Celestial names are having their longest moment in a century — and they earn it. The night sky supplies names that are universally pronounceable, mythologically rich, and impossible to make fun of (try mocking the moon). Luna's decade-long ascent opened the door for Nova, Orion, and Lyra.
The frontier picks: constellation names (Lyra, Vega, Altair) and moon-adjacent mythologies (Selene, Callisto) — recognizable to anyone who looks up, fresh to everyone who doesn't.
The list
- Luna — the moon — Roman incarnate
- Nova — the exploding new star
- Stella — the star
- Aurora — the dawn
- Orion — the hunter constellation
- Selene — the Greek moon goddess
- Estelle — the old-French star
- Celeste — heavenly
- Astra — of the stars
- Lyra — the harp constellation
- Vega — the brightest summer star
- Altair — the flying eagle star
- Draco — the dragon constellation
- Phoenix — the firebird constellation
- Comet — the visitor
- Gala — the milky way
- Cosmo — the ordered universe
- Astro — of the stars
- Star — the obvious
- Sky — the obvious, lovely
- Skye — the Hebridean island
- Zenith — the highest point
- Halley — the returning comet
- Cassiopeia — the vain queen in the sky
- Andromeda — the chained princess saved
- Callisto — the bear constellation
- Io — Jupiter's moon
- Elowen — the elm (celestial-adjacent Cornish)
- Sol — the sun — Spanish and Norse
- Helia — of the sun — Helios' daughter
Luna, Nova, Aurora, and Orion all have full profiles in our collections — etymologies, myths, and pairings included.