Celestial and Star Names

The disgraced heroine of The Scarlet Letter's name, after long neglect, just might have a chance at revival, following in the wake of sister-name Esther. We've characterized her elsewhere as an eccentric aristocrat, much more accepted in the U.K. than she has been here.

In Arabic, hilal is the word for the crescent moon that marks the beginning of the month on the Islamic calendar. Hilal is a common girl name in Turkey, but is typically masculine in Arabic.

Like a large proportion of traditional Hawaiian names, Hoku can be used for both girls and boys.

Sounds like Horace, looks like the head of a hawk on the body of a human.

Short and catchy form of traditional Asian name.

A pretty, if unusual choice for a summer baby, particularly a girl with an ancestor named Ida. An epithet of the goddess Aphrodite, Idalia is derived from the Greek place name Idalion.

A name that's unknown in the US and Britain but is popular as a nature name in Finland. May also be known as a Hungarian variation of Amelia and a Spanish form of Wilhelmina.

Indu is truly unusual, but shares sounds with more popular choices like Indie and Indigo. Other moon names to consider: Luna, Serena, Io.

Io may be one of the slightest names in the book, but there aren't many two-letter names with as much substance as this Greek mythological example. Io, a name used for the largest moon of Jupiter, was in classic myth raped by Zeus and escaped from him by changing herself into a cow.

Ishaan is the guardian of the Northeast in the Hindu religion.

The name of the elder son of Elendil in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, who was briefly king of Gondor and Arnor.

Used more for girls in Europe, but definitely sounds masculine enough for a boy here.

A bright and sparky Basque name with a lovely celestial meaning.

Jupiter's partner Juno has entered the mainstream, so it's possible that her divine mate could follow. But not necessarily for boys — Jupiter is currently mostly female in the US, thanks to its similarity to Juniper. Stars including Ed Sheeran and Ashley Tisdale recently welcomed daughters named Jupiter, which could shift the balance even more towards the girls.

This lovely, rhythmic Hindu nature name relates to the mythical Kalinda Mountains, from which a sacred river flows.

A melodic name that's taking off in the African-American community, along with sound-alikes such as Amari, Jamari, and Damari.

Lush and unusual.

A celestial name from the extinct Taíno language of the Caribbean.