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Space names: 210+ star, galaxy, planet and celestial names

243 names · Updated · By The Nomezo Editors · Save to Pinterest

The best space names come straight from the sky: stars like Antares and Capella, moons like Ganymede, and spacecraft like Ingenuity, each with a real story behind it.

Below are 210+ space names in twelve groups. Most are real: star names, constellation names, galaxy and nebula names, planets and moons, asteroids, spacecraft, famous astronomers and astronauts, baby names that mean sky and celestial words from astronomy. The last three groups are invented: galaxy and planet names, space character names and funny space names for pets and teams. Names that mean star or moon have their own pages.

Can't decide? Shuffle 6 random picks

  • Curiosity

    NASA rover exploring Mars's Gale Crater since 2012

  • Ensign Kit Calloway

    Eager rookie who volunteers for everything

  • Science Officer Idris Penhallow

    Studies every strange signal the ship picks up

  • Horsehead

    Dark nebula in Orion shaped like a chess knight

  • Phobos

    Greek for fear; the larger moon of Mars

  • Owl Nebula

    Glowing gas shell in Ursa Major with two dark, eye-like patches

Find a space name on this page

Narrow 243 names by section, number of words, length or first letter, or search the notes.

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Star names

Real stars you can find in the night sky, with the constellation and the story behind each name. Many star names come from Arabic.

  1. Betelgeuse: Red supergiant on Orion's shoulder that dimmed strangely in 2019
  2. Antares: Red heart of Scorpius; Greek for rival of Mars
  3. Aldebaran: Orange eye of Taurus; Arabic for the follower
  4. Capella: Brightest star in Auriga; Latin for little she-goat
  5. Procyon: Greek for before the dog, since it rises ahead of Sirius
  6. Canopus: Second-brightest star in the night sky, in Carina
  7. Pollux: Brightest star in Gemini, an orange giant with a possible planet
  8. Alnitak: Arabic for the girdle; one of the three stars of Orion's Belt
  9. Alnilam: Arabic for string of pearls; the middle star of Orion's Belt
  10. Mintaka: Arabic for the belt; the westernmost star of Orion's Belt
  11. Algol: The Demon Star of Perseus, which dims every few days
  12. Mizar: Big Dipper handle star with a faint partner you can see unaided
  13. Thuban: Star in Draco that was the pole star around 3000 BC
  14. Shaula: Arabic for raised tail; the stinger of Scorpius
  15. Albireo: A gorgeous gold and blue double star in Cygnus
  16. Denebola: Arabic for lion's tail; the tail star of Leo
  17. Acrux: Brightest star of the Southern Cross, shown on Brazil's flag
  18. Mimosa: Second-brightest star of the Southern Cross
  19. Proxima Centauri: Officially Proxima Centauri: the nearest star to the sun, a small red dwarf
  20. Merope: Pleiad said in myth to hide her light because she married a mortal
  21. Taygeta: Pleiades star named for a nymph of Mount Taygetus
  22. Pleione: Mother of the Seven Sisters, a star in the Pleiades cluster
  23. Polaris: The North Star, at the end of the Little Dipper's handle; Latin for of the pole
  24. Rigel: Blue supergiant marking Orion's foot; from Arabic for foot
  25. Arcturus: Brightest star in Boötes; Greek for guardian of the bear
  26. Spica: Brightest star in Virgo; Latin for ear of grain
  27. Regulus: Brightest star in Leo; Latin for little king
  28. Deneb: Brightest star in Cygnus, the swan; from Arabic for tail

Constellation names

Official constellations from the list of 88, from ancient Greek patterns to the southern ones added from the late 1500s to the 1700s.

