Space and Celestial Names

The only of the four cardinal direction names to not have caught on. But if North can work, why not South?

Most parents today would prefer the softer-sell Stella. But Star has symbolic power related to Christmas, so this could make one of the perfect names for December babies.

Starr today is more fashionably the plain-spoken Star or the more obscured Stella, Esther, or Estella.

Stella is a name with star quality and sparkle, that manages to sound both ethereal and earthy. Celestial but not otherworldly, it lands somewhere between the popular Ella and bold Seraphina.

Stella and Luna are stylish night sky name for girls, from the Latin words for star and moon.

This cosmological name is given to a handful of boys and girls each year in the USA. Likely to get confused with Stella, but definitely edgier and likely to start a conversation.

This cosmological name is given to a handful of boys and girls each year in the USA. Likely to get confused with Stella or Stellan.

A sweet Cornish word name with a celestial meaning.

Stella gets a cool European makeover.

Sunna was a mythological goddess of the sun. As a mythology name that easily translated into English yet is unique and uplifting, Sunna feels like an all-around winner.

Sunniva was an Irish-born saint who fled to Norway, where she hid in an island cave with her followers and eventually died. After miracles were reported on the island, the cave was excavated and Sunniva's intact body was found. Sunniva is the patron saint of Western Norway. Her name would make a fascinating and unusual choice for a modern baby girl, and if her story is a bit grim, you can take refuge in the upbeat nickname Sunny or Sunni.

Popular Russian name, familiar here via author Svetlana Stalin, the dictator's daughter.

An Ethiopian place-name and multicultural diminutive for many names, including the Slavic Tatiana and the Spanish Cayetana. Tana is also a rare Frisian name, meaning "thought", as well as a masculine name meaning "sweetheart" in the Turkic Karachay-Balkar language.

Despite a rich history in Irish myth preceding its plantation appearance in Gone with the Wind, widespread use in the seventies caused Tara to lose its Irish accent.