Baby Names That Mean Moon

Lunar names sit in a quieter aesthetic than sun-names — softer, more contemplative, often borrowed from mythology rather than translated literally.

Moon names ask less of a child than sun names do — they make space, rather than demand attention.
— Editor’s note

Curated picks

Luna girl
Latin for moon. The breakout name of the 2020s and the standard against which other lunar names are measured.
Selene girl
Greek moon goddess. More dramatic than Luna, never overused.
Kamaria girl
Swahili “moonlight.” Distinctive, lyrical, and rare in the US.
Hilal neutral
Arabic for the new crescent moon. Genuinely unisex.
Mahina girl
Hawaiian for moon. Three open syllables, instantly recognisable.
Indu neutral
Sanskrit for moon. Short, gentle, and functions across genders.
Artemis neutral
Greek goddess of the moon and the hunt. Increasingly chosen as a girls’ name.
Tsuki girl
Japanese 月 — moon. Two crisp syllables, beautiful in writing.
Ayla girl
Turkish “moonlight.” Familiar sound, quiet meaning.
Cynthia girl
Greek epithet of Artemis, “of Mount Cynthus.” The classical name with a moon backstory.

The mythology cluster — moon goddesses with names still in use today.

Crescent imagery dominates this branch — lunar phases more than the moon itself.

Some of the most evocative moon-names come from Japanese, Hawaiian, and Sanskrit.

What is a unisex name meaning moon?

Hilal (Arabic), Indu (Sanskrit), and Artemis (Greek) all work cleanly across genders.

What is the most popular baby name meaning moon?

Luna — by a wide margin. It entered the US top 50 in 2021 and has held steady since.

What is a rare boy name meaning moon?

Hilal and Indu are the most usable. Both stay well outside the top 1000 in English-speaking countries.