Moon Baby Names That Are Quietly Stunning (200+ Names)

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Moon names pull from mythology, astronomy, and language all at once, which gives them more range than most nature-inspired categories. Some point straight at the moon itself, borrowed from Latin, Sanskrit, or Finnish, while others reach for what the moon evokes — silver, tides, the space between dark and light. That mix of directness and metaphor is what makes this particular list worth lingering over.

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Popularity below is calculated from Social Security Administration data through 2024, the most recent year on record.

Here’s what’s in store –

Classical Moon Names From Ancient Mythology

Soft and Luminous: Names That Feel Like Moonlight

Lunar Names From Around the World

Strong and Striking Moon Names

Rare Moon Names Worth Discovering

Moon Names Rising in 2026

Names From Moon Mythology’s Stranger Corners

What makes a moon name work isn’t always obvious. Some are direct translations — Selene, Luna, Chandra — names that mean exactly what they say. Others are oblique: silver, crescent, tidal, night-blooming. A name like Lumi means snow in Finnish, but it carries that same cold-luminous quality as a full moon over a white field. Phoebe was one of the Titans before she became a moon of Saturn. Some of the best moon names don’t advertise themselves at all.

This list leans toward names that feel considered rather than trendy. You’ll find mythology names that have been in use for millennia, quiet gems from languages you may not have encountered before, and a handful of rising modern picks that bring lunar energy without being heavy-handed about it. Not every name here means “moon” — many of them simply feel like the moon: quiet, luminous, a little mysterious, impossible to ignore.

If you’re expecting and find yourself drawn to nighttime imagery, to celestial things, to names that feel like they could hold a secret — you’re in the right place. Pull up a chair. The moon rises late, but it always shows up.

Classical Moon Names From Ancient Mythology

Mythology is where moon worship began, and the names that came out of it have survived because they work — they’re short enough to use daily, beautiful enough to justify, and loaded with meaning that doesn’t require explanation. These are names that have been used for thousands of years and are still being given to children born today.

Luna

Origin: Latin
Pronunciation: LOO-na · ˈluːnə
Meaning: moon
Popularity: #13 and falling (#10 → #13, 2024)

Selene

Origin: Greek
Pronunciation: suh-LEE-nee · səˈliːni
Meaning: moon (as the Greek moon goddess)
Popularity: #675 and rising (#708 → #675, 2024)

Diana

Origin: Latin
Pronunciation: dy-AN-uh · daɪˈænə
Meaning: divine, heavenly
Popularity: #243 and falling (#228 → #243, 2024)

That describes what the goddess Diana presided over, not the literal meaning of the name — the name itself comes from Latin divus/dius, meaning ‘divine’ or ‘heavenly.’

Artemis

Origin: Ancient Greek (deeper root uncertain)
Meaning: Uncertain, possibly “safe” or “butcher”
Popularity: #1,022 and falling (#853 → #1,022, 2024)

Twin of Apollo and goddess of the moon; bold and mythological, climbing the charts fast.

Phoebe

Origin: Ancient Greek
Pronunciation: FEE-bee · ˈfiːbi
Meaning: bright, shining
Popularity: #183 and rising (#190 → #183, 2024)

Titan of the moon before Selene; also a moon of Saturn — warm, friendly sound with serious mythological roots.

Hecate

Origin: Greek
Meaning: possibly ‘one who works/strikes from afar’ or ‘the far-reaching one’ (an epithet related to Apollo); origin genuinely disputed
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Three-faced goddess of the moon, magic, and crossroads; unusual, striking, not for the faint-hearted.

Cynthia

Origin: Greek
Pronunciation: SIN-thee-ah · ˈsɪnθiə
Meaning: of/from Mount Cynthus, an epithet of the goddess Artemis
Popularity: #826 and rising (#871 → #826, 2024)

An epithet of Artemis, born on Mount Cynthus; classic 20th-century name with mythology behind it.

Theia

Origin: Greek
Meaning: ‘Goddess’ or ‘divine one’ in Greek; the name of the Titan associated with sight and radiant light, mother of the sun, moon, and dawn deities.
Popularity: #1,844 and rising (#2,014 → #1,844, 2024)

Titan mother of Selene, Helios, and Eos; short, strong, underused — feels genuinely fresh.

Origin: Ancient Greek (mythological name, deeper root uncertain)
Meaning: She who wanders
Popularity: #9,867 as of 2023 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A moon of Jupiter and an Argive princess in mythology; two letters, enormous presence.

Rhea

Origin: Ancient Greek
Pronunciation: REE-uh · ˈriːə
Meaning: name of a Titan mother-goddess in Greek myth; the linguistic root is disputed, possibly linked to words for ‘earth’ or ‘to flow’
Popularity: #616 and falling (#526 → #616, 2024)

Titaness and mother of the Olympians; also a moon of Saturn — soft, brief, and completely wearable.

Callisto

Origin: Ancient Greek
Meaning: most beautiful (superlative of Greek ‘kalos, ‘ beautiful)
Popularity: #12,592 and falling (#9,112 → #12,592, 2024)

A nymph turned into a bear and placed in the stars; one of Jupiter’s largest moons, a gorgeous name.

Europa

Origin: Greek
Meaning: Wide-gazing
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Moon of Jupiter, daughter of a Phoenician king in mythology; rare as a baby name, breathtakingly beautiful.

Elara

Origin: Greek (mythological name)
Pronunciation: eh-LAR-ah · ɛˈlɑːrə
Popularity: #1,156 and rising (#1,381 → #1,156, 2024)

One of Zeus’s lovers, and a moon of Jupiter; the sound is distinctly modern even though the name isn’t.

Pasiphae

Origin: Greek
Meaning: All-shining
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The wife of King Minos and a moon of Jupiter; complex mythology and a lovely, unusual sound.

Galatea

Origin: Ancient Greek
Meaning: milk-white
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A sea-nymph turned to love in mythology; also a moon of Neptune — fluid, romantic, completely beautiful.

Leda

Origin: Greek (mythological name, origin obscure)
Pronunciation: LEE-dah · ˈliːdə
Meaning: Woman
Popularity: #7,780 and falling (#7,481 → #7,780, 2024)

Mother of Helen of Troy and Castor and Pollux; also a moon of Jupiter — three letters, ancient and current at once.

Portia

Origin: Latin (Roman gens name)
Meaning: from the Roman family name Porcius, ultimately ‘pig’
Popularity: #6,087 and rising (#7,554 → #6,087, 2024)

A moon of Uranus and Shakespeare’s brilliant heroine in Merchant of Venice; underused and wonderful.

Perdita

Origin: Latin
Meaning: lost
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A moon of Uranus named from The Winter’s Tale; the literary connection elevates what could otherwise read as sad.

Titania

Origin: Latin (feminine coinage from Greek ‘Titan’)
Meaning: feminine form of ‘Titan’ (literally ‘Titaness’); an epithet Ovid used for the goddess Diana, later Shakespeare’s fairy queen
Popularity: #8,361 as of 2020 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Queen of the fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and a moon of Uranus; grand, dramatic, surprisingly soft.

Oberon

Origin: Old French (from Middle High German)
Pronunciation: OH-ber-on · ˈoʊbərɑːn
Meaning: elf king / fairy king
Popularity: #3,744 and rising (#4,302 → #3,744, 2024)

King of the fairies and a moon of Uranus; for a boy, unusual and theatrical in the best way.

Ariel

Origin: Hebrew
Pronunciation: AIR-ee-el · ˈɛriəl
Meaning: lion of God
Popularity: #299 and falling (#287 → #299, 2024)

Miranda

Origin: Latin
Pronunciation: mi-RAN-duh · mɪˈrændə
Meaning: one worthy of being admired
Popularity: #622 and falling (#575 → #622, 2024)

A moon of Uranus and Shakespeare’s heroine in The Tempest; warm, literary, underrated.

Cordelia

Origin: uncertain (Shakespeare’s spelling of a historical British name, Cordeilla, possibly linked to the obscure saint’s name Cordula)
Pronunciation: kor-DEEL-yah · kɔːrˈdiːljə
Meaning: Heart
Popularity: #1,065 and rising (#1,117 → #1,065, 2024)

Innermost moon of Uranus and Shakespeare’s most beloved daughter; steady, warm, quietly powerful.

Umbriel

Origin: Latin
Meaning: Shadow
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A dark moon of Uranus named from Alexander Pope’s poem; rare, literary, beautiful for a child who arrives quietly.

Belinda

Origin: uncertain (literary coinage, 18th century)
Meaning: Bright serpent or bright linden tree
Popularity: #1,726 and falling (#1,689 → #1,726, 2024)

A moon of Uranus; uncommon and genuinely lovely.

Rosalind

Origin: Germanic
Pronunciation: RAH-zuh-lind · ˈrɑːzəlɪnd
Meaning: from elements meaning roughly ‘horse’ and ‘soft/tender’ — something like ‘gentle horse’
Popularity: #1,475 and falling (#1,440 → #1,475, 2024)

A moon of Uranus and one of Shakespeare’s most sparkling heroines; long but worth every syllable.

Juliet

Origin: English (from Italian Giulietta/French Juliette, ultimately Latin Julia)
Pronunciation: JOO-lee-et · ˈdʒuːliɛt
Meaning: youthful
Popularity: #283 and rising (#292 → #283, 2024)

That’s the character’s cultural association, not the name’s etymology — Juliet actually derives from Latin Julia/Julius, meaning ‘youthful.’

Helene

Origin: Greek
Pronunciation: heh-LEEN · hɛˈliːn
Meaning: shining light / the bright one
Popularity: #3,765 and rising (#4,137 → #3,765, 2024)

One of Saturn’s moons; the Helene spelling is softer than Helena, more French in feel.

Calypso

Origin: Greek
Meaning: she who conceals
Popularity: #3,966 and rising (#4,063 → #3,966, 2024)

Dione

Origin: Ancient Greek
Meaning: feminine counterpart of Zeus, sharing a root meaning ‘sky/god’
Popularity: #12,466 as of 2023 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Titaness and mother of Aphrodite; also a moon of Saturn — three syllables, ancient, genuinely rare.

Tethys

Origin: Greek
Meaning: Grandmother of all waters
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Titaness of the sea and a moon of Saturn; unusual, sounds unexpectedly modern.

Soft and Luminous: Names That Feel Like Moonlight

These names don’t necessarily mean moon, but they carry the quality of it — silver, glow, pale light, quiet radiance. They’re names for the feeling of standing outside at midnight and looking up.

Lumi

Origin: Finnish
Pronunciation: LOO-mee · ˈluːmi
Meaning: snow
Popularity: #2,178 and rising (#2,199 → #2,178, 2024)

Cold, white, luminous; Finnish names are having a quiet moment and this one deserves it.

Lune

Origin: French
Meaning: Moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The French word for moon used as a given name; softer than Luna, less common, beautifully simple.

Lyra

Origin: Ancient Greek (via Latin)
Pronunciation: LY-rah · ˈlaɪrə
Meaning: a lyre, the stringed musical instrument
Popularity: #482, holding steady (2024)

A constellation name; small, musical, currently rising in popularity and still feeling fresh.

Alba

Origin: Latin (via Spanish/Italian/Catalan)
Meaning: dawn/sunrise, from a Latin root meaning ‘white’
Popularity: #1,171 and rising (#1,238 → #1,171, 2024)

Luminous without being obvious; used across Italy, Spain, and the UK and rarely heard in the US.

Wren

Origin: English (Middle English)
Pronunciation: REN · ˈrɛn
Meaning: the small songbird
Popularity: #213 and falling (#195 → #213, 2024)

Not lunar by definition, but wren-calls begin before moonrise — quiet, sharp, quietly nature-rooted.

Noor

Origin: Arabic
Pronunciation: NOOR · ˈnʊr
Meaning: light
Popularity: #709 and rising (#793 → #709, 2024)

Direct and beautiful; one of the most used names in the Arab world and essentially unknown in the US.

Zara

Origin: English/Hebrew (variant of Sarah) or Arabic
Pronunciation: ZAR-ah · ˈzɑːrə
Meaning: uncertain — either from Sarah (‘princess’) or Arabic zahra (‘flower’)
Popularity: #234 and rising (#236 → #234, 2024)

Carries brightness without being heavy; fast-rising internationally.

Isla

Origin: Scottish (place name)
Pronunciation: EYE-lah · ˈaɪlə
Meaning: from the Scottish place name Islay/River Isla; the place name’s own root is unknown
Popularity: #35 and falling (#33 → #35, 2024)

Has the same still, surrounded-by-water quality as moonlight on the sea.

Lara

Origin: Russian (pet form of Larissa)
Pronunciation: LAHR-ah · ˈlɑːrə
Meaning: pet form of Larissa, ultimately from a Greek place name meaning ‘citadel/fortress’
Popularity: #740 and falling (#731 → #740, 2024)

Clean and silver-sounding; Lara Croft and Doctor Zhivago’s Lara both gave this name backbone.

Eira

Origin: Welsh
Pronunciation: EYE-ruh · ˈaɪrə
Meaning: snow
Popularity: #2,385 and rising (#2,593 → #2,385, 2024)

Feya

Origin: Russian
Meaning: Fairy
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Soft, barely-there, shimmery — a name that sounds like it belongs in the dark just before dawn.

Sylva

Origin: Latin
Meaning: Forest
Popularity: #18,911 as of 2014 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The forest-at-night quality is entirely lunar; rare variant of Sylvia with a cleaner profile.

Lucienne

Origin: French (feminine of Lucien)
Pronunciation: loo-see-EN · luːsiˈɛn
Meaning: light
Popularity: #4,330 and rising (#4,940 → #4,330, 2024)

The French feminine of Lucian; beautiful, underused, sounds like it belongs in a novel.

Ora

Origin: Latin (variant of Aura); a distinct Hebrew name Ora/Orah also exists
Meaning: breeze (as a form of Aura); the separate Hebrew name means ‘light’
Popularity: #3,474 and rising (#3,567 → #3,474, 2024)

Two syllables of pure quiet; works across multiple cultures and sounds lovely at any age.

Mireille

Origin: Provençal (Occitan)
Pronunciation: mih-RAY · mɪˈreɪ
Meaning: admired one; coined by poet Frédéric Mistral for his 1859 poem
Popularity: #8,245 and falling (#6,325 → #8,245, 2024)

Luminous, complex sound; rarely heard in the US but beloved in France.

Clair

Origin: Old French
Meaning: clear, bright
Popularity: #4,568 and rising (#4,775 → #4,568, 2024)

Niamh

Origin: Irish
Pronunciation: NEEV · ˈniːv
Meaning: bright, radiant
Popularity: #3,148 and rising (#4,339 → #3,148, 2024)

Pronounced NEE-av; the heroine of Irish mythology who lived in the Land of Eternal Youth.

Imogen

Origin: Celtic (Scottish Gaelic), via a Shakespearean misprint
Meaning: maiden, girl (from Scottish Gaelic ‘inghean’)
Popularity: #1,126 and rising (#1,213 → #1,126, 2024)

A Shakespearean heroine with an unusual, slightly otherworldly sound.

Neve

Origin: surname (multiple origins: English ‘nephew’, French place name, or Italian/Portuguese ‘snow’)
Pronunciation: NEV · ˈnɛv
Meaning: Snow
Popularity: #3,357 and falling (#2,667 → #3,357, 2024)

Multiple cultural roots, one clean, bright sound.

Vesna

Origin: Slavic
Meaning: ‘Spring’ in several Slavic languages; also the name of an ancient Slavic goddess of spring.
Popularity: #17,474 and falling (#17,425 → #17,474, 2024)

Ilka

Origin: Hungarian/German
Meaning: Hardworking, all
Popularity: #13,032 as of 1998 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Soft, unusual in English, carries an old-world luminosity.

Liora

Origin: Hebrew
Pronunciation: lee-OR-ah · liˈɔːrə
Meaning: my light
Popularity: #1,638 and rising (#1,829 → #1,638, 2024)

Yael

Origin: Hebrew
Pronunciation: yah-ELL · jɑːˈɛl
Meaning: mountain goat, ibex
Popularity: #790 and falling (#777 → #790, 2024)

Suri

Origin: uncertain/disputed
Meaning: Princess or red rose
Popularity: #1,628 and rising (#1,653 → #1,628, 2024)

Small and vivid, like light catching something in the dark.

Zinnia

Origin: English (from the flower name)
Pronunciation: ZIN-ee-ah · ˈzɪniə
Meaning: named for the zinnia flower
Popularity: #1,349 and falling (#1,296 → #1,349, 2024)

A flower name with a sharp, bright quality unlike most floral names.

