Choosing a baby name is an important decision for parents. Many parents look for names that have beautiful meanings, hoping the meaning will reflect the child’s personality or values. Names that mean “light” are popular choices, as they evoke brightness, goodness, hope and positivity.
There are many lovely names from cultures around the world that mean or are related to light. In this article, we’ll explore names for girls and boys that have meanings connected to light, ray, sun, moon, candle and other luminous concepts. We’ll look at the name meanings and origins and provide name suggestions in the following categories:
Girl names that mean light
Girl names with light meanings often refer to the sun, moon, stars, fire, and brightness. Here are some beautiful options:
- Alina – The Slavic name Alina means “bright, beautiful”.
- Ayla – The Turkish name Ayla means “moonlight”.
- Dawn – The English word name Dawn evokes sunrise.
- Elena – The Spanish and Italian form of Helen, Elena means “bright, shining light”.
- Eliora – A Hebrew name meaning “the Lord is my light”.
- Lucy – Derived from Latin lux meaning “light”.
- Nora – An Irish name meaning “light”.
- Oriana – An Italian and Latin name meaning “dawn” or “golden”.
- Phoebe – A Greek mythological name meaning “bright, pure”.
- Rory – From the Irish name Ruaidhri, meaning “red” and associated with the rising sun.
- Soleil – The French word for sun.
- Stella – From Latin for “star”.
Boy names that mean light
Boy names with light meanings include references to the sun, dawn, ray, lamp and candlelight. Here are some top choices:
- Apollo – In Greek mythology, Apollo is the god of sun and light.
- Arun – An Indian name meaning “dawn”.
- Cyrus – From the Persian for “sun”.
- Dawn – Used for boys as well as girls.
- Kiran – A Hindi name meaning “ray of light”.
- Lucian – From the Latin lux meaning “light”.
- Ori – A Hebrew name meaning “my light”.
- Ray – The English word name Ray evokes sunrays.
- Samir – An Arabic name meaning “companion in evening conversation” referring to the evening light.
- Shams – An Arabic name that means “sun”.
- Urian – A Greek name meaning “heavenly light”.
Gender neutral names meaning light
Some light names work well for boys or girls. Here are some top gender neutral options:
- Dawn
- Lucian
- Lucy
- Lux
- Ray
- Rory
- Sunny
Names meaning sun
Names that literally mean “sun” or are related to sun gods make distinctive light-inspired names. Options include:
- Apollo – Greek sun god
- Arun – Indian for “sun”
- Helios – Greek sun god
- Sol – Latin for “sun”
- Soleil – French for “sun”
- Surya – Hindu god of the sun
Names meaning moon
The moon is also a symbol of light. Names associated with the moon include:
- Ayla – Turkish for “moonlight”
- Luna – Latin for “moon”
- Mahina – Hawaiian for “moon”
- Moon – The English word
- Qamar – Arabic for “moon”
- Selene – Greek moon goddess
Names meaning star
Starry names with light meanings include:
- Astra – From the Greek for “star”
- Esther – Persian name meaning “star”
- Hester – An English form of Esther
- Star / Starla – The English word for star
- Stella – Latin for “star”
- Tara – A name of Hindi-Sanskrit origin meaning “star”
Names meaning candlelight or lamp
Names associated with gently flickering flames include:
- Candle – The English word referring to candlelight
- Lamp – The English word for a source of light
- Niran – A Thai name meaning “eternal light”
- Wira – A Malay name meaning “bright, shining”
- Zia – Arabic for “light, splendor”
- Zohar – Hebrew for “brightness, light”
Names meaning ray or beam
Ray-inspired names full of radiance include:
- Kiran – Hindi for “ray of light”
- Radiant – The English word as a name
- Rashmi – A Sanskrit name meaning “ray of light”
- Ray / Raymond – The English word for a beam of light
- Sunray – A word name referring to rays of sunshine
Names meaning bright or shining
Upbeat names denoting brightness include:
- Aina – A Chewa name meaning “bright”
- Akiko – A Japanese name meaning “bright child”
- Bertina – A German name meaning “bright”
- Birgitta – From an Old German name meaning “bright, shining light”
- Blaze – A fiery English word name meaning “flame, blaze”
- Brighid – From the Irish goddess of fire
- Dawn – Meaning daybreak in English
- Elena – A Spanish and Italian name meaning “shining light”
- Lucia – The Italian form of Lucy meaning “light”
- Luminosa – An Italian name meaning “shining, bright”
- Minh – A Vietnamese name meaning “bright”
- Uriel – A Hebrew name meaning “God is my light”
- Zia – An Arabic girls’ name meaning “light, brilliance”
Names with light meanings in other cultures
Light names come from a range of cultural and language backgrounds. Here are some more examples:
- Aditi – A Hindu mythological name meaning “the mother of light”
- Alva – A Swedish name meaning “white, light”
- Eele – An Estonian name meaning “light, hope”
- Eleonora – A variation of Eleanor from Greek meaning “light”
- Ellie – A nickname for Eleanor and other names meaning “shining light”
- Eloise – From the Old German for “healthy, light”
- Iliana – The feminine form of Ilya, from Greek meaning “light”
- Ilona – A Hungarian version of Helen meaning “light”
- Lesedi – A South African name meaning “light”
- Lucine – An Armenian name meaning “moonlight”
- Nahara – A Native American Zuni name meaning “shining”
- Natalia – The Latinate form of Natalie meaning “birthday of light, Christmas day”
- Nuru – A Swahili name meaning “born at daylight”
- Orla – An Irish name meaning “golden princess”, related to gold light
- Thea – From the Greek meaning “goddess, light”
- Ziya – A unisex Turkish name meaning “light, brilliance, luminosity”
Conclusion
There are so many lovely names from cultures around the world that capture the essence of light. From bright and radiant choices like Lucy, Dawn and Ray to mystical moon names like Luna and celestial star names like Stella, parents have many options. Light-inspired names are a great way to bring a cheerful, uplifting meaning to a baby’s life.