Something has shifted in American naming culture over the last decade. We've moved from looking inward (names meaning love, grace, blessing) to looking up. Celestial names — moon, stars, night sky, planets, constellations — have surged across the rankings in ways that are genuinely striking in the data.
Luna alone tells the story: it entered the top 100 in 2015 and is now #13 with 81,568 total bearers. The night sky is officially on-trend.
But Luna has company — a whole constellation of names that carry the same celestial quality, most of them far less crowded.
The Mainstream Celestial Names
Luna (F) — #13
Latin origin, the Roman goddess of the moon — sister of Aurora (dawn) and Sol (sun). Luna is the undisputed queen of the celestial naming trend: #13 nationally, 81,568 total bearers, and still climbing. If your heart is set on a moon name, Luna is the gold standard. Just know that in some communities, it's quite common. The next three options on this list are for parents who want the same energy with more breathing room.
Nova (F) — #39
Latin origin, from the astronomical term for a star that suddenly brightens dramatically (a "new" star, from Latin nova stella). A nova is a stellar explosion that can make a faint star temporarily visible to the naked eye. At #39 with 51,063 total bearers, Nova is popular but not as saturated as Luna. It's also beautifully short — two syllables, clear pronunciation, no nickname needed. One of our favorites on this list.
Stella (F) — #49
Latin, meaning "star." Stella is a name with deep literary roots (Philip Sidney's sonnet sequence Astrophil and Stella, 1591; Tennessee Williams's Stella Kowalski), a celestial meaning, and a usable, euphonious sound. At #49 with 202,743 total bearers (a large number, reflecting Stella's popularity across many eras), it's a genuinely classic choice. Less obviously celestial than Luna, but more versatile.
Layla (F) — #37
Arabic origin, meaning "night" or "dark beauty." Layla is the most popular night-name in the U.S. by a wide margin — 123,729 total bearers, currently at #37. The name has deep roots in Arabic poetry (the story of Layla and Majnun, the Arabic version of Romeo and Juliet) and was popularized in the West by Eric Clapton's 1970 song. A night name with an extraordinarily rich heritage.
The Rising Celestial Names (Still Under Radar)
Phoebe (F) — #183
Greek origin, an epithet meaning "bright" or "radiant," applied to the moon goddess Artemis in her lunar aspect. Phoebe was also a Titan — the grandmother of Apollo and Artemis — and one of Saturn's moons. At #183 with 41,758 total bearers, Phoebe is meaningfully less common than Luna while carrying the same mythological moon connection. The Friends association has faded enough that it no longer defines the name. It's genuinely lovely.
Celeste (F) — #198
French origin, from the Latin caelestis, meaning "of the sky" or "heavenly." Celeste doesn't specifically mean moon or star — it means all of it. The entire celestial sphere. At #198 with 63,949 total bearers, it's less common than you might expect for such a beautiful name. It has a French elegance and a celestial breadth that most specific star/moon names lack.
Diana (F) — #243
Latin, the Roman goddess of the moon and the hunt — the counterpart to the Greek Artemis. Diana has 367,190 total bearers in SSA data (she was much more popular in the mid-20th century) and sits at #243 today. Princess Diana gave the name enormous cultural weight in the 1980s and 90s. It's both a moon name and a deeply human name — one of those choices that carries history without feeling heavy.
Lilith (F) — #256
Hebrew origin, from the night — Lilith in Jewish mythology is a figure of the night and darkness, associated with wind demons and the hours between dusk and dawn. At #256 with 12,404 total bearers, it's climbing steadily. A night name for parents who aren't afraid of the darker mythological associations — which, in the current naming climate, appear to be many.
Orion (M) — #325
Greek, the great hunter of mythology whose story was placed in the stars by Zeus. Orion is one of the most recognizable constellations in the northern sky — three bright belt stars, visible from both hemispheres, mentioned in Homer, in the Bible (Job 9:9), and in nearly every astronomical tradition on earth. At #325 with 22,098 total bearers, it's a genuinely strong boy's celestial name. Uncommon, clearly pronounced, mythologically resonant.
Lyra (F) — #482
Greek, the constellation named for the lyre of Orpheus. Lyra contains Vega, one of the brightest stars in the northern sky, and the Ring Nebula. Lyra Belacqua is also the protagonist of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials — a literary connection that has undoubtedly contributed to the name's recent rise. At #482 with 7,378 total bearers, Lyra is genuinely uncommon. Three letters, two syllables, musical and celestial at once. This is one of our favorite picks on this list.
Aurelia (F) — #334
Latin, meaning "golden" — but in astronomical context, aurelia connects to aurora (dawn light, polar light) and to the golden quality of starlight itself. The genus Aurelia is also the moon jelly. At #334 with 17,373 total bearers, Aurelia has both the celestial quality and the dark academia gravitas that make it exceptional. See also our cottagecore names list, where it appears as well.
The Rare and Mythological Celestial Names
Selene (F) — #675
Greek, the Titan goddess of the moon — the original lunar deity, before Artemis and Phoebe took over the lunar portfolio. Selene drove the moon's chariot across the night sky each night, and fell in love with the mortal Endymion, asking Zeus to grant him eternal sleep so she could visit him forever. At #675 with 9,240 total bearers, Selene is the Luna for parents who want the direct mythology without the mainstream saturation. Beautiful, melancholy, extraordinary.
Estelle (F) — #636
French/Occitan origin, meaning "star." A more vintage, more romantic alternative to Stella — Estelle feels like it belongs to a different era (it peaked in 1918), which gives it a different quality from the brighter, more modern Stella. At #636 with 55,887 total bearers, it's genuinely uncommon today. A name your child will almost certainly never share with anyone in their class.
Artemis (F) — #1,022
Greek, the goddess of the moon, the hunt, and wild animals — daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin sister of Apollo. Artemis is the full power of the moon mythology in one name: virgin huntress, protector of young women, goddess of childbirth, the crescent moon. At #1,022 with 3,050 total bearers, it's still rare. The name has a strength that Luna, for all its beauty, doesn't quite have. NASA named its moon program Artemis.
Theia (F) — #1,844
Greek, a Titan associated with the shining light of gold, silver, and gems — and the hypothesized planet whose collision with early Earth created the Moon. In planetary science, "Theia" is the name given to the Mars-sized body whose impact billions of years ago gave us our moon. A celestial name that carries both mythology and cutting-edge astrophysics. At #1,844 with 1,119 total bearers, extraordinarily rare.
Carina (F) — #1,479
Latin, the constellation Carina (the keel of a ship) contains Canopus, the second-brightest star in the night sky. It was part of the ancient constellation Argo Navis until it was divided in the 18th century. At #1,479 with 16,360 total bearers (it was more popular in the 1960s-70s), Carina is uncommon today. Its star meaning is not immediately obvious, which gives it a quiet elegance.
How to Choose Your Celestial Name
If you want mainstream and beautiful: Luna, Nova, or Stella.
If you want mythology over trend: Selene, Artemis, or Phoebe.
If you want literary + celestial: Lyra (His Dark Materials) or Orion (Greek mythology, Homer).
If you want genuinely rare: Theia, Carina, or Estelle.
Browse related lists: names that mean fire for the opposite element, or check out our cottagecore names for another aesthetic that overlaps. See how any of these names trend over time with our comparison tool, or explore the full baby name rankings.
Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration. Analysis by NamesPop.