Reverie

Origin: French (loanword into English)
Pronunciation: REV-er-ee · ˈrɛvəri
Meaning: a daydream; being pleasantly lost in thought
Popularity: #2,291 and rising (#2,875 → #2,291, 2024)

Unusual as a given name but entirely beautiful; for parents willing to go there.

Willa

Origin: American (19th-century coinage from Will/William, ultimately Germanic)
Pronunciation: WIL-ah · ˈwɪlə
Meaning: carries the ‘will, desire’ sense, from Will/William
Popularity: #423 and rising (#428 → #423, 2024)

Short, solid, quietly luminous — Willa Cather gave this name serious literary credibility.

Lyric

Origin: English (word name, ultimately Greek lyrikos, ‘of the lyre’)
Pronunciation: LIR-ik · ˈlɪrɪk
Meaning: words of a song
Popularity: #594 and falling (#537 → #594, 2024)

Musical and slightly unexpected; works for a child whose parents are drawn to sound.

Lunar Names From Around the World

Every culture that has looked up at the moon has found a name for it, and many of those names translate into children’s names of unusual beauty. These are moon-meaning names in languages from Sanskrit to Swahili, with pronunciation and origin notes.

Chandra

Origin: Sanskrit
Pronunciation: CHAHN-drah · ˈtʃʌndrə
Meaning: moon
Popularity: #11,381 as of 2023 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Soma

Origin: Sanskrit
Meaning: Moon god
Popularity: #7,645 and rising (#10,643 → #7,645, 2024)

The Vedic moon god associated with ritual drink; rare as a Western name, beautiful in sound.

Indu

Origin: Sanskrit
Meaning: Moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Soft and rarely heard outside South Asia; means moon in the sense of the shining drop.

Tsukiko

Origin: Japanese
Meaning: Moon child
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Tsuki means moon; the -ko suffix (child) makes it a traditional Japanese girl’s name.

Tsuki

Origin: Japanese
Meaning: moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The bare root, without the suffix; more spare and modern-feeling.

Mitsuki

Origin: Japanese
Meaning: Beautiful moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A popular Japanese name with celestial meaning; spelled in various kanji combinations.

Kaguya

Origin: Japanese (folklore name)
Meaning: name of the legendary moon princess
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The name of the moon princess in Japan’s oldest folktale; otherworldly and beautiful.

Marama

Origin: Māori
Meaning: Moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The Māori word for moon; simple, soft, increasingly used in New Zealand.

Hina

Origin: Japanese; also Hawaiian/Polynesian and South Asian
Pronunciation: HEE-nah · ˈhiːnə
Meaning: moon goddess (Hawaiian/Polynesian mythology)
Popularity: #4,687 and rising (#6,040 → #4,687, 2024)

One of the most important figures in Hawaiian mythology; used across Polynesia.

Mahina

Origin: Hawaiian
Pronunciation: mah-HEE-nah · mɑːˈhiːnə
Meaning: moon, moonlight
Popularity: #3,672 and falling (#3,161 → #3,672, 2024)

Bulan

Origin: Austronesian (Malay/Indonesian, also Tagalog/Ilocano and other Philippine languages)
Meaning: moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Aylin

Origin: Turkish
Pronunciation: AY-lin · ˈeɪlɪn
Meaning: moonlight, or the halo around the moon
Popularity: #386 and rising (#422 → #386, 2024)

A popular Turkish name meaning the light ring around the moon; rising across Europe.

Ayla

Origin: Turkish/Hebrew
Pronunciation: AY-lah · ˈeɪlə
Meaning: Moon halo, or oak tree
Popularity: #69 and rising (#105 → #69, 2024)

Two distinct etymologies; both beautiful — soft, spare, easy to pronounce everywhere.

Kamaria

Origin: Arabic/Swahili
Pronunciation: kuh-MAR-ee-uh · kəˈmæriə
Meaning: moon, moonlight (commonly traced to Arabic qamar, reflected via Swahili)
Popularity: #2,699 and falling (#2,365 → #2,699, 2024)

East African name with an exquisite meaning; deeply underused in English-speaking countries.

Qamar

Origin: Arabic
Meaning: moon
Popularity: #3,360 and rising (#3,818 → #3,360, 2024)

A common Arabic name, especially in its feminine form Qamar; the q gives it an unusual sound in English.

Badr

Origin: Arabic
Meaning: full moon (specifically the moon on the 14th night of the lunar month)
Popularity: #5,916 and rising (#6,264 → #5,916, 2024)

Hilal

Origin: Arabic
Meaning: crescent moon
Popularity: #10,243 and falling (#9,215 → #10,243, 2024)

Leila

Origin: Arabic
Pronunciation: LAY-lah · ˈleɪlə
Meaning: night
Popularity: #268 and falling (#240 → #268, 2024)

Not technically moon but the word for the night the moon inhabits; deeply romantic.

Zuri

Origin: Swahili
Pronunciation: ZUR-ee · ˈzʊri
Meaning: from the Swahili word ‘zuri’ (good), commonly rendered ‘beautiful’ in English
Popularity: #277 and falling (#203 → #277, 2024)

Not a moon name by definition but carries that same quality of being quietly stunning.

Nanook

Origin: Inuit (Inuktitut/Inupiaq)
Meaning: polar bear (also a mythic bear-spirit figure in Inuit tradition)
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The moon and stars are fundamental to Arctic navigation; this name carries that same cold, precise light.

Jaci

Origin: Tupi-Guarani (Brazilian)
Meaning: moon
Popularity: #3,185 and falling (#2,738 → #3,185, 2024)

From the Indigenous Brazilian language; unusual, clean, and genuinely beautiful.

Máni

Origin: Old Norse
Meaning: Moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The personification of the moon in Norse mythology, male; rare but has Norse credibility.

Solveig

Origin: Old Norse (via Norwegian)
Pronunciation: SOL-vayg · ˈsɑːlveɪg
Meaning: sun’s strength (traditional gloss, second element of debated meaning)
Popularity: #5,569 and falling (#5,358 → #5,569, 2024)

The path the sun — and moon — takes; a classic Norwegian name with lyrical sound.

Lilja

Origin: Swedish/Scandinavian (19th-century flower name)
Meaning: lily (the flower)
Popularity: #6,274 and rising (#9,345 → #6,274, 2024)

Sirona

Origin: Gaulish (Celtic)
Meaning: star (disputed)
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A healing goddess of the ancient Gauls associated with the night sky.

Alignak

Origin: Inuit (claimed mythological name)
Meaning: Moon and tides
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The Inuit deity who controlled the moon, tides, and earthquakes; strong and unusual.

Tecuciztecatl

Origin: Nahuatl
Meaning: He who lives in the conch shell/the moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The Aztec moon god; not a naming candidate but worth knowing — Tec or Teci as a short form is striking.

Metztli

Origin: Nahuatl
Meaning: moon
Popularity: #3,354 and falling (#2,304 → #3,354, 2024)

Coyolxauhqui

Origin: Nahuatl (Aztec/Mexica mythological figure)
Meaning: adorned with bells
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The Aztec moon goddess dismembered and scattered across the sky; Coyol as a short form is lovely.

Yue

Origin: Chinese (character-dependent, no given-name-specific entry found)
Pronunciation: YWEH · ˈjweɪ
Meaning: Moon
Popularity: #8,387 and rising (#12,138 → #8,387, 2024)

A common component in Chinese names; as a standalone it’s rare in the West, luminous in sound.

Meng

Origin: Chinese
Meaning: Dream
Popularity: #13,403 as of 2013 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Indirectly lunar — dreams and the moon are deeply connected in Chinese literary tradition.

Strong and Striking Moon Names

Not every moon name is soft. The moon at its fullest is stark and uncompromising — it throws hard shadows and changes behavior, supposedly. These names carry that stronger, bolder quality.

Pallas

Origin: Ancient Greek
Meaning: to brandish (a weapon)
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

An epithet of Athena and an asteroid; short, sharp, strong for any gender.

Orion

Origin: Ancient Greek (etymology uncertain)
Pronunciation: oh-RY-un · oʊˈraɪən
Meaning: uncertain; possibly ‘heaven’s light’ (a speculative Akkadian derivation, not firmly established)
Popularity: #325 and rising (#373 → #325, 2024)

‘Hunter’ isn’t an etymological meaning — it describes the mythological figure, not the word’s origin, which is actually uncertain (a speculative Akkadian ‘heaven’s light’ derivation remains unproven).

Atlas

Origin: Greek (possibly pre-Greek substrate)
Pronunciation: AT-luss · ˈætləs
Meaning: possibly ‘the enduring one’ (disputed, may be pre-Greek with no recoverable meaning)
Popularity: #101 and rising (#111 → #101, 2024)

That reflects the myth (Atlas was condemned to hold up the sky), not a confirmed translation — the name’s actual etymology is disputed between ‘the enduring one’ and an unrecoverable pre-Greek origin.

Triton

Origin: Greek (mythological, word origin uncertain, possibly Pre-Greek)
Meaning: Third
Popularity: #3,874 and falling (#2,767 → #3,874, 2024)

Largest moon of Neptune and a sea god; strong, underused, has genuine mythological weight.

Proteus

Origin: Ancient Greek
Meaning: first
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The shape-shifting sea god and a moon of Neptune; unusual, strong, meaningful.

Nereid

Origin: Greek
Meaning: sea nymph
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Larissa

Origin: Ancient Greek
Pronunciation: luh-RISS-ah · ləˈrɪsə
Meaning: citadel, fortress (from a Greek place name), or possibly named after a mythological nymph of the same name
Popularity: #1,615 and falling (#1,478 → #1,615, 2024)

A moon of Neptune and a city in Greece; warm, flowing, underused in the US.

Thalassa

Origin: Greek
Pronunciation: thuh-LASS-uh · θəˈlæsə
Meaning: sea
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Naiad

Origin: Greek (mythology)
Meaning: a water nymph presiding over springs, rivers, and fountains in Greek myth
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The innermost ring moon of Neptune; the name for a whole class of freshwater nymphs.

Despina

Origin: Greek
Meaning: lady, mistress (a respectful title/epithet)
Popularity: #6,983 and rising (#7,739 → #6,983, 2024)

A moon of Neptune named for a daughter of Poseidon; unusual, strong, old-world sound.

A moon of Neptune and a sea nymph; romantic, flowing, underused.

Neso

Origin: Greek
Meaning: Island
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Outermost moon of Neptune; rare, spare, completely beautiful.

Halimede

Origin: Greek
Meaning: Salt-water
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A moon of Neptune; unusual but the sound is genuinely lovely.

Sao

Origin: Vietnamese; also an unrelated Ancient Greek mythological name
Meaning: star (Vietnamese)
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Laomedeia

Origin: Greek
Meaning: Ruler of the people
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A moon of Neptune; the long form is unusual, Laome or Laomi as short forms.

Psamathe

Origin: Ancient Greek
Meaning: sand
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A moon of Neptune and a sea nymph; unusual, beautiful, unambiguously distinctive.

Styx

Origin: Greek
Meaning: Hated
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The river of the underworld and a moon of Pluto; this is a bold choice — striking, unusual, for those who want mythological edge.

Nix

Origin: Greek
Meaning: Night
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A moon of Pluto and the goddess of the night; three letters, strong, simple.

Hydra

Origin: Greek (via Latin)
Meaning: water serpent
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Kerberos

Origin: Greek
Meaning: Spotted
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A moon of Pluto and the three-headed dog of the underworld; Keri or Beros as short forms.

Amalthea

Origin: Greek (mythological)
Meaning: tender goddess (traditional gloss)
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The goat-nymph who nursed Zeus and a moon of Jupiter; warm despite its mythological weight.

Himalia

Origin: Greek
Meaning: Abundance
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A moon of Jupiter and a nymph; unusual, long, beautiful in full.

Sinope

Origin: Greek
Meaning: Harm-bringer
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A moon of Jupiter and a figure in Greek mythology; the sound is beautiful even if the meaning is complicated.

Lysithea

Origin: Greek
Meaning: Releasing light
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A moon of Jupiter; unusual, beautiful, directly luminous in meaning.

Ananke

Origin: Greek
Meaning: necessity, compulsion, fate
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Rare Moon Names Worth Discovering

These are names from less-traveled corners of mythology, etymology, and world languages. They’re accurate, real, beautiful — and almost nobody has heard them yet.

Alinta

Origin: Australian Aboriginal (specific source language disputed)
Meaning: Fire (widely claimed, though the exact source language is uncertain).
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The specific Aboriginal-language source is inconsistently cited (Warlpiri vs. Nyungar), and the popular ‘fire’ meaning may be a simplified or commercially popularized claim rather than a rigorously sourced etymology.

Mayim

Origin: Hebrew
Meaning: Waters
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The primordial waters and the moon control the tides; rarely used as a name but carried by actress Mayim Bialik.

Mele

Origin: Hawaiian (from English “Mary”)
Pronunciation: MEH-leh · ˈmɛlɛ
Meaning: Hawaiian form of the name Mary
Popularity: #9,324 and falling (#8,791 → #9,324, 2024)

That’s the unrelated Hawaiian word ‘mele’ (chant or song). As a given name, Mele is actually the Hawaiianized form of ‘Mary’ — a coincidental homophone rather than the name’s true root.

Ilona

Origin: Hungarian (variant of Helen/Helena, ultimately Ancient Greek)
Pronunciation: ih-LOH-nah · ɪˈloʊnə
Meaning: Torch
Popularity: #4,928 and rising (#6,763 → #4,928, 2024)

A Hungarian fairy queen; bright, Eastern European, entirely underused.

Tuulikki

Origin: Finnish
Meaning: root likely from Finnish ‘tuuli’ (wind); name of a forest goddess in the Kalevala
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Finnish nature spirits are often associated with the moon and night; this one is rare and beautiful.

Mielikki

Origin: Finnish
Meaning: Luck, pleasant
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Finnish goddess of forests; the night forest is deeply lunar.

Päivi

Origin: Finnish
Meaning: Day
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Despite meaning day, Finnish names with the ä-sound carry a particular cold luminosity.

Rauha

Origin: Finnish
Meaning: Peace
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The peacefulness of moonlight in a single Finnish word.

Kuu

Origin: Finnish
Meaning: Moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The actual Finnish word for moon; spare, unusual, sounds modern.

Kuutar

Origin: Finnish (mythological figure)
Meaning: moon maiden
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Otava

Origin: Finnish
Meaning: Great Bear / Big Dipper
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The star cluster navigated by moonlight; rare as a name.

Vellamo

Origin: Finnish
Meaning: Goddess of water
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Skadi

Origin: Old Norse (mythological)
Meaning: possibly ‘harm/damage’ (cognate with ‘scathe’); etymology debated
Popularity: #4,635 and rising (#5,925 → #4,635, 2024)

‘Shadow’ isn’t a standard scholarly gloss; linguists more often connect Skaði’s name to a root meaning ‘harm/damage’ (as in ‘scathe’).

Nótt

Origin: Norse
Meaning: Night
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Verdandi

Origin: Old Norse
Meaning: becoming, or what is happening now
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

One of the three Norns; time and the moon are inseparable.

Urd

Origin: Norse
Meaning: Fate
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Skuld

Origin: Old Norse
Meaning: ‘that which must happen’ / ‘debt, obligation’ — the Norse Norn who personifies the future
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The third Norn; heavy with meaning, unusually beautiful.

Nanna

Origin: Old Norse (Germanic)
Meaning: Likely from a root meaning ‘brave, daring’ (possibly instead an old word for ‘mother’); belongs to a Norse goddess, wife of the god Baldr, known for her devotion to him
Popularity: #15,005 as of 1994 — not currently in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The Norse goddess Nanna isn’t a moon deity — that belongs to a separate, unrelated Sumerian god of the same name; the ‘joy’ gloss also isn’t supported, since Norse Nanna is chiefly known for dying of grief over Baldr’s death.

Sól

Origin: Norse
Meaning: Sun
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The Norse sun is female and the moon is male — a lovely inversion, and the name is beautiful.

Eostre

Origin: Germanic
Meaning: Dawn
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The spring goddess whose name gave us Easter; dawn comes as the moon sets.

