | “Day of the Sun” | Sunday Rose Kidman, daughter of actress Nicole Kidman |
Names inspired by stars, constellations, and mythology
Boy names
| Name | Origin | Famous people and pop culture |
| Arcturus | Arcturus Mengsk, emperor in the StarCraft game | |
| Aster | Variation of the Latin word for “star” | |
| Corvus | Small constellation in the southern hemisphere. It is latin for “crow” | Corvus Glaive, villain in Marvel Comics and movies |
| Cosmo | Greek for “order”. Root for the term cosmos | Cosmo Hamilton, English novelist |
| Draco | “The Dragon”. Constellation in the northern sky. | Draco Verta, son of actress Danica McKellar |
| Hercules | Fifth largest constellation. Named after the Roman hero. | Hercules Burnett, baseball player. |
| Leo | “The Lion”. One of the twelve constellations of the zodiac | Leo Howard, actor |
| Orion | “The | Orion Clemens, brother of writer Mark Twain |
| Rigel | Biggest star in the Orion constellation, also sixth brightest star in the night sky. | |
| Sirius | Sirius Black, character in the Harry Potter book series | |
| Sterling | “Little star” from old English | Sterling K. Brown, actor |
| Ulysses | Space exploration probe built jointly by the U.S. and Europe to study the sun. Named after the Latin name for Odysseus. | Ulysses Grant, U.S. President. |
Girl names
| Name | Origin | Famous people and pop culture |
| Alya | One of the stars in a triple-star system in the Serpens constellation | Alya Césaire, character in the children’s animated series Miraculous |
| Andromeda | Closest Galaxy to Earth. Named after the daughter of King Cepheus in Greek mythology | Andromeda Tonks, character from the Harry Potter book series |
| Bellatrix | Second biggest star in the Orion constellation. Latin for “female warrior” | Bellatrix Lestrange, character from the Harry Potter book series |
| Carina | Constellation in the southern sky. Karina is a common variation in Europe | Karina Smirnoff, Ukranian-American dancer |
| Cassiopeia | Constellation in the northern sky. Named after a beautiful queen in Greek mythology | Character in the TV series Battlestar Galactica |
| Electra | Third brightest star in the Pleiades star cluster | |
| Eliana | Derived from “Helios”, meaning “daughter of the Sun”. | Eliana Johnson, writer |
| Lucy | White Dwarf star in the centaurus constellation. It has crystallized and is now a giant diamond. (Lucy in the sky with diamonds) | Lucy Liu, actress |
| Lyra | “The Harp”. One of the original 48 constellations catalogued by Ptolemy. | Lyra Virna, Indonesian actress |
| Maia | Blue giant in the Taurus constellation. Named after Hermes’ mother in Greek mythology | Maia Mitchell, Australian actress and singer |
| Norma | Small, four star constellation visible in the southern hemisphere. | Norma Jeane Mortenson, birth name of Marylin Monroe |
| Stella | Latin word for “star” | Stella Luna Pompeo, daughter of actress Ellen Pompeo |
| Talitha | One of the stars in the Ursa Major constellation | Talitha Hamilton, protagonist in the book The Dragonfly Pool |
| Tara | Sanskrit word for “star” | Tara Reid, actress |
Gender Neutral Names
| Name | Origin | Famous people and pop culture |
| Nova | Nova Whitfield, daughter of rapper Young Fly and Jacky Oh | |
| Phoenix | Phoenix Richmond, British model | |
| Surya | Sun deity in Hinduism | Surya Bonaly, former French figure skater |
| Vega |
Names inspired by historical figures and space exploration
Boy names
| Name | Origin | Famous people and pop culture |
| Albert | After Albert Einstein. Also means “noble” | Albert Camus, French philosopher |
| Armstrong | After Neil Armstrong, first human to walk on the moon. | Armstrong Wells, writer and illustrator |
| Johaness | After | |
| Neil | After Neil Armstrong, first human to walk on the moon. | Neil DeGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist and science communicator |
| Newton | After Sir Isaac Newton | Newton Scamander from the Fantastic Beasts movies |
| Nicholas | After Nicolaus Copernicus, mathematician and astronomer who proposed solar system model where the Sun is at the center instead of Earth | Nicolas Cage, actor |
| Stephen | After Stephen Hawking, English cosmologist | Stephen King, novelist Stephen “Steph” Curry, basketball player |
Girl Names
| Name | Origin | Famous people and pop culture |
| Gaia | Space observatory of the European Space Agency. Named after the primordial goddess in Greek mythology. | Gaia Germani, Italian actress |
| Margaret | After Margaret Hamilton, Director of Software Engineering of the Apollo program. | Margaret “Maggie” Grace, actress |
| Sally | After Sally Ride, astronaut and first American woman in space | Sally Field, actress |
| Valentina | After Valentina Tereshkova, Russian cosmonaut and | Valentina Shevchenko, Kyrgyzstani–Peruvian MMA fighter Valentina Zenere, Argentinian actress |
Gender Neutral names
| Name | Origin | Famous people and pop culture |
| Galileo/Galilea | After Galileo Galilei, | Galilea Montijo, Mexican tv host |
| Halley | After Halley’s comet, visible from Earth every 75-76 years y and Edmond Halley, English astronomer. | |
| Sagan | After Carl Sagan, astrophysicist and communicator | Sagan Cruz, character in the Phantom 2040 series |
| Yuri | After Yuri Gagarin, | Yuri Masuda, Japanese singer |
Names inspired by science fiction
Boy names
| Name | Origin | Famous people and pop culture |
| Anakin | Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars | Anakin Slayd, Canadian musician |
| Fox | Fox Mulder from The X-Files | Fox Conner, WWII American general |
| Kal | Kal-el, Superman’s kryptonian name | Kal-el Coppola Cage, son of Nicolas Cage |
| Kirk | Captain James Tiberius Kirk, from Star Trek | Kirk Douglas, actor |
| Luke | Luke Skywalker from Star Wars | Luke Armstrong, son of cyclist Lance Armstrong |
Girl names
| Name | Origin | Famous people and pop culture |
| Kara | Kara “Starbuck” Thrace from Battlestar Galactica. Also Kara Zor-El, Kryptonian name for Supergirl | Kara Walker, painter |
| Leia | Leia Organa from Star Wars | Leia Bell, daughter of musician Andy Bell |
| Padme | Padme Amidala, from Star Wars | |
| Ripley | Ellen Ripley, protagonist in the Alien movies. | Ripley Sobo, actress |
| River | River Tam, character in the series Firefly |
Gender Neutral names
| Name | Origin | Famous people and pop culture |
| Cooper | Cooper, Matthew McConaughey’s character from Interstellar | Cooper Wallace, football player |
| Murphy | “Murph”, from Interstellar | Murphy Claire Levesque, daughter of wrestler Triple H |