  1. Vela: The sails of Jason's ancient ship, the Argo
  2. Aries: The ram whose golden fleece Jason sought
  3. Auriga: The charioteer, home of the bright star Capella
  4. Boötes: The herdsman, who follows the Great Bear around the pole
  5. Cepheus: Mythical king of Ethiopia and husband of Cassiopeia
  6. Delphinus: A little dolphin; two of its stars spell an astronomer's name backward
  7. Sagitta: The arrow, one of the smallest constellations
  8. Lacerta: The lizard, added to the sky by Johannes Hevelius
  9. Pyxis: The mariner's compass, named in the 1750s
  10. Fornax: The furnace, a southern patch full of distant galaxies
  11. Pavo: The peacock of the southern sky
  12. Grus: The crane, a long-necked bird of southern skies
  13. Tucana: The toucan, home of the Small Magellanic Cloud
  14. Dorado: The dolphinfish, holding most of the Large Magellanic Cloud
  15. Crux: The Southern Cross, smallest of all 88 constellations
  16. Ophiuchus: The serpent bearer, which the sun crosses every December
  17. Eridanus: A long celestial river winding across the southern sky
  18. Lynx: Named for the keen eyes you need to spot it
  19. Monoceros: The unicorn, hiding between Orion and Canis Minor
  20. Camelopardalis: The giraffe, a large, faint northern constellation
  21. Centaurus: Home of Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system
  22. Coma Berenices: Queen Berenice's hair, offered for her husband's safe return
  23. Orion: The hunter of Greek myth, with the famous three-star belt
  24. Andromeda: Princess of Greek myth chained to a rock; home of the Andromeda Galaxy
  25. Cassiopeia: Andromeda's vain mother, a W of stars near the North Star
  26. Draco: Latin for dragon; it winds around the north pole of the sky and holds Thuban
  27. Perseus: The hero who saved Andromeda; home of Algol and the Perseid meteors
  28. Pegasus: The winged horse, marked by a great square of stars
  29. Phoenix: Southern firebird, one of the constellations added in the late 1500s

Galaxy and nebula names

Real galaxies and glowing gas clouds, many named for their shapes. Galaxy names make dreamy names for pets, bands and ships.

  1. Whirlpool: Messier 51, a face-on spiral with a smaller companion galaxy
  2. Sombrero: Galaxy M104, shaped like a wide-brimmed hat
  3. Black Eye: Galaxy M64, with a dark dust band like a bruise
  4. Antennae: Two colliding galaxies with long, insect-like tails of stars
  5. Magellanic Cloud: Either of two small neighbor galaxies of ours, seen from the south
  6. Centaurus A: A nearby galaxy whose giant black hole fires radio jets
  7. Messier 87: Galaxy whose black hole was the first ever photographed, in 2019
  8. Hoag's Object: A rare ring galaxy, a glowing hoop around a yellow core
  9. Crab Nebula: Remains of a star whose explosion was recorded in 1054
  10. Horsehead: Dark nebula in Orion shaped like a chess knight
  11. Eagle Nebula: Star nursery that holds the famous Pillars of Creation
  12. Cat's Eye: Planetary nebula of glowing shells around a dying star
  13. Helix: Nearby planetary nebula nicknamed the Eye of God
  14. Tarantula: Huge star-forming nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud
  15. Butterfly: Planetary nebula with two wing-shaped lobes of gas
  16. Rosette Nebula: Rose-shaped cloud of glowing gas in Monoceros
  17. Trifid: Nebula split into three lobes by dark dust lanes
  18. Ring Nebula: A glowing smoke hoop in Lyra, a backyard telescope favorite
  19. Owl Nebula: Glowing gas shell in Ursa Major with two dark, eye-like patches

Planet, moon and dwarf planet names

Real worlds of our solar system, from the planets to small moons named for Greek myths and Shakespeare's plays.

  1. Saturn: Ringed gas giant named for the Roman god of farming
  2. Eris: Dwarf planet whose 2005 discovery led to Pluto's reclassification
  3. Makemake: Dwarf planet named for the creator god of Rapa Nui
  4. Quaoar: Distant world named for a Tongva creator; it has surprising rings
  5. Gonggong: Likely dwarf planet named in 2020 for a Chinese water god
  6. Ganymede: Jupiter's moon, the largest in the solar system, bigger than Mercury
  7. Enceladus: Icy moon of Saturn that sprays water from a hidden ocean
  8. Phobos: Greek for fear; the larger moon of Mars
  9. Deimos: Greek for dread; the smaller, outer moon of Mars
  10. Iapetus: Two-toned moon of Saturn, dark on one side and bright on the other
  11. Tethys: Icy moon of Saturn with a huge crater named Odysseus
  12. Mimas: Small moon of Saturn with one giant crater named Herschel
  13. Helene: Little moon that shares an orbit with Saturn's moon Dione
  14. Thebe: Small inner moon of Jupiter, named for a nymph
  15. Himalia: Largest of Jupiter's irregular outer moons
  16. Elara: Outer moon of Jupiter, discovered in 1905
  17. Kerberos: Tiny moon of Pluto named for the three-headed guard dog
  18. Larissa: Moon of Neptune pictured up close by Voyager 2 in 1989
  19. Naiad: Neptune's innermost moon, named for the water nymphs
  20. Portia: Moon of Uranus named for the heroine of The Merchant of Venice
  21. Titan: Saturn's largest moon, with a thick atmosphere and methane lakes
  22. Europa: Jupiter moon with an ice shell over a hidden ocean; a lover of Zeus in myth
  23. Io: Jupiter's volcanic moon, the most volcanically active world in the solar system
  24. Callisto: Jupiter's heavily cratered moon, named for a nymph Zeus loved
  25. Triton: Neptune's largest moon, which orbits backward; named for a sea god
  26. Charon: Pluto's largest moon, named for the ferryman of the dead
  27. Titania: Uranus's largest moon, named for the fairy queen of A Midsummer Night's Dream
  28. Oberon: Uranus moon named for Titania's husband, the fairy king
  29. Miranda: Small Uranus moon with giant cliffs, named for the heroine of The Tempest

