Luminous Names

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.

Attractive, rhythmic choice with roots in several languages and cultures. It's a lesser-known a celestial name, meaning "star" in Basque and referring to a star in the constellation Boötes in Arabic.

A pretty international form of Helena used in many Slavic languages, also sometimes spelled Yelena.

Jember is an Amharic boy name used in Ethiopia. Pronounced "JEM-bair", this name has a gorgeous meaning — sunset, sunrise, or horizon. Jem would be a sweet nickname.

The slightly complex spelling of this Sanskrit name belies its sweet and simple sound.

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

Kalindi is a lovely, rhythmic name refers to one of the seven sacred rivers of India.

A melodic name, popular among the African-American community, where it joins sound-alikes Amari, Jamari, and Damari. It ultimately derives from the Arabic Qamar, meaning "moon", and is also used by Swahili speakers and those from Comoros and Somalia. It could also be considered a Greek place name, from a coastal village in Santorini.

A unisex name with an appealing and nature inspired meaning, Kamari is currently more popular for boys in the US, though it is climbing the charts for girls too, after in entered the Top 1000 in 2019. Derived from the Arabic Qamar meaning "moon", it also appears as Kamaria is Swahili and Comorian.

Lush and unusual.

This feminine name, pleasingly reminiscent of Kismet, has a similarly lovely meaning: Rainbow.

Kiara can be considered a variation of both the Italian name Chiara and the Irish name Ciara. Chiara is the Italian form of Clara, meaning "bright" or "clear," while Ciara is the feminine form of male given name Ciar, derived from the old Irish cíar, meaning "dark."

If you can see past its violent first syllable, Killa actually has a sweet sound and lovely meaning.

Though it sounds like a modern invention, Kiran is a traditional Hindu name from India; chosen for her son by actress Kelli Williams. Author Kiran Desai is a woman and this name, which bears a resemblance to both the Irish (male) Kieran and the fifties favorite Karen, certainly works as well for a girl.

In Nepal, India and Pakistan, Kiran is used for both boys and girls - as can be seen from internationally acclaimed (female) author Kiran Desai and (male) Nepali soccer player Kiran Chemjong. Nepali-American Fox news anchor Kiran Chetry is another famous, female bearer of this name. With its light-filled meaning, and similarity to names such as Kieran and Karen, this name works well outside Asia.

German, Slavic and Scandinavian form of Clara, which is a Top 100 girl name in multiple European countries, including Austria, Croatia, Iceland and Poland.

Greek form of Cyrus