100+ Names That Mean Star for Girls and Boys (2026)

This list has more than 100 names that mean star, sorted into girl, boy and unisex sections, then names taken from real stars and constellations, and a last group of star deities. Each entry gives the origin language and the accepted meaning, and where the etymology is disputed the entry says so.

How to use this list

Star is one of the most literal meanings in naming. Many languages simply use their word for star as a given name: Tara in Sanskrit, Hoshi in Japanese, Najma in Arabic, Yildiz in Turkish, Seren in Welsh. Those are the safest picks if the meaning matters to you. Esther and Sterling are regularly listed as star names on shakier ground, and both entries say why. Astrid is left out entirely, because it does not mean star (see the FAQ).

If none of these fit, the Baby Name Generator can take a meaning like "star" and a style you like and suggest names with the origin attached. For other themes, start with the hub of more names by meaning.

Girl names that mean star

The clearest literal choices for girls are Stella, Estelle, Tara, Najma, Hoshiko and Zvezdana. Esther is famous but disputed, so read its note.

Latin and Romance

Stella — Latin, “star”; popularised by Philip Sidney’s Astrophel and Stella
Estelle — French, from Latin stella, “star”
Estella — Spanish and Italian form of Estelle, “star”
Estrella — Spanish, “star”
Estela — Spanish and Portuguese, “star”
Stellina — Italian, “little star”
Estrellita — Spanish, “little star”
Maristela — Portuguese, from Stella Maris, “star of the sea”, a title of the Virgin Mary
Stellan — Swedish; often listed for girls and boys as “star”, but more likely from stilla, “calm”, so debated
Sidra — often glossed from Latin sidus, “star, constellation”; the link is modern, so debated
Astra — Latin, “stars”, from Greek astron
Astraea — Greek, “starry one”, the goddess of justice who became Virgo
Asteria — Greek, “of the stars”, a Titan goddess of falling stars
Aster — Greek, “star”; also the star-shaped flower

Hebrew, Persian and Arabic

Esther — usually traced to Persian stâra, “star”; some scholars link it to the goddess Ishtar instead, so debated
Hester — English form of Esther; same debated meaning
Estera — Polish and Romanian form of Esther; same debated meaning
Setareh — Persian, “star”
Sitara — Urdu and Persian, “star”
Najma — Arabic, “star”
Kawkab — Arabic, “star, planet”
Thurayya — Arabic name of the Pleiades star cluster
Soraya — Persian form of Thurayya, the Pleiades
Kochava — Hebrew, “star”

Sanskrit and South Asian

Tara — Sanskrit, “star”; also a Buddhist goddess
Taraka — Sanskrit, “star”
Dhruvi — Sanskrit, feminine of Dhruv, the Pole Star
Swati — Sanskrit, the star Arcturus as a lunar mansion
Rohini — Sanskrit, “red one”, the star Aldebaran
Revati — Sanskrit, a lunar mansion in Pisces
Anuradha — Sanskrit, a lunar mansion in Scorpius
Chitra — Sanskrit, “bright”, the star Spica
Tarini — Sanskrit, usually “saviour”; sometimes glossed as star, so debated

East Asian and Pacific

Hoshi — Japanese 星, “star”
Hoshiko — Japanese 星子, “star child”
Seira — Japanese, often written 星良, “star” plus “good”; the meaning depends on the kanji
Xing — Chinese 星, “star”
Byeol — Korean, “star”, a native word
Hanbyeol — Korean, “one great star”
Sao — Vietnamese, “star”
Hokulani — Hawaiian, “star in the heavens”

Slavic, Baltic, Turkic and Celtic

Zvezdana — Serbian and Croatian, “star”
Zvezda — Russian and Bulgarian, “star”
Danica — Serbian and Croatian, “morning star”; also the personified morning star of Slavic folklore
Zvaigzne — Latvian, “star”
Yildiz — Turkish, “star”
Yulduz — Uzbek, “star”
Ayyildiz — Turkish, “moon and star”
Csilla — Hungarian, coined from csillag, “star”, by the poet Mihály Vörösmarty
Seren — Welsh, “star”
Nyota — Swahili, “star”
Citlali — Nahuatl, “star”; popular in Mexico

Boy names that mean star

Boys have fewer direct star words in common use, so this section leans on the Pole Star, the morning and evening stars and Greek star words.

