Ever since man looked up toward the night sky and wondered what’s “out there”, we have had a fascination with space. The stars have inspired myths and stories throughout history and even now we are just as intrigued by space as when our ancestors first started stargazing.
The last century has seen the space race, moon landings, obsessions about UFOs and life on other planets. Let’s take a galactic journey through some names that have been inspired by space.
Which one of these names will light your rocket?
Space Baby Names for Girls
Alula
A name that means “embodied with celestial wisdom”.
Alya
Coming from a Turkish origin, this name means “exalted”, “sky” and “heaven”
Andromeda
Andromeda means “leader of men”. It is also the name of a galaxy 2.5 million light-years from earth and neighbour of our very own Milky Way galaxy.
Ariel
This name comes from the Hebrew meaning “Lion of God”. It is also an acronym adopted by the European Space Agency for its space telescope which will study and explore the formation of planetary systems.
Astra
A stellar name for a girl. It comes from the Latin astrum and means “star”.
Astrid
This is a Nordic name that means “divinely beautiful”. Sweden designed and developed two microsatellites with this name, Astrid-1 and Astrid-2.
Aurora
A beautiful display of colours seen at both poles of the earth, Aurora was also the Roman goddess whose tears would transform to the dew of the morning. Aurora means “dawn”.
Belinda
Coming from the French and Italian stems (belle/bella), Belinda means “beautiful”. It is also the name of a moon near Uranus.
Bellatrix
This is from the Latin bellātrīx and means “warrior woman”. It is also the thor brightest star in the Orion constellation.
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Bianca
A name that means “white” and is also a moon of Uranus.
Cassiopeia
A Greek mythological figure who boasted about how beautiful she was and was punished by Poseidon who took out his anger by flooding Ethiopia. Poseidon then took Cassiopeia and locked her in place in the heavens near Andromeda. There is uncertainty about what this name means, but one theory claims it means “cassia juice”.
Celeste
This name is from the Latin caelestis which means “heavenly”. Space is celestial…enough said.
Ceres
Ceres is the Latin name given to the goddess of bounty. It means “to grow” and the name of an asteroid that lays between Mars and Jupiter.
Columba
A name that means “dove”. It’s also a constellation discovered in the sixteen century.
Cordelia
Cordelia means “heart” or “daughter of the sea”. It is the name of the innermost moon of Uranus.
Cressida
Originating from the Greek word khrusós, Cressida means gold. Oh, and it’s another moon of Uranus! (How many moons does that planet have!)
Danica
A Slavic name that means “morning star”.
Dione
This is the fourth-largest moon of Saturn discovered in 1684 by Giovanni Domenico Cassini. It is also the name of the mother of Venus (in Greek mythology she is the mother of Aphrodite). Dione means “goddess”.
Electra
Okay, we are getting small with this name which stems from the Greek word ḗlektron. The name means “amber” or “shining sun”. It is the name of one of the stars in the Pleiades.
Eris
A name that means “strife”. Eris is the name given to the largest dwarf planet in our Solar System.
Estella
Estella means “star” and a variation of the Greek Asta.
Europa
A compound name from the Greek words eurys (“wide”) and ops (“eye”,” face”). Europa means “wide face” and is a moon of Jupiter.
Faye
This name means “fairy”. It is the surname of Herve Faye, a French astronomer who discovered the comet “Faye’s Comet” on 22 November 1843.
Gaia
Gaia means “earth mother” and was the name of the Greek goddess of the earth. It is also the name of the European Space Agency’s observatory in operation from 2013 to 2022, intending to map our galaxy three-dimensionally.
Galatea
“She who is milk-white” is what this name means. It is also a moon of Neptune.
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Halley
This name is a compound of the Old English heal (“hall”, “large house”) and leah (“woodland”, “clearing”) and came to mean “one who lives near the hall by the woodland”. It is the surname of the astronomer Edmond Halley who discovered the comet named after him.
Helene
Helene stems from the Greek helánē which means “torch”, “bright” and “beautiful”. One of Saturn’s moons carries this name.
Hilda
A strong name that means “battle woman” from the Nordic word hildr (“battle”). It is also the name of an asteroid found in the outer belt.
