God Names from Myth and Legend

God of the underworld in Lithuanian mythology, known as "the phantom of the dead". He is a one-eyed, prophetic trickster capable of raising whirlwinds and leading the host of the dead through the skies.

Taranis was the Celtic god of thunder, the equivalent of the Norse god Thor. With Thor along with a legion of mythological choices back in use as baby names, Taranis just may have a chance to rise from the recesses of history to make the modern baby name rosters.

Quirinus is the Roman god of thunder and lightning, believed by some to be the Sabine god of war. While this is an intriguing and distinctive classic name, it also might provoke some middle school teasing.

More substantial than it sounds: Shango was the god of thunder and legendary ancestor of the Yoruba people of Nigeria.

God of the sky, weather, thunder, and the harvest in Estonian mythology. His names in Finnish mythology include Ukko, Äijä, and Äijö.

Perkūnas was the Baltic god of thunder, one of the most important deities of Baltic mythology. His name is derived from a Proto-Indo-European word meaning "oak tree" or "fir tree", which he also ruled over.

Garuda is the Hindu god of birds, a divine sun bird with the wings and beak of an eagle and the body of a man. The appealing Sanskrit meaning is "wings of speech".

Parthenios, the name of a Greek river god, is draped in a toga.

In Maori and other Polynesian mythology Rangi or Ranginui was a god of the sky, husband of the earth goddess Papa or Papatuanuku. This strong and simple Māori name would make for a fresh celestial choice.

God of rebirth worshipped in Central and Eastern Europe. Yarilo represented the sacred youthful life-force and was associated with spring and agricultural fertility.

In Estonian mythology, Ilmarine is a blacksmith who forges the celestial beings. He is immortal and capable of creating practically anything, but is portrayed as being unlucky in love.

The name of the legendary founder of the capital city of Ukraine — Kyiv. In one source, Kyi is associated with smithery.

One way to reference mythology without naming your son after a god.

A god of war worshipped in Slavic areas, depicted with a golden shield.

A Ukrainian spirit of mining — usually good, but occasionally wicked. Legends have different stories of the origin of Shubin, some citing him as the ghost of a dead miner, others a mining master from the 19th century who had a gift for predicting collapses.

God of fertility in Latvian mythology. Jumis is responsible for ensuring a good harvest — he lives in the fields and the last of the crop would be left for him to live in.

A god of fire in Slovenian mythology. Kresnik is also associated with the summer solstice and storms. He is said to reside on a sacred mountain at the top of the world — representing axis mundi, or the axis of Earth between the celestial poles.

The god of storms in Lithuanian mythology. With (unrelated) Audrey at the top of the girl name charts, Audros feels like a handsome masculine successor.

In Bosnian mythology, Tur is a bull that holds the world on his back. According to legend, whenever he moves his horns, an earthquake happens. It is said that should Tur one day move his whole body, this would cause the end of the world.

The Latvian god of crops — especially barley and brewing. Today the Seto people — an ethnic group in Estonia — revere Peko as a national hero and king, the name and figure used widely as a national symbol.