Dhruv — Sanskrit, “the Pole Star”, from a prince who became it
Dhruva — Sanskrit, same as Dhruv
Tarak — Sanskrit, “star, protector”
Najm — Arabic, “star”
Najmuddin — Arabic, “star of the faith”
Kokab — Hebrew, “star”
Sterling — English; “little star” is the popular gloss, but it more likely comes from the silver penny, so debated
Astro — Greek astron, “star”; modern
Asterion — Greek, “starry”, the Minotaur’s given name
Astraeus — Greek, “starry”, the Titan of the dusk and father of the stars
Hoshito — Japanese 星斗, “stars, the Dipper”
Hoshio — Japanese 星男, “star man”
Xingchen — Chinese 星辰, “stars”
Byeolha — Korean, “galaxy”, from byeol, “star”
Zvezdan — Serbian, masculine of Zvezdana, “star”
Yildizhan — Turkish, “star khan”
Lucifer — Latin, “light-bringer”, the morning star Venus
Phosphorus — Greek, “light-bringer”, the morning star
Hesperus — Greek, the evening star
Vesper — Latin, “evening star”
Sirius — Greek seirios, “glowing, scorching”, the brightest star in the night sky

Unisex names that mean star

Star — English, “star”
Starr — English surname form of Star
Hoku — Hawaiian, “star”, used for boys and girls
Nakshatra — Sanskrit, “star, lunar mansion”, used for either gender
Elen — Sindarin, Tolkien’s Elvish, “star”; also a Welsh name
Nova — Latin, “new”, for a star that suddenly brightens
Estel — Sindarin, “hope”; Aragorn’s childhood name, listed because it is so often misread as star

Names from real stars and constellations

These are star names in the astronomical sense. Most come from Arabic through medieval astronomy, so the name’s meaning describes the star’s position rather than the word star.

Vega — Arabic, from “the swooping eagle”; the brightest star in Lyra
Altair — Arabic, “the flying one”, from “the flying eagle”
Rigel — Arabic, “foot”, the foot of Orion
Betelgeuse — Arabic, usually read as “hand of the giant”; the original reading is debated
Aldebaran — Arabic, “the follower”, because it follows the Pleiades
Capella — Latin, “little she-goat”
Mira — Latin, “wonderful”, a variable star
Lyra — Greek, “lyre”, the constellation
Andromeda — Greek, “ruler of men”, the princess and the galaxy
Cassiopeia — Greek, the queen of the constellation; meaning uncertain
Carina — Latin, “keel”, the constellation
Maia — Greek, one of the Pleiades; “mother, nurse”
Electra — Greek, a Pleiad; “amber, shining”
Alcyone — Greek, brightest of the Pleiades; linked to the kingfisher
Merope — Greek, a Pleiad; meaning uncertain
Celaeno — Greek, a Pleiad; “dark”
Adhara — Arabic, “the virgins”, a star in Canis Major
Nashira — Arabic, “bearer of good news”, a star in Capricornus
Leo — Latin, “lion”, the constellation
Orion — Greek, the hunter; meaning uncertain
Atlas — Greek, the Titan whose daughters became the Pleiades; “to bear”
Draco — Latin, “dragon”, the constellation
Mizar — Arabic, “girdle, apron”, in the Big Dipper
Alcor — Arabic, “the faint one”, Mizar’s companion
Polaris — Latin, “of the pole”, the North Star
Antares — Greek, “rival of Ares”, because it looks as red as Mars
Deneb — Arabic, “tail”, the tail of the swan
Castor — Greek, the brighter-named twin of Gemini; the name itself means “beaver”
Pollux — Latin form of Polydeuces, the other Gemini twin

Star gods and goddesses

Nut — Egyptian sky goddess whose body carried the stars
Ishtar — Akkadian goddess of the morning and evening star
Inanna — Sumerian goddess associated with Venus
Citlalicue — Aztec goddess who created the stars, “star skirt”
Sopdet — Egyptian goddess of Sirius
Auseklis — Latvian god of the morning star
Zorya — Slavic goddesses of the morning and evening star

Frequently asked questions

What girl names mean star?

The clearest are Stella, Estelle, Estrella, Tara, Najma, Setareh, Sitara, Hoshi, Yildiz, Seren, Zvezdana and Citlali. Esther is the most famous, but whether it comes from the Persian word for star or from the goddess Ishtar is still argued.

What boy names mean star?

Dhruv (the Pole Star), Tarak, Najm, Astraeus, Zvezdan, Hoshio and Vesper are the direct ones. Sterling is usually listed as “little star”, but its likelier origin is the silver penny.

Does Astrid mean star?

No. Astrid is Old Norse Ástríðr, “divinely beautiful”. It turns up on star lists because it starts with Astr-, which looks like the Greek word astron, so it is left out of this list.

What name means shining star?

Hokulani (“star in the heavens”), Sirius (“glowing”), Chitra (“bright”, the star Spica) and Electra (“shining”) come closest. For names that mean shining without the star, see our list of names that mean light.

Are star names good for twins?

Castor and Pollux are the classic pair, and Maia and Electra work for sisters. For a sun and moon pairing, combine this list with names that mean moon and names that mean sun.