Big Long List of Futuristic Names

A warm and simple alternative to Luna, derived from Latin lumen "light".

The name of the Roman goddess of the moon, Luna is derived straight from the Latin word for moon, luna. Luna may be the name most likely to surprise someone from an older generation by its Top 10 status in the US and its widespread international popularity.

This name of a character played by Kirsten Dunst in the movie Virgin Suicides, originally a novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, is gaining attention, also thanks to the heroine Lux, Lady of Luminosity in the League of Legends games. Luz is the Spanish version.

The Lyla spelling variation has now superseded the original Lila — the former remains on the rise while the latter is consistently falling in popularity.

Lylah could be seen as a variation of Delilah, Leila or Lila or (like Lyla) a female variation of Lyle. Either way, we think you're best going with one of those other names to avoid your daughter's name looking like alphabet soup.

One of the fierce new animal names new to name lists, helped by its strong x-ending.

Lyra is a name with ancient and celestial roots that's finding new popularity thanks to its starring role in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, seen in the movie The Golden Compass. Simple yet unique, Lyra hits the sweet spot between too popular and too unusual.

A musical name with Greek roots, appealing to parents who like such other names as Harmony, Melody, and Cadence.

Lysander is a distinctive Greek name that could be thought of as a more creative cousin of Alexander. In ancient history, Lysander was the name of an esteemed Spartan naval commander and his literary cred comes from one of the two star-struck young men in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, as well as one of the twin sons (the other being Lorcan) of Luna Lovegood, whom we learn about in the Harry Potter epilogue.

This name is the feminization of mythological name Lysander, which is best known to English-speakers as a character in Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Anatolian city visited by Paul in the Bible, though risks sounding a tad antiseptic.

Magnus is a Latin name, literally meaning "greatest," that has a Scandinavian feel. It dates back to Charlemagne being called Carolus Magnus, or Charles the Great. Norwegian king Magnus I, named after Charlemagne, introduced it to his culture, and thus Magnus was the name of six early kings of Norway and four of Sweden. It is still a highly popular name in Denmark and Norway.

Maia was derived from the Greek word maia, meaning "mother." In Greek legend, she was the fair-haired daughter of Atlas who mothered Zeus's favorite illegitimate son, Hermes. To the Romans, Maia was the incarnation of the earth mother and goddess of spring, after whom they named the month of May. Maya is the more common spelling.

Malia rose up the charts back in 2009 when it was brought into the spotlight as the name of the Obama's eldest daughter. It leapt into the US Top 200, and while it hasn't reached that level of popularity again, it now sees steady usage, and is given to around 1100 girls every year.

A name with many spelling variations, including Malek and Maliq. With Muslim roots, Malik ranks in the US Top 500 and is also popular in several European and Arabic countries. Malik can also be thought of as a nature name, via its Greenlandic meaning of wave.