Asteroid and comet names

Real space rocks and visitors, several of them visited by spacecraft.

  1. Hygiea: Big round asteroid that may count as the smallest dwarf planet
  2. Bennu: Asteroid sampled by NASA; its dust landed on Earth in 2023
  3. Ryugu: Asteroid sampled by Japan's Hayabusa2, named for a sea palace
  4. Arrokoth: Most distant world ever visited, flown past by New Horizons in 2019
  5. ʻOumuamua: First known interstellar visitor, found in 2017; Hawaiian for scout
  6. Didymos: Greek for twin; an asteroid with its own little moon
  7. Dimorphos: Moonlet that NASA's DART probe nudged off course in 2022
  8. Itokawa: Peanut-shaped asteroid named for a Japanese rocket pioneer
  9. Hale-Bopp: Comet seen without a telescope for a record 18 months, 1996 to 1997
  10. Swift-Tuttle: Comet whose dust makes the August Perseid meteor shower

Spacecraft and mission names

Real rockets, rovers, probes and stations, with what each one did.

  1. Pioneer: NASA probe series; number 10 first flew past Jupiter in 1973
  2. Vostok: The capsule that carried Yuri Gagarin into orbit in 1961
  3. Soyuz: Russian crew spacecraft, flying since 1967
  4. Mir: Russian for peace or world; a space station from 1986 to 2001
  5. Skylab: The first American space station, launched in 1973
  6. Curiosity: NASA rover exploring Mars's Gale Crater since 2012
  7. Opportunity: Mars rover built for 90 days that kept going for almost 15 years
  8. Sojourner: The first rover to drive on Mars, in 1997, named for an abolitionist hero
  9. Ingenuity: Little helicopter that made the first powered flight on another planet
  10. Philae: Lander that touched down on a comet in 2014
  11. Giotto: European probe that flew past Halley's Comet in 1986
  12. Hayabusa: Japanese for peregrine falcon; it returned asteroid dust in 2010
  13. Chandrayaan: Sanskrit for moon craft; India's third landed near the lunar south pole
  14. Mangalyaan: India's Mars orbiter, which succeeded on its first try in 2014
  15. Tianwen: Chinese for heavenly questions; the name of China's planetary missions
  16. Zhurong: China's Mars rover, named for a fire god
  17. Discovery: Space shuttle that carried the Hubble telescope into orbit in 1990
  18. Endeavour: Space shuttle named for Captain Cook's ship
  19. Columbia: The first space shuttle to reach orbit, in 1981
  20. Enterprise: Test shuttle named for the Star Trek starship after a fan campaign
  21. Venera: Soviet Venus probes; the seventh made the first soft landing there in 1970
  22. Huygens: European probe that landed on Saturn's moon Titan in 2005

Astronomers and astronauts

Real people who mapped the sky or flew into it. Use a first name, a surname or both.

