Names that mean star
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 star. Tap any name for its story, or grow a tree and see which of them belong in your family.
Svetlana Russian · star, light
Xing Chinese · star (星)
Tala Filipino · star, specifically the guiding morning star
Esther Persian · star
Kartika Indonesian · star
Estelle French · star
Setareh Persian · star
Sitara Urdu · star
Hoku Hawaiian · star
Seren Welsh · star
Dara Khmer · star; from Sanskrit tara. A true unisex classic and a great accidental crossover: the same spelling exists as an Irish name and a Persian one, so Cambodian American kids rarely have to explain it twice
Dao Thai · star
Fetu Samoan · star
Bituin Filipino · star
Estrella Spanish · star, from Latin stella
Roxanne Persian · little star, radiant
Lucero Spanish · morning star, bright light
Estella Latin · from 'stella', meaning 'star'
Roxie Persian · traditionally little star, radiant
Tariq Arabic · morning star, one who knocks
Sing-Chi Cantonese · stars racing by (星馳); famously borne by Stephen Chow, comedy filmmaker and star (Kung Fu Hustle, Shaolin Soccer), drawn from Tang poet Wang Bo's prose
Starr English · variant spelling of "star"
Danica Slavic · morning star
Jhilmil Bengali · sparkle, glitter, twinkle, especially the shimmer of light on water or stars
Dhruv Sanskrit · fixed, immovable (the pole star in Hindu myth)
Danika Slavic · means 'morning star'
Hester Persian · variant of Esther, traditionally 'star'
Citlali Nahuatl · star (Nahuatl citlalli); a heritage name growing among families honoring Indigenous Mexican roots
Swathi Telugu · the star Svati; in classical lore a raindrop that falls into an oyster under this star becomes a pearl. A defining name for Telugu women born in the 1980s and 1990s (a leading Telugu weekly is even called Swathi), so today it reads as a mother-generation name rather than a baby name
Moira Irish · star of the sea, variant of Maura/Mary; a graceful classic
Estell Latin · a spelling variant of Estelle, from Old French estelle, star, ultimately Latin stella
Estela Spanish · Spanish form of Estelle, Latin for 'star'
Starla English · modern coinage based on 'star'
Xitlali Native-American · from Nahuatl 'citlali,' meaning 'star'
Ryusei Japanese · dragon star, or shooting star depending on the kanji chosen
Essie Persian · traditionally star (diminutive of Esther)
Ester Scandinavian · star (Scandinavian spelling of Esther; popular in Denmark and Norway)
Maura Irish · traditionally star of the sea, Irish form of Mary
Sterling English · "little star" or "of high quality"
Darika Thai · star (a literary Sanskrit-derived word, beside the everyday dao)
Byeol Korean · star (별), a native Korean word name with no hanja spelling, chosen for the same identity-marker reasons as Areum and Haneul
Esta Uncertain · likely a short form of Esther (Persian/Hebrew, disputed origin, often glossed as star) or French Estelle, star
Roxanna Persian · little star, dawn (variant of Roxana)
Tara Sanskrit · star (shares spelling with the Irish/English name Tara; a favorite dual-culture pick)
Tharushi Sinhala · built on Sinhala tharu, stars (from Sanskrit tara); a starry 2000s-2010s coinage
Stella Latin · "star," the word itself, set alight as a name in Renaissance sonnets; a favorite of the early 1900s reborn on the celestial wave. Bright, brief, and impossible to misspell
Sengdao Lao · starlight (seng = light + dao = star, the same dao Thai families use)
Roxana Persian · dawn, little star (Persian princess who married Alexander the Great)
Kavin Tamil · beauty, grace (a pure Tamil word attested in Sangam poetry, not from Sanskrit). The quiet star of Tamil-American naming: it is a real classical word that happens to sound exactly like Kevin, so a boy can be Kavin at the temple and no one at school ever stumbles; noticeably rising with young Tamil parents in the US and in Tamil Nadu alike
Tarik Arabic · traditionally "morning star," linked to the historical figure Tariq ibn Ziyad
Swati Sanskrit · the star Arcturus in Indian astronomy
Marielle French · French blend of Marie and Elle, related to Maria, traditionally 'star of the sea'
Arundhati Sanskrit · name of a revered star and sage's wife in Hindu tradition, associated with steadfastness; famously borne by Arundhati Roy, author of The God of Small Things
Roksana Polish · traditionally linked to 'little star' (Polish form of Roxana)
Anamaria Spanish · combination of Ana and Maria, traditionally 'grace' and 'star of the sea'
Karthik Tamil · the everyday short form of Karthikeyan, the god Murugan as lord of the Krittika stars. The th spelling is the Tamil signature (North Indian families write Kartik); ubiquitous for Tamil boys born in the 1980s and 1990s from Chennai to Singapore and Malaysia, and one of the first names Tamil-American parents reach for because every English speaker can say it
Roxy Persian · diminutive of Roxanne, traditionally 'dawn' or 'bright star'
Anakin English · invented name created by George Lucas for Star Wars
Savithri Telugu · Sanskrit Savitri, the wife whose devotion outwitted death in the Mahabharata legend, tied to the Gayatri hymn. For Telugu families it is above all the actress Savitri, the greatest star of 1950s-60s Telugu cinema; the 2018 biopic Mahanati made her a heroine again and turned this grandmother-era name into a genuine vintage-revival candidate
Nani Telugu · a native Telugu pet name for a little boy, sometimes kept for life, as with the star Nani; usually a home name rather than the certificate name
Pola Polish · diminutive of Apolonia. