ADHARA f AstronomyDerived from Arabic
عذارى ('adhara) meaning "maidens". This is the name of the second brightest star (after Sirius) in the constellation Canis Major.
ALCYONE f Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of Greek
Αλκυονη (Alkyone), derived from the word
αλκυων (alkyon) meaning "kingfisher". In Greek myth this name belonged to a daughter of Aeolus and the wife of Ceyx. After her husband was killed in a shipwreck she threw herself into the water, but the gods saved her and turned them both into kingfishers. This is also the name of the brightest of the Pleiades, the seven stars in the constellation Taurus.
ALICE f English, French, Portuguese, Italian, CzechFrom the Old French name
Aalis, a short form of
Adelais, itself a short form of the Germanic name
Adalheidis (see
ADELAIDE). This name became popular in France and England in the 12th century. It was borne by the heroine of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' (1865) and 'Through the Looking Glass' (1871).
ANDROMEDA f Greek MythologyMeans "to be mindful of a man" from the Greek element
ανηρ (aner) "man" (genitive
ανδρος) combined with
μεδομαι (medomai) "to be mindful of". In Greek mythology Andromeda was an Ethiopian princess rescued from sacrifice by the hero
Perseus. A constellation in the northern sky is named for her. This is also the name of a nearby galaxy, given because it resides (from our point of view) within the constellation.
ASTRAEA f Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek
Αστραια (Astraia), derived from Greek
αστηρ (aster) meaning "star". Astraea was a Greek goddess of justice and innocence. After wickedness took root in the world she left the earth and became the constellation Virgo.
BETELGEUSE m AstronomyThe name of the star that marks the right shoulder of the constellation Orion. It is derived from Arabic
يد الجوزا (yad al-Jawza) meaning "the hand of Jawza".
جوزا (Jawza) meaning "central one" was the old Arabic name for the constellation Orion (also for Gemini).
CARINA (1) f English, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Late RomanLate Latin name derived from
cara meaning "dear, beloved". This was the name of a 4th-century saint and martyr. It is also the name of a constellation in the southern sky, though in this case it means "keel" in Latin, referring to a part of
Jason's ship the Argo.
CASSIOPEIA f Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of Greek
Κασσιοπεια (Kassiopeia) or
Κασσιεπεια (Kassiepeia), possibly meaning "cassia juice". In Greek myth Cassiopeia was the wife of Cepheus and the mother of Andromeda. She was changed into a constellation and placed in the northern sky after she died.
CEPHEUS m Greek Mythology (Latinized)Latinized form of the Greek
Κηφευς (Kepheus), which is of unknown meaning. In Greek legend he was a king of Ethiopia, the husband of Cassiopeia. After he died he was made into a constellation and placed in the sky.
DARA (2) f & m KhmerMeans "star" in Khmer, ultimately from Sanskrit.
DEIMOS m Greek MythologyMeans "terror" in Greek. This was one of the sons of the Greek god
Ares. Also, a moon of Mars bears this name.
DENEB m AstronomyDerived from Arabic
ذنب (dhanab) meaning "tail". This is the name of a star in the constellation Cygnus.
DRACO m Ancient Greek (Latinized)From the Greek name
Δρακων (Drakon), which meant "dragon, serpent". This was the name of a 7th-century BC Athenian legislator. This is also the name of a constellation in the northern sky.
EDMOND m FrenchFrench form of
EDMUND. A notable bearer was the English astronomer Edmond Halley (1656-1742), for whom Halley's comet is named.
ELANOR f LiteratureMeans "star sun" in Sindarin. In 'The Lord of the Rings' (1954) by J. R. R. Tolkien this is Sam's eldest daughter, named after a type of flower.
ESTELLA f EnglishLatinate form of
ESTELLE. This was the name of the heroine, Estella Havisham, in Charles Dickens' novel 'Great Expectations' (1860).
EVREN m & f TurkishMeans "cosmos, the universe" in Turkish. In Turkic mythology the Evren is a gigantic snake-like dragon.
GEMINI m Roman MythologyMeans "twins" in Latin. This is the name of the third sign of the zodiac. The two brightest stars in the constellation,
Castor and
Pollux, are named for the mythological twin sons of
Leda.
IO f Greek MythologyMeaning unknown. In Greek mythology Io was a princess loved by
Zeus, who changed her into a heifer in order to hide her from
Hera. A moon of Jupiter bears this name in her honour.
LYRA f AstronomyThe name of the constellation in the northern sky containing the star Vega. It is said to be shaped after the lyre of Orpheus.
MİRAY f TurkishMeaning unknown, possibly from an uncertain Persian element combined with Turkish
ay meaning "moon, month".
NEPTUNE m Roman Mythology (Anglicized)From the Latin
Neptunus, which is of unknown meaning, possibly related to the Indo-European root *
nebh "wet, damp, clouds". Neptune was the god of the sea in Roman mythology, approximately equivalent to the Greek god
Poseidon. This is also the name of the eighth planet in the solar system.
NOVA f EnglishDerived from Latin
novus meaning "new". It was first used as a name in the 19th century.
ORION m Greek MythologyMeaning unknown, but possibly related to Greek
‘οριον (horion) meaning "boundary, limit". Alternatively it may be derived from Akkadian
Uru-anna meaning "light of the heavens". This is the name of a constellation, which gets its name from a legendary Greek hunter who was killed by a scorpion sent by the earth goddess
Gaia.
SEDNA f MythologyMeaning unknown. This is the name of the Inuit goddess of the sea, sea animals and the underworld. According to some legends Sedna was originally a beautiful woman thrown into the ocean by her father.
SIRIUS m AstronomyThe name of a bright star in the constellation Canis Major, derived via Latin from Greek
σειριος (seirios) "burning".
SITARA f UrduMeans "star" in Urdu, ultimately from Persian.
STAR f EnglishFrom the English word for the celestial body, ultimately from Old English
steorra.
STELLA (1) f English, Italian, Dutch, GermanMeans "star" in Latin. This name was created by the 16th-century poet Sir Philip Sidney for the subject of his collection of sonnets 'Astrophel and Stella'. It was a nickname of a lover of Jonathan Swift, real name Esther Johnson (1681-1728), though it was not commonly used as a given name until the 19th century. It appears in Tennessee Williams' play 'A Streetcar Named Desire' (1947), belonging to the sister of Blanche DuBois and the wife of Stanley Kowalski.
SUHAIL m Arabic, UrduDerived from Arabic
سَهُلَ (sahula) meaning "level, even". This is the Arabic name of the second brightest star in the sky, known in the western world as Canopus.
URSA f Late RomanFeminine form of
URSUS. This is the name of two constellations in the northern sky: Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.
VEGA f AstronomyThe name of a star in the constellation Lyra. Its name is from Arabic
الواقع (al-Waqi') meaning "the swooping (eagle)".
VENUS f Roman MythologyMeans "love, sexual desire" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of love and sex. Her character was assimilated with that of the Greek goddess
Aphrodite. As the mother of
Aeneas she was considered an ancestor of the Roman people. The second planet from the sun is named after her.
YUUTO m JapaneseFrom Japanese
優 (yuu) meaning "excellence, superiority, gentleness" or
悠 (yuu) meaning "distant, leisurely" combined with
斗 (to), which refers to a Chinese constellation,
人 (to) meaning "person" or
翔 (to) meaning "soar, fly". Other kanji combinations are possible.