  1. Tycho Brahe: Danish astronomer whose pre-telescope star records led the world
  2. Aryabhata: Indian astronomer who wrote around 500 CE that Earth spins
  3. Al-Sufi: Persian astronomer who first described the Andromeda Galaxy, in 964
  4. Benjamin Banneker: Self-taught Black astronomer who published almanacs in the 1790s
  5. Caroline Herschel: First woman paid as an astronomer; she found eight comets
  6. Maria Mitchell: America's first professional woman astronomer; found a comet in 1847
  7. Williamina Fleming: Harvard astronomer who discovered the Horsehead Nebula in 1888
  8. Henrietta Leavitt: Discovered how pulsing stars reveal cosmic distances
  9. Annie Jump Cannon: Created the star classes O, B, A, F, G, K and M
  10. Cecilia Payne: Showed in 1925 that stars are mostly hydrogen and helium
  11. Clyde Tombaugh: Kansas farm boy who discovered Pluto in 1930
  12. Vera Rubin: Found strong evidence for dark matter in spinning galaxies
  13. Nancy Grace Roman: NASA's first chief of astronomy, called the mother of Hubble
  14. Jocelyn Bell Burnell: Discovered the first pulsars as a graduate student in 1967
  15. Katherine Johnson: NASA mathematician who checked the orbit math for John Glenn
  16. Valentina Tereshkova: First woman in space, aboard Vostok 6 in 1963
  17. Alexei Leonov: First person to walk in space, in 1965
  18. Alan Shepard: First American in space in 1961; later golfed on the moon
  19. Sally Ride: First American woman in space, in 1983
  20. Mae Jemison: First African American woman in space, in 1992
  21. Ellen Ochoa: First Hispanic woman in space, in 1993
  22. Kalpana Chawla: First woman born in India to fly in space, in 1997

Space baby names

Real given names from the sky: the space names US parents use most, plus names that mean sky from Sanskrit, Turkish, Persian and Arabic.

  1. Aurora US #15: Latin for dawn, and the glowing lights near the poles; No. 15 for US girls in 2025
  2. Nova US #46: Latin for new, for a star that suddenly flares; No. 46 for US girls in 2025
  3. Atlas US #75: The Titan who holds up the sky, and a moon of Saturn; No. 75 for US boys in 2025
  4. Apollo US #445: Greek god and the NASA program that landed people on the Moon from 1969 to 1972
  5. Antariksh Under 5 in 2025: Sanskrit for space or the sky; a modern Indian boy name
  6. Vyom 106 in 2025: Sanskrit for sky or space
  7. Gagan 6 in 2025: Sanskrit for sky; used for boys and girls in India
  8. Gökhan Under 5 in 2025: Turkish for king of the sky
  9. Göksel Under 5 in 2025: Turkish for heavenly or celestial
  10. Gökalp Under 5 in 2025: Turkish for sky hero
  11. Gökçe Under 5 in 2025: Turkish for sky blue, from gök, sky
  12. Asuman Under 5 in 2025: Turkish for sky, from Persian asman
  13. Sema 6 in 2025: Turkish for sky or heaven, from Arabic
  14. Falak 9 in 2025: Arabic for the celestial sphere; Urdu for sky

Celestial names from astronomy words

Real space words that make cool names for pets, ships, bands and characters.

  1. Parsec: A distance of about 3.26 light-years
  2. Photon: A single particle of light
  3. Perigee: The point where the moon swings closest to Earth
  4. Aphelion: A planet's farthest point from the sun
  5. Perihelion: A planet's closest point to the sun
  6. Nadir: The point directly below you, opposite the zenith
  7. Astro: Greek for star; short, snappy and sporty
  8. Meteorite: A space rock that survives the fall to Earth
  9. Asteroid: A rocky body orbiting the sun, too small to be a planet
  10. Syzygy: When three bodies, like the sun, Earth and moon, line up
  11. Azimuth: A compass direction astronomers use to aim telescopes
  12. Redshift: The stretching of light from galaxies racing away
  13. Magnetar: A neutron star with an extreme magnetic field
  14. Exoplanet: A planet that orbits a star beyond the sun
  15. Ecliptic: The sun's yearly path across the sky
  16. Sidereal: Measured by the stars rather than the sun
  17. Lodestar: A guiding star, especially the North Star
  18. Stargazer: Someone who loves watching the night sky
  19. Geminid: A meteor from the bright December shower in Gemini
  20. Lyrid: A meteor from the April shower, seen for about 2,700 years

Invented galaxy and planet names

Original names for sci-fi galaxies, star systems and planets. All invented for this page.