Tamsin

Origin: English (medieval contraction of Thomasina, feminine form of Thomas)
Meaning: twin (via Thomas, ultimately from Aramaic)
Popularity: #13,291 and falling (#12,061 → #13,291, 2024)

Kerensa

Origin: Cornish
Pronunciation: kuh-REN-suh · kəˈrɛnsə
Meaning: love/affection
Popularity: #14,347 and rising (#15,944 → #14,347, 2024)

Cornish names are rare and beautiful; Kernewek is spoken under the same moon as Welsh.

Senara

Origin: Cornish
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A Cornish saint; rare, beautiful, no one will know it unless you tell them.

Morwenna

Origin: Cornish/Welsh
Meaning: maiden (from Cornish/Welsh morwyn)
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A Welsh and Cornish saint’s name; sounds like it was spoken by moonlight.

Branwen

Origin: Welsh
Pronunciation: BRAN-wen · ˈbrænwɛn
Meaning: blessed or white raven
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Moon Names Rising in 2026

These are names that carry lunar energy and are either newly climbing the charts, being rediscovered, or feel particularly right for the current moment. Not trendy in the sense of peaking and fading — trending in the sense of arriving.

Nova

Origin: Latin
Pronunciation: NOH-vah · ˈnoʊvə
Meaning: new
Popularity: #39 and falling (#35 → #39, 2024)

Technically a stellar explosion, but the name feels new-moon-bright; rising fast.

Sable

Origin: Old French (ultimately from Slavic/Old Russian ‘sobol’)
Meaning: black, especially as a heraldic color; from the dark fur of the sable marten
Popularity: #4,986 and rising (#5,228 → #4,986, 2024)

The color of a new moon sky; unusual as a name but completely beautiful.

Maren

Origin: Danish (from Latin Marina)
Pronunciation: MAIR-en · ˈmɛrən
Meaning: form of Marina; ‘of the sea’
Popularity: #570 and falling (#545 → #570, 2024)

Theodora

Origin: Greek
Pronunciation: thee-oh-DOR-ah · ˌθiːəˈdɔːrə
Meaning: God’s gift
Popularity: #812 and falling (#776 → #812, 2024)

Long form of Thea; returning after decades away, and the moon-name connection to Theia makes it feel relevant.

Thea

Origin: Greek
Pronunciation: THEE-ah · ˈθiːə
Meaning: goddess
Popularity: #348 and falling (#321 → #348, 2024)

Short form of Theodora; Thea was the Titan mother of the moon — direct connection.

Zephyr

Origin: Greek
Pronunciation: ZEF-er · ˈzɛfər
Meaning: the west wind
Popularity: #1,133 and falling (#1,121 → #1,133, 2024)

Not lunar but shares the same ethereal quality; used for boys and girls.

Arrow

Origin: English (word name)
Pronunciation: AIR-oh · ˈæroʊ
Meaning: a shaft-like projectile shot from a bow
Popularity: #1,672 and falling (#1,517 → #1,672, 2024)

Artemis, goddess of the moon, carries a bow and arrow; Arrow is rising as a nature name.

Frost

Origin: English (surname/word name, cognate surnames also German, Swedish, Danish)
Pronunciation: FRAWST · ˈfrɔːst
Meaning: frost (icy weather phenomenon)
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

A moonlit frost is one of the most luminous natural phenomena; Frost is rising as a surname-name.

Sloane

Origin: Irish (from the surname Ó Sluaghadháin, ‘descendant of Sluaghadhán’)
Pronunciation: SLOHN · ˈsloʊn
Meaning: raid or (military) expedition
Popularity: #153 and falling (#151 → #153, 2024)

Strong, modern, carries the same night-sky quality as darker moon names.

Lennon

Origin: Irish (surname)
Pronunciation: LEN-un · ˈlɛnən
Meaning: descendant of a ‘sweetheart’ — or, in an alternate surname line, descendant of a ‘little blackbird’
Popularity: #237 and rising (#243 → #237, 2024)

Rising with the general trend toward L-names; carries a creative, night-owl spirit.

Ines

Origin: Spanish/Portuguese
Pronunciation: ee-NESS · iˈnɛs
Meaning: pure, holy (via the Agnes/Hagne lineage)
Popularity: #1,282 and rising (#1,570 → #1,282, 2024)

Gentle, international, luminous without trying to be.

Sage

Origin: English (from Old French/Latin)
Pronunciation: SAYJ · ˈseɪdʒ
Meaning: a wise person; also linked to the sage herb plant
Popularity: #146 and falling (#143 → #146, 2024)

Deeply rooted in both nature and wisdom; the moon presided over ancient herb-gathering.

Weston

Origin: Old English (place name/surname)
Pronunciation: WES-tun · ˈwɛstən
Meaning: western settlement or town
Popularity: #70 and rising (#75 → #70, 2024)

The moon rises in the east and the west is where it sets; Weston is rising as a first name.

Arlo

Origin: Italian (uncertain origin)
Pronunciation: AR-loh · ˈɑːrloʊ
Meaning: Fortified hill
Popularity: #146 and rising (#158 → #146, 2024)

Rising for boys; carries a nighttime storytelling quality.

Milo

Origin: uncertain (Latinate variant of Miles, possibly Germanic or Slavic)
Pronunciation: MY-loh · ˈmaɪloʊ
Meaning: Soldier, merciful
Popularity: #120 and rising (#121 → #120, 2024)

One of the most popular rising names; the soft sound is quietly lunar.

Orla

Origin: Irish
Pronunciation: OR-lah · ˈɔːrlə
Meaning: golden princess (literally ‘gold’ + ‘sovereignty/princess’)
Popularity: #2,517 and rising (#2,607 → #2,517, 2024)

The gold of a harvest moon; an Irish classic having a very good moment.