Hoshi
Hoshi is the Japanese word for “star”.
Indu
A Hindi word that means “moon”. Such a beautiful and exotic-sounding name.
Juliet
A French name that means “youthful”. An inner moon of Uranus bears the name Juliet.
Kamaria
A Persian name that means “moon”. Such a gorgeous sounding name,
Larissa
A Greek-inspired name that means “cheerful and lighthearted”. Neptune’s fifth closest moon carries this name.
Leda
Leda comes from Greek and means “woman”, “lady” and “happy”. One of Jupiter’s moons is named Leda.
Leia
This is a name that is culturally defined. In Hebrew, it means “weary”, “languid” and “relaxed”. The Hawaiians interpret the name to mean “child of heaven”. The Latin meaning is “lioness”. Anyone that is a Star Wars fan knows Princess Leia!
Libra
The original Greek word means “scales”, “balance”, “equity” and “fairness”. It is one of the 12 zodiacal constellations.
Luna
This is the Latin name for “moon”. In Greek mythology, Luna is the moon goddess.
Lyra
In Greek, Lyra means “lyre” which is a harp. In the 2nd century, Ptolemy discovered a small constellation that now bears the name Lyra.
Maia
In Greek this name means “mother”. For the Maori in New Zealand, Maia means “courage” and “bravery”. It is also a star in the Taurus constellation.
Miranda
This name is interpreted as “to wonder at” in Latin. There is plenty to be curious about in space, especially the smallest and closest moon of Uranus which is named Miranda.
Nevaeh
This name is a bit of wordplay. It’s “Heaven” spelt backwards! Our ancestors have been gazing heavenward since this world began.
Nova
Coming out of the Latin novus, Nova means (“new”). It’s an indication of the constant flux of our universe in which things are constantly created, destroyed and recreated. A Nova is a star that has just appeared and will slowly fade over time.
Ophella
In Greek, this name means “help”. One of Uranus’ moons has this title.
Pandora
A compound name coming from the Greek pan (“all”) and dōron (“gift”), so Pandora as a whole means “all endowed” or “all gifted”. It is the name given to the innermost moon of Saturn.
Phoebe
In Greek mythology, Phoebe was associated with the moon. The name means “bright”. One of Saturn’s moons is known as Phoebe.
Portia
Okay, there might be some turned up noses over the meaning of this name. It comes from the Latin porcus (“pig”) and is taken to mean “an offering”. It reflects someone willing to give. Again we head to Uranus where Portia is found to be the planet’s second-largest inner moon.
Rhea
A name coming from the Greek réo (“to flow”). As far as space is concerned, Rhea is the second-largest moon of Saturn.
Sally
Starting as a pet name for Sarah, Sally has grown to become a name in its own right. It means “princess”, “noblewoman”. As far as space goes, there are a couple of Sally’s of interest. Sally Ride was the first American female to go to space in 1983. Sally Oey studies massive stars and how they affect galaxies. In 1999, she was given the Annie J. Cannon Award in Astronomy.
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Sidra
This name has divinity meeting astronomy. Sidra is Arabic and means “goddess of the stars”.
Sitara
We head over to India with this name. It means “starlight”. Sitara was also used as an acronym for a telescope used in Western Australia to detect the global redshifted 21-cm signal from the Epoch of Reionisation.
Soleil
A French name that means “sun”
Solstice
An awesome name that comes from French, Latin and English. It means “when the sun stands still”. Solstices happen twice a year, around June 21 and December 21.
Solveig
Here we have a strong Nordic name that can mean “daughter of the Sun”.
Starr
This is an old Middle English nickname for “star”.
Stella
Another name that means “star” and comes from the Latin stella.
Thalassa
A Greek name that is taken to mean “the sea”. In mythology, Thalassa was the spirit of the sea. One of Neptune’s moons has this name.
Titania
The Titans were believed to be a group of giants and this is the feminine form of Titan. The first use of the name, Titania, is in A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare, where she is the queen of the fairies. It is also the moniker of the largest moon of Uranus.
