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.
ALUDRA f AstronomyDerived from Arabic
العذرا (al-'adhra) meaning "the maiden". This is the name of a star in the constellation Canis Major.
ARISTA f AstronomyMeans "ear of corn" in Latin. This is the name of a star, also known as Spica, in the constellation Virgo.
ARUNDHATI f Hinduism, Indian, HindiThe name of a star (also called Alcor), which was named after a type of climbing plant, possibly meaning "not restrained" in Sanskrit. In Hindu belief it is the name of the sage Vasishtha's wife, who is identified with the star.
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.
ASTROPHEL m LiteratureProbably intended to mean "star lover", from Greek
αστηρ (aster) "star" and
φιλος (philos) "lover, friend". This name was first used by the 16th-century poet Sir Philip Sidney in his collection of sonnets 'Astrophel and Stella'.
AYELET f HebrewMeans "doe, female deer, gazelle". It is taken from the Hebrew phrase
אַיֶלֶת הַשַׁחַר ('ayelet hashachar), literally "gazelle of dawn", which is a name of the morning star.
BELLATRIX f AstronomyMeans "female warrior" in Latin. This is the name of the star that marks the left shoulder of the constellation Orion.
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.
CASTOR m Greek Mythology (Latinized)From the Greek name
Καστωρ (Kastor), possibly related to
κεκασμαι (kekasmai) meaning "to excel, to shine" (pluperfect
κεκαστο). Alternatively it could be derived from the Greek word
καστωρ (kastor) meaning "beaver", though the legends about Castor do not mention beavers, which were foreign animals to the Greeks. In Greek myth Castor was a son of
Zeus and the twin brother of
Pollux. The constellation Gemini, which represents the two brothers, contains a star by this name.
COSMO m Italian, EnglishItalian variant of
COSIMO. It was introduced to Britain in the 18th century by the second Scottish Duke of Gordon, who named his son and successor after his friend Cosimo III de' Medici.
DARA (2) f & m KhmerMeans "star" in Khmer, ultimately from Sanskrit.
DENEB m AstronomyDerived from Arabic
ذنب (dhanab) meaning "tail". This is the name of a star in the constellation Cygnus.
ESTELLA f EnglishLatinate form of
ESTELLE. This was the name of the heroine, Estella Havisham, in Charles Dickens' novel 'Great Expectations' (1860).
ESTHER f English, French, Spanish, Dutch, German, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Jewish, Biblical, Biblical Latin, Biblical GreekPossibly means "star" in Persian. Alternatively it could be a derivative of the name of the Near Eastern goddess
ISHTAR. The Book of Esther in the Old Testament tells the story of Queen Esther, the Jewish wife of the king of Persia. The king's advisor
Haman persuaded the king to exterminate all the Jews in the realm. Warned of this plot by her cousin
Mordecai, Esther revealed her Jewish ancestry and convinced the king to execute Haman instead. Her original Hebrew name was
Hadassah.
... [more] KALLISTO f Greek Mythology, Ancient GreekDerived from Greek
καλλιστος (kallistos) meaning "most beautiful", a derivative of
καλος (kalos) meaning "beautiful". In Greek mythology Kallisto was a nymph who was loved by
Zeus. She was changed into a she-bear by
Hera, and subsequently became the Great Bear constellation. This was also an ancient Greek personal name.
MARIS f English (Rare)Means "of the sea", taken from the Latin title of the Virgin
Mary,
Stella Maris, meaning "star of the sea".
NOVA f EnglishDerived from Latin
novus meaning "new". It was first used as a name in the 19th century.
OURANIA f Greek MythologyDerived from Greek
ουρανιος (ouranios) meaning "heavenly". In Greek mythology she was the goddess of astronomy and astrology, one of the nine Muses.
QUETZALCOATL m Aztec and Toltec MythologyMeans "feathered snake" in Nahuatl, derived from
quetzalli "feather" and
coatl "snake". In Aztec and other Mesoamerican mythology he was the god of the sky, wind, and knowledge, also associated with the morning star. According to one legend he created the humans of this age using the bones of humans from the previous age and adding his own blood.
RIGEL m AstronomyDerived from Arabic
الرجل (al-Rijl) meaning "foot". This is the name of the star that forms the left foot of the constellation Orion.
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.
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.
STERLING m EnglishFrom a Scottish surname that was derived from city of Stirling, which is itself of unknown meaning. The name can also be given in reference to the English word
sterling meaning "excellent". In this case, the word derives from sterling silver, which was so named because of the emblem that some Norman coins bore, from Old English meaning "little star".
TANITH f Semitic MythologyDerived from Semitic roots meaning "serpent lady". This was the name of the Phoenician goddess of love, fertility, the moon and the stars. She was particularly associated with the city of Carthage, being the consort of
Ba'al Hammon.
TARIQ m ArabicMeans "he who knocks at the door" in Arabic. This is the Arabic name of the morning star. Tariq ibn Ziyad was the Islamic general who conquered Spain for the Umayyad Caliphate in the 8th century.
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.