Names that mean moon
This list groups names by the literal gloss at the start of each meaning, not the cultural notes that follow. Closely related meanings are gathered under moon. Tap any name for its story, or grow a tree and see which of them belong in your family.
Chantrea Khmer · the moon, moonlight; from Sanskrit chandra
Wulandari Indonesian · moonlight
Selene Greek · moon, moon goddess
Nguyet Vietnamese · moon; written Nguyệt in Vietnamese. A grandparent-generation classic among Vietnamese Americans, nearly always spelled without diacritics in the US; the ng- opening (roughly nwyet) is the sound English speakers stumble on, so families often set it as a middle name beside an easier first
Wulan Indonesian · moon
Bulan Indonesian · moon
Candra Indonesian · moon
Chandra Sanskrit · moon; part of the name of Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, astrophysicist and Nobel laureate known for the Chandrasekhar limit
Lusine Armenian · moon
Chan Khmer · moon; from Sanskrit chandra. Equally common as a family name, and since Khmer order puts the family name first, US refugee paperwork sometimes turned Chan family names into American first names
Aylin Turkish · moon halo, of the moon
Kiana Hawaiian · divine, moon goddess
Ayla Turkish · traditionally "halo, moonlight"
Chandrika Sinhala · moonlight (Sanskrit); carried by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga onto the world stage, a mid-century classic
Yue Chinese · moon (月)
Miray Turkish · moon halo
Sengchanh Lao · moonlight (seng = light + chanh = moon)
Mahsa Persian · like the moon
Vennila Tamil · the bright full moon (ven, white + nila, moon); pure Tamil, a favorite of film lyricists
Mahnaz Persian · the moon's grace (mah, 'moon', plus naz, 'charm')
Halo Greek · ring of light around the sun or moon
Cynthia Greek · from Greek Kynthia, 'woman from Cynthus,' an epithet of Artemis; associated with the moon goddess but not literally meaning 'moon goddess'
Selena Greek · "moon goddess"
Yuzuki Japanese · gentle moon
Mahnoor Urdu · light of the moon, joining Persian mah (moon) to Arabic noor (light); this kind of Persian-Arabic compound is everyday naming in Pakistan and nearly unheard of in the Arab world, making Mahnoor one of the clearest distinctly South Asian Muslim names there is
Sanda Burmese · moon, from Pali canda (စန္ဒာ)
Salena Modern American · a respelling of Selena, from Greek Selene, goddess of the moon
Sanduni Sinhala · of the moon (Sinhala sandu, moon, from Sanskrit chandra); a 1990s-2000s favorite often paired in families with sun names, a Sanduni sister to a Hiruni
Selina Greek · variant of Selene, the moon
Hang Vietnamese · from Hằng Nga, the goddess of the moon; written Hằng
Chanthavy Lao · of the moon (chan, from Sanskrit chandra); a classic Lao girls' name
Junu Nepali · usually linked to Nepali jun, the moon; a soft everyday girls' name of Nepal's 1980s and 90s cohort
Khamari African American · modern coinage, possibly rooted in 'qamar,' moon
Douangchanh Lao · the orb of the moon, the full moon (douang = orb, disc + chanh = moon)
Luna Latin · "the moon," and the Roman goddess who drove its chariot across the night sky; centuries of use in Spanish- and Italian-speaking families, then a spectacular 2010s ascent across languages. The signature name of the celestial wave
Sashanka Bengali · the moon, literally "hare-marked," from the hare-shaped pattern traditionally seen on the moon's face
Chanda Uncertain · Sanskrit, from chandra, moon, an epithet of the goddess Durga; American use since the 1970s may be an independent coinage, not direct borrowing.
Mehwish Urdu · moon-like, lovely as the moon (Persian mahvash); a Perso-Urdu name of the Pakistani showbiz generation, unknown in Arabic naming
Diann Modern American · A phonetic respelling of Diane, the French form of Diana, the Roman goddess of the moon and hunt.
Rakesh Sanskrit · lord of the full moon
Kamaria Swahili · traditionally 'like the moon' (from Arabic qamar)
Subhrangshu Bengali · white rays, a poetic epithet for the moon (shubhra, white/pure + angshu, ray)
Deann Modern American · mid-century American respelling of Deanna or Diane, ultimately from Latin Diana, moon goddess.
Celina Greek · variant of Selena, traditionally associated with 'moon'
Yayoi Japanese · Japanese name for the old third lunar month, when trees and grasses grow ever more lush; famously borne by Yayoi Kusama, the polka-dot and infinity-room artist.
Anura Sinhala · from Anuradha, the lunar mansion of Vedic astronomy that also named the ancient capital Anuradhapura; a mid-century man's name kept in the news by Sri Lankan presidents and politicians
Vennela Telugu · moonlight. A native Telugu word, not Sanskrit, which is exactly its appeal: in a naming culture where most given names are Sanskrit, Vennela is one of the few beloved girls' names that is Telugu to the root, kept warm by decades of film songs and a steady favorite of parents who want the language itself in the name
Tharindu Sinhala · the moon (a poetic Sinhala word built on Sanskrit indu, moon); a 1990s-2000s cohort name
Dian Latin · An archaic poetic short form of Diana, the Roman goddess of the moon and the hunt, used this way by Shakespeare
Ilkay Turkish · first moon (İlkay)
Celena Modern American · a modern American respelling of Selena or Celina, of disputed root: possibly Greek Selene, the moon goddess, possibly Latin caelum, heavenly
Itzel Native-American · Mayan; possibly from itz "dew, nectar", or a form of the goddess Ixchel
Aleyna Turkish · modern Turkish coinage, often glossed as 'moon-faced' or 'beautiful'
Premchand Hindi and Sanskrit · Hindi for moon of love; famously borne by Premchand, the new name he took after British censors banned and burned his first book.
Endymion Greek · the beautiful shepherd loved eternally by the moon goddess Selene
Which of these fits YOUR family? →