Vega
There are a couple of meanings behind this name. In Spanish, it is a surname that means “one who lives in a meadow. The interpretation of Vega in Arabic is “swooping eagle”. The brightest star in the Lyre constellation bears this name,
Venus
Venus is Latin and means “love”, “charm”, “beauty” and was the Roman goddess of beauty and charm. The planet Venus is about the same size as Earth and is sometimes designated as Earth’s sister.
Vesta
A name that has its root in the Greek hestia (“hearth”). Vesta means “one who stays by the hearth” and was the name of the Roman goddess of hearth and home. The brightest asteroid visible from Earth has this name (maybe it doesn’t want to stray too far from home!).
Zaniah
This is taken to be an alternative spelling of the Arabic name Zaina which means “beautiful and radiant”. Another interpretation has Zaniah meaning “corner”. It is also the name of the Eta star in the Virgo constellation.
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Space Baby Names For Boys
Aldrin
The surname of the former astronaut Buzz Aldrin who, along with Neil Armstrong, were the first to land on the moon. The name Aldrin means “old”.
Altair
Altair means “flyer” or “bird”. It is the twelfth brightest star in our sky and found in the constellation of Aquilla. NASA also chose Altair as the name of the now-cancelled lunar lander that would be used as an outpost on the moon.
Apollo
Okay, some may baulk at the meaning of this name which is “destroyer”. It comes from the Hebrew abaddon. Apollo was the name of the third manned space flight program by NASA.
Archer
The name means “a bowman”. It is also associated with the constellation Sagittarius (which forms the shape of a stellar archer).
Armstrong
Armstrong means “one with strong arms”. As we all know, it was the surname of the first man to walk on the moon.
Astro
Coming from the Greek astron, Astro means “star”. Plenty of those in space!
Atlas
The name of the Greek mythological figure who was ordered by Zeus to support the sky on his shoulders. Atlas means “to carry” and that is what poor old Atlas has had to do since the time Zeus made him. Atlas is also the name of one of Saturn’s moons and a triple star system in the Pleiades.
Badar
Coming from Arabic, Badar means “full moon”
Callisto
This is from the Greek KallistṓI and means “fair”, “good”. In 1610 Gallileo Galilei discovered a moon of Jupiter and it was named…Callisto.
Calypso
A name that likes to hide, Calypso comes from the Greek kalúptō (“I hide” or “she who likes to conceal”). It is also the name of a moon of Saturn as well as an asteroid.
Castor
Coming from the Greek Kástōr, this name means “beaver”. Yes…THAT beaver. It is also one of the brightest stars in the night sky and is found in the Gemini constellation.
Cielo
An Italian name that means “sky”
Comet
Comets are cool and when they get near the Sun, they release gasses that make them look all comety. The name comes from the Greek word meaning “to weave ling hair” and that is what the tail of a comet looks like…long, cosmic hair.
Cosmo
Inspired by the Greek word kósmos which means “ordered universe” which, at the surface level, our universe appears to be!
Cygnus
Here we have another animal-inspired word. Cygnus means “swan” and in Greek mythology, a Ligurian king was transformed into one and became the Cygnus constellation.
Donati
This name means “give by God” in Latin. It is also the surname of the Italian astronomer Giovanni Battista Donati who was born in 1826.
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Draco
A name that means “dragon”. It is also a constellation in the far northern sky.
Finlay
Of Irish and Gaelic origin, Finlay means “fair-haired courageous one”. William Henry Finlay was a South African astronomer who discovered the “Great Comet of 1882”
Galileo
A name that means “from Galilee”. Galileo Galilei was one of the greatest astronomers of all time and seen as the father of modern physics and observational astronomy.
Hamal
An Arabic name that means “lamb”. It is also the label given to the fiftieth brightest star in our night sky.
Hercules
This is a Greek compound name made up of heros (“warrior”) and kleos (“glory”). It means “hero’s glory”. It is one of the 88 constellations.
Hesperos
Hesperos comes from the Greek for “evening”. It also means “evening star” and is the personification of the planet Venus.
Izar
This is another name that means “star” in Basque. Izar is also the label given to a binary star in the constellation Boötes.
Janus
Janus means “God of Beginnings” as well as “gateway”. Saturn has a moon with this name.
Jupiter
This name is pretty final. It means “the supreme God”. There is to be no debate over the matter! It is also the title of the fifth planet from the Sun and the biggest planet in our Solar System.