  1. Zentara Prime: Capital world of a seven-planet trading league
  2. Velorix Nebula: A violet gas cloud where new suns are born
  3. Caelith Cluster: A tight knot of blue stars at the galaxy's edge
  4. Andarion: Ocean planet with two moons and endless tides
  5. Orrivane: Desert world of glass dunes and singing winds
  6. Thalassor: A gas giant ringed with ice and old shipwrecks
  7. Nyvora: Twilight planet where the sun never fully rises
  8. Zephyria: A windy moon of floating sky-cities
  9. Aethon Prime: Volcanic forge world that builds the fleet's engines
  10. Quorath: Cold, rocky outpost at the end of the trade route
  11. Lumaris: A planet whose forests glow softly at night
  12. Veyra Belt: Asteroid ring full of miners, smugglers and gemstones
  13. Hesperon: Evening-star world with endless golden sunsets
  14. Cindral: Ash-covered planet orbiting a red dwarf
  15. Talvos: Ice planet where cities hide under frozen seas
  16. Iridesca: A shimmering spiral galaxy that glows in rainbow colors

Space character names

Original names for captains, pilots and crew in a sci-fi story or game. All invented for this page.

  1. Captain Nova Starling: Fearless pilot who never turns down a rescue
  2. Commander Rhea Voss: Cool-headed leader of the deep-space patrol
  3. Pilot Juno Kade: Ace flyer who names every ship she flies
  4. Admiral Corvin Hale: Gruff fleet commander with a soft spot for cadets
  5. Navigator Elio Crane: Can read a star chart faster than any computer
  6. Engineer Tamsin Vex: Fixes warp drives with duct tape and courage
  7. Lieutenant Orrin Talbeck: By-the-book officer who secretly writes poetry
  8. Cadet Mira Solace: Youngest crew member and the best at zero-g chess
  9. Science Officer Idris Penhallow: Studies every strange signal the ship picks up
  10. Captain Sol Marrow: Veteran trader who knows every port in the sector
  11. Ensign Kit Calloway: Eager rookie who volunteers for everything
  12. Commander Ayla Brightwater: Diplomat who has calmed a dozen space disputes
  13. Doctor Sable Quinlan: Ship's medic with a calm voice and quick hands
  14. Pilot Zara Okafor: Daredevil racer turned rescue flyer
  15. Captain Thea Lumen: Explorer who charts the galaxy's dark corners
  16. Major Rook Ashby: Security chief who never forgets a face

Funny space names for pets and teams

Pun-powered space names for cats, dogs, group chats and science teams.

  1. Catstronaut: For a cat who leaps into the unknown, or the laundry basket
  2. Dogstronaut: One small step for dog, one giant leap onto the couch
  3. Purrseus: A heroic cat with a constellation's swagger
  4. Pawllux: A star-bright pet with a twin-sized appetite
  5. Barkturus: For the brightest dog in the northern neighborhood
  6. Astro-Nut: For a squirrel, a hamster or a very excited kid
  7. Houston We Have a Pug: For a flat-faced dog who causes small emergencies daily
  8. Meteor Mutt: For a dog who streaks across the yard
  9. Captain Zero-G: Floats through life without a care
  10. Black Hole Bob: Anything in the fridge disappears near him
  11. Pluto Was Robbed: A team name for loyal fans of the ninth planet
  12. Sir Launch-a-Lot: A knightly rocket enthusiast
  13. Cosmic Kevin: Totally chill, totally out of this world
  14. Gravity Gary: Always falls asleep on the nearest soft surface
  15. Space Potato: For a couch lounger with big dreams
  16. Count Down: Counts to ten before every nap
  17. Supernova Sue: Bursts into the room with dazzling energy
  18. Neil Armstrongarm: For the strongest arm-wrestler on the science team

How to pick the right name

Pick a real object with a story

Every star, moon and probe here has a backstory. Ingenuity flew on Mars, Mizar and Alcor are a traditional eyesight test, and Merope is the Pleiad said in myth to hide her light. A name with a story is easy to love.

Match the sound to the subject

Short names like Vela, Pavo and Thebe suit small pets. Grand ones like Betelgeuse, Andarion or Camelopardalis suit a big dog, a starship or a fantasy kingdom.

Look for a real given name

For a baby, choose a name people already use, like Vyom, Gagan or Sema, which all mean sky. Many star names are fun for pets but unusual for children.

Invent with real roots

For sci-fi worlds, mix a real Latin or Greek root with a new ending, as in Velorix or Caelith. It sounds scientific without copying a real object.

Space names: 243 ideas from Nomezo

Save this list for later

Pin it to a naming board, or tap the heart next to any name to keep it in your favorites on this device.

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Space names, checked: the celestial names US parents actually use, who names things in space, and why you can't buy a star

By The Nomezo Editors · Updated October 25, 2026 · How we research names

Space names are booming on birth certificates: Aurora was No. 15 for US girls in 2025 and Atlas No. 75 for boys, both their best ranks ever. Atlas was No. 487 just ten years earlier.

