Space and Celestial Names

Tarabai is an Indian name with a lot of feminist clout. Tarabai Bhosale was a 17th century Maratha queen who was a skilled military leader in her own right and successfully resisted the Mughal empire on behalf of her people. More recently Tarabai Shinde is often regarded as the author of India’s first feminist text - in which she rails against both the patriarchy and the caste system. Meaning feminine star, Tarabai is a perfect name for your budding feminist.

A strong, handsome Indian name with cross-cultural appeal.

This name of the queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream has a delicate, lacy charm similar to Tatiana's, but that first syllable could cause embarrassing problems.

A title given to the elf Arwen in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, meaning "evening star" and usually rendered poetically as Evenstar. Like her revered ancestor Lúthien, Arwen chooses to become mortal in order to marry her human love, Aragorn.

Ursa might be a good choice if you're looking for a bear name for your daughter but want to avoid the She Witch curse placed on Ursula by Disney's The Little Mermaid. Too bad, because Ursula is a classic and lovely name, but Ursa has less baggage.

Cool bearlike option, though Orson might be easier to embrace.

This striking name has a lot going for it: it's a self-confident Spanish surname, it identifies one of the most brilliant stars in the sky, and it has a musical reference to singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega.

Another astral name, this one relating to one of the largest and brightest stars in the heavens, is popular in Scandinavia and Spain, where it ranks among the Top 50 girls' names. Although still very rare in the US, we think it has serious potential to follow the likes of Luna and Lyra up the charts.

Vela is one of those rare names that is at once simple, straightforward, authentic, and unusual, at least in the Western World. Besides being an Indian girls' name, Vela is a Southern sky constellation whose name is Latin for sail – originally part of the Argo Navis constellation.

Venetia, the name of the region encompassing Venice, has a radiant, picturesque authenticity, as do the related Venezia and Venice.

The name of a heavenly planet and the Roman goddess of beauty and love was an intimidating no-no until tennis champ Venus Williams put an athletic, modern spin on it.

This Latin word used for evening spiritual services was introduced to baby namers by the Eva Greene character Vesper Lynd in the modern James Bond film Casino Royale in 2006, based on the Ian Fleming novel, and is just now beginning to provoke interest among namers, with its spiritual reference and soft, whispery sound.

While this is usually thought of as a girls' name because of the Bond Girl connection, its sound is masculine and there's no reason it couldn't work for boys.

Said to refer to either Jupiter or Venus, either of which would be preferable as a name.

Whetū means "star" in Maori.

The title of a Maori poem and also used to reference Mary, mother of Jesus, adapted from the Latin Marian title Stella Maris "star of the sea".

A mix of Yvonne and Elaine, Yvaine was first noticed in the Neil Gaiman fantasy novel and then movie Stardust, in which Claire Danes played the 'fallen star' Yvaine. This In all its forms, one of the most classic Scottish names for girls is now attracting namer attention--just as that other Gaiman-inspired name, Coraline, did. Yvaine has a definite romantic, medieval charm. A small segment of namers are definitely taking notice.

The sixth letter of the Greek alphabet, popularized by Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones -- Zeta was her grandmother's first name. Zeta can also refer to the letter Z, the last in the Roman alphabet, or be a spelling variation of Zita, a name with several possible origins and meanings.

Zvezda, which means star in several Slavic languages, is a traditional established name in Eastern Europe and Russia. While names with celestial meanings have an intrinsic appeal, that initial Zv may be difficult for English speakers to wrap their tongues around.