Kepler
Kepler is Germanic and means “a hate maker”. Johannes Kepler was a revolutionary astronomer from Germany who discovered the laws of planetary motions.
Leo
Anyone that loves lions knows what this name means…lion! It is one of the constellations of the zodiac and can be spotted lying between Cancer and Virgo.
Lintang
Lintang is Indonesian for “star”.
Luke
Stemming from the Latin word lux, Luke means “light”. Which there is plenty of with the stars in our universe.
Meteor
A lofty name that comes from the Greek meteōros (“high in the air”). Our atmosphere is bombarded with millions of meteors each day.
Namid
A name from the Ojibwa which means “star dancer”. It’s so poetic!
Nash
Nash is an English name meaning “by the ash tree”. It is also one of the traditional names given to a star in the Sagittarius constellation.
Neptune
The origination of this name is debated but one idea is that it comes from the Indo-European stem nebh meaning “wet, damp”. In Roman mythology, Neptune was the God of the sea. This divine title is also what the name means. The planet Neptune is the furthest away from the Sun and the fourth largest in our Solar System.
Oberon
A name of Germanic origin, Oberon means “noble” and “bear-like”. The second-largest and outermost moon of Uranus bears this name.
Orion
There are several different meanings to this name. One meaning is traced back to Mesopotamia where Orion comes from the Babylonian Uru-anna (“the light of heaven”). In Greek, Orion is taken to mean “rising star” or “dawn”. In mythology, Zeus placed Orion in the sky where it is one of the brightest constellations.
Perseus
Perseus is of Greek origin which means “avenger” or “destroyer”. It has the connotation of revenge or seeking retribution for a wrongdoing. One of the constellations in the northern sky has this name.
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Pluto
This space name comes from the Greek ploutos (“rich”, “wealth”). Pluto, the planet, had its status downgraded so that it is now considered a dwarf planet rather than a full planet.
Pollux
This is a sweet name, literally. It comes from two Greek words polys (“much”) and deukes (“sweet”). Therefore, Pollux means “so sweet”. Astronomically, Pollux refers to an orange star in the Gemini constellation.
Qamar
An Arabic name meaning “moon”
Rasalas
In Arabic, Rasalas means “The lion’s head toward the south”. Not surprisingly, it’s a star found in the constellation of Leo.
Regulus
A diminutive version of the Latin rex (“king”), Regulus means “prince”. A quadruple star system in the constellation of Leo sports this name.
Rigel
Coming from an Arabic word for “foot”, Rigel means “the giant’s left leg”. It’s taken to be a reference to Orion’s constellation in which Rigel is a blue supergiant star.
Rocket
This name comes from the Italian rocchetto (which means spinning) and refers to the cylindrical form that makes up the rocket. You all know what a rocket is and makes a cool name for a boy.
Samson
Samson comes from the Hebrew šemeš “sun” and is a reference to how God is “sun and shield” to Israel.
Saturn
Coming from the Latin serere (“to sow”), Saturn is the name of the Roman god of agriculture. It is also the name of the sixth planet from the Sun.
Saros
This name carries a couple of meanings. It could come from the Babylonian sāru (which means the number “3600”) or the Greek saro (“to sweep”).
Tarique
A variation of Tariq, the name means “morning star” in Urdu.
Taurus
Here we have the original word in Latin and it means “bull”. Anyone who is familiar with astrology knows that Taurus is one of the 12 Zodiacal signs. It is also the constellation in the northern sky sitting between Aries and Gemini.
Vulcan
Only a true Star Trek fan would be bold enough to name their son this. Going beyond the fiction of Star Trek, Vulcan is the name of a hypothetical planet, discovered in 1859, which is said to exist between Mercury and the Sun.
Zenith
A word that has its origination in Arabic samt (“direction”, “path”). Zenith means “the highest point” or “directly overhead” and is where the Sun is at midday
That was quite an exciting interstellar trip, huh? So many options for you to choose from to name that little life form that is about to arrive on this planet.
Which names have made it into your space name mission list? Why did you choose those names? We’d love to hear your reasons so feel free to leave us a comment. Or just give us a friendly greeting from Earth.