Official space names follow strict rules: the International Astronomical Union names stars, planets and moons, and it does not recognize star names that are bought or sold. The finder above narrows the names by section, length or first letter, or searches the notes.

  1. Step 1Pick a kind of nameStars, moons, spacecraft, people or puns.
  2. Step 2For a baby, check real useAurora is No. 15; Capella had fewer than 5.
  3. Step 3Know who names thingsUranus's moons come from Shakespeare.
  4. Step 4Skip the star certificateBought star names are not official.

Space names on real babies

Celestial names among US babies, 2025
NameUS rank, 2025Trend
Aurora#15 for girlsUp from #78 in 2015; its best ever
Luna#27 for girlsDown from #10 in 2022
Nova#46 for girlsDown from #32 in 2021 and 2022
Atlas#75 for boysUp from #487 in 2015; its best ever
Celeste#188 for girlsUp from #500 in 2015; its best ever
Orion#334 for boysPeaked at #300 in 2018
Lyra#435 for girlsIts best ever
Apollo#445 for boysPeaked at #389 in 2022
Elara#942 for girls275 girls, up from 32 in 2015

Source: US Social Security Administration, births 1880 to 2025. Luna has its own names that mean moon page, and Lyra and Celeste are on names that mean star. Most star names here, like Capella and Polaris, went to fewer than 5 US babies in 2025.

Who names things in space

How each kind of object gets its name
ObjectHow it is named
StarsThe IAU's Working Group on Star Names, set up in 2016, which approved 227 names that November
PlanetsThe visible planets are named for Roman gods
Jupiter's moonsFor lovers of Zeus, Jupiter's Greek counterpart: Europa, Io, Callisto
Uranus's moonsFor characters from Shakespeare and Alexander Pope; NASA counts 29 moons
AsteroidsThe discoverer proposes a name: 2309 Mr. Spock is named for a cat
ExoplanetsMost have only catalog codes; IAU public contests called NameExoWorlds have named some

Sources: IAU Working Group on Star Names, The Planetary Society, NASA: Uranus's moons, IAU NameExoWorlds.

The rules for an official space name

  • You can't buy a star. The IAU's star-name group does not sanction the buying or selling of star names, nor recognize names that have been bought (WGSN).
  • New star names are short and impersonal. They can be at most 16 characters, and names of pets, names of people and names with commercial, political or military meaning are not allowed (WGSN guidelines, 2025).
  • Exoplanet contests have similar limits. Entries must be 4 to 16 characters, pronounceable, and not named for pets, living people or anyone who died less than a century ago (IAU NameExoWorlds).
  • Only five dwarf planets are official. The IAU recognizes Ceres, Pluto, Haumea, Makemake and Eris (NASA); Gonggong and Quaoar are candidates.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

What are some cool space names?

Real star names like Antares, Capella and Procyon are popular, as are moons like Ganymede and Enceladus and spacecraft like Curiosity and Ingenuity. For pets, try a pun like Catstronaut or Barkturus.

What are some galaxy names?

Our own galaxy is the Milky Way, a barred spiral. Other named galaxies include the Whirlpool, the Sombrero, the Black Eye and the Antennae, as well as the Magellanic Clouds, two small neighbor galaxies.

What are celestial names?

Celestial names come from the sky. They include star names like Aldebaran and Canopus, constellations like Auriga and Cepheus, and astronomy words like Parsec, Perihelion and Lodestar.

What names mean sky or space?

Antariksh and Vyom mean space or sky in Sanskrit, and Gagan means sky. In Turkish, Sema and Asuman mean sky, Göksel means heavenly and Gökhan means king of the sky.

How do stars and planets get their names?

Many bright stars have old Arabic, Greek or Latin names. Today the International Astronomical Union approves official names for stars, planets, moons and dwarf planets, often following themes like myths or Shakespeare's characters.

Can you buy a star name?

Not an official one. Companies sell certificates, but the International Astronomical Union's star-name group does not recognize star names that have been bought or sold, and new official names cannot honor pets or people.

What are the most popular space baby names?

For girls, Aurora led in 2025 at No. 15 in the US, followed by Luna (No. 27) and Nova (No. 46). For boys, Leo, also a constellation, was No. 19, and Atlas reached No. 75, its best rank ever.

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