Blythe

Origin: Old English (surname)
Pronunciation: BLYTHE · ˈblaɪð
Meaning: cheerful, merry, carefree — from Old English blīþe, ultimately Proto-Germanic *blīþiz (‘gentle, kind’)
Popularity: #1,862 and falling (#1,855 → #1,862, 2024)

The name for the feeling of moonrise on a warm night.

Faye

Origin: Middle English (variant of Fay)
Pronunciation: FAY · ˈfeɪ
Meaning: fairy (variant of Fay, possibly also linked to an Old French word for loyalty/faith)
Popularity: #538 and falling (#500 → #538, 2024)

Lior

Origin: Hebrew
Pronunciation: LEE-or · ˈliːɔːr
Meaning: my light
Popularity: #2,427 and falling (#2,333 → #2,427, 2024)

Israeli name rising in the US; direct, luminous, gender-neutral.

Zeno

Origin: Greek (via Italian/Latin)
Pronunciation: ZEE-noh · ˈziːnoʊ
Meaning: of Zeus; belonging to Zeus
Popularity: #2,413 and rising (#2,611 → #2,413, 2024)

Zeno is an ancient derivative of Zeus’s own name, not a compound meaning ‘gift’ — ‘of Zeus’ or ‘belonging to Zeus’ is the more accurate meaning.

Ren

Origin: Japanese (kanji-dependent)
Pronunciation: REN · ˈrɛn
Meaning: Lotus, love
Popularity: #1,145 and falling (#1,081 → #1,145, 2024)

Moon-reflecting waters and lotus flowers are deeply connected in Japanese tradition.

Idris

Origin: Welsh / Arabic (dual origin)
Pronunciation: ID-ris · ˈɪdrɪs
Meaning: Welsh: traditionally glossed ‘ardent/fiery lord’; Arabic: tied to a root meaning ‘to study’, associated with the prophet Idris (identified with Enoch)
Popularity: #739 and rising (#790 → #739, 2024)

A Welsh giant who lived on a mountain and studied the stars.

Cassian

Origin: Latin (Roman family name)
Pronunciation: KAS-ee-an · ˈkæsiən
Meaning: Hollow
Popularity: #616 and falling (#531 → #616, 2024)

Rising fast for boys; Roman name with a quiet, contemplative quality.

Names From Moon Mythology’s Stranger Corners

Some of the most beautiful moon-adjacent names come from myths that don’t get told in Western classrooms — creation stories, transformation tales, lunar deities who governed tides and harvests and love. These are names worth knowing.

Mama Quilla

Origin: Quechua (Inca mythological figure)
Meaning: mother moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Ixchel

Origin: Mayan (Yucatec)
Meaning: Rainbow lady or jaguar moon
Popularity: #3,232 and rising (#4,225 → #3,232, 2024)

The Maya goddess of the moon, medicine, and weaving; Ix or Chel as short forms.

The Aztec moon goddess; Coyol is usable and beautiful as a short form.

Auchimalgen

Origin: Mapuche
Meaning: She who guards
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The Mapuche moon goddess who protected humans from evil spirits; rare, powerful.

The Aztec god who became the moon; Teci as a short form.

Chang’e

Origin: Chinese
Meaning: Moon lady
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The Moon goddess of Chinese mythology who lives in a jade palace; rarely used as a Western name but deeply beautiful.

Tsukuyomi

Origin: Japanese
Meaning: Moon reader
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Japanese god of the moon; Tsuki or Yomi as usable short forms.

Amaterasu

Origin: Japanese
Meaning: heaven-shining
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Mawu

Origin: Fon, West Africa
Meaning: The moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

In Fon mythology, Mawu is a lunar creator goddess; rare, two syllables, profoundly beautiful.

Nyame

Origin: Akan
Meaning: God of sky and moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Arawa

Origin: Māori, alternative form
Meaning: Moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Meztli

Origin: Nahuatl, variant
Meaning: Moon
Popularity: #7,119 and rising (#10,082 → #7,119, 2024)

The Aztec moon goddess in a slightly different spelling; Metz as a short form.

Kusarikku

Origin: Akkadian
Meaning: Bison man of the moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Not a naming candidate, but Kusa or Riku as derivatives are interesting.

Yarikh

Origin: Ugaritic (Canaanite mythology)
Meaning: moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Sin

Origin: Akkadian/Sumerian (Mesopotamian mythology)
Meaning: moon god
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Selardi

Origin: Urartian (claimed mythological name)
Meaning: Moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Lusin

Origin: Armenian
Meaning: Moon
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The common Armenian word for moon used as a name; clean, rare in the West.

Bride

Origin: Celtic
Meaning: Exalted one
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Cerridwen

Origin: Welsh (mythological name, etymology disputed)
Meaning: Blessed song
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Keeper of the cauldron of inspiration in Welsh mythology; the cauldron is a moon symbol.

Arianrhod

Origin: Welsh
Meaning: silver wheel
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Blodeuwedd

Origin: Welsh
Meaning: flower face
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

Created from flowers, turned into an owl — the owl is a lunar symbol.

Rhiannon

Origin: Welsh
Pronunciation: ree-AN-un · riˈænən
Meaning: traditionally reconstructed as ‘great queen’ or ‘divine queen’, name of a major figure in Welsh mythology
Popularity: #1,310 and falling (#1,157 → #1,310, 2024)

A goddess on a white horse who was misunderstood and punished; deeply lunar in character.

Epona

Origin: Gaulish
Meaning: Divine mare
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings

The horse goddess associated with night journeys by moonlight.

Rosmerta

Origin: Gaulish
Meaning: Good provider
Popularity: Not in the U.S. Social Security rankings