Celestial Names: Star and Planet Names

Leda is that rare name that has not yet been discovered in the current craze for ancient names from mythology. In classical Greek myth, Leda was a great beauty who mothered another great beauty, Helen of Troy. Leda is at once simple, deeply-rooted, and unique: Only 23 baby girls were named Leda in the US last year. A name used in several European countries, pronunciation is usually the straightforward lee-dah but the Italians say lay-dah.

J.K. Rowling is a modern master of naming who brought a whole constellation of ancient and celestial names to modern parents. Bellatrix, of one of the stars of Orion, combines fashionable names Bella and Beatrix to make a convivial and original name. The down side: the Harry Potter character Bellatrix, played by Helena Bonham Carter, is a character so evil she's called a Death Eater, killing one beloved character and being murdered by another. And the name Bellatrix is so closely associated with that character that it might be challenging to sidestep the association.

Yes, it's the name of the brightest star in the sky, but can't you just hear people saying, "Are you serious?" Singer Erykah Badu used it as a middle name for son Seven.

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.

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.

Adventurous parents are starting to look back to names of ancient gods like Mercury, Zeus, and Apollo. This one is also a planet and a metallic element, and has a friendly nickname, Merc. The Roman god Mercury, which derives from the Latin words for trade or wages, is the patron of tradesmen and travelers and the fastest-moving planet in the solar system. Mercury is the planet associated with the sign of Virgo, so this is one of the prime names for Virgo babies.

Portia is a perfect role-model name, relating to Shakespeare's brilliant and spirited lawyer in The Merchant of Venice, and is now also a Hunger Games name .

A true maverick of a girls' name — even more so with this spelling, the least common between Indie, Indy, and Indi.

Best known as one of the moons of Jupiter, Callisto was a nymph coveted by Zeus who was turned into a bear by Hera, becoming the Great Bear (Ursa Major) constellation.

An evocative ancient word that's used as a first name in the New Testament, among other places. It's also the name of an eagle-shaped constellation.

West is the most fashionable of what you might call the direction names, with North and East (or Easton and Easter) coming up behind, and South not yet on the map.

Simple and yet distinctive, Ara is a mythological name of a famously handsome king. Although it originated as a boys' name, in the contemporary US, it's now much more commonly used for girls.

This name's meaning derives from the material from which the mythical sculptor Pygmalion chiselled his ideal woman - she was carved from ivory. Pygmalion fell in love with his creation and Aphrodite, taking pity on him, brought the sculpture to life. The woman was named Galatea due to her incredibly pale skin. The Pygmalion myth was the inspiration behind the story of "My Fair Lady" starring Julie Andrews on stage and Audrey Hepburn on screen.

A pretty, rarely used Greek name, Thalassa is the ancient personification of the sea, particularly the Mediterranean, who is sometimes considered the mother of Aphrodite. In 1991, a newly discovered moon of Neptune was dubbed Thalassa.

In Greek mythology the mother of Aphrodite by Zeus, and also one of Saturn's moons; this is an astral name quite distinct from the better known Dionne.

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.

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.

The first letter of the Greek alphabet ande the brightest star in every constellation, this would make an interesting choice for a first daughter, though it does give off some spectral sci-fi reverberations--and references to the term "alpha male.".

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.

Invented for Bellini's opera, Norma had some star quality in the silent-screen and Marilyn Monroe days, but at this point it's a graying grandma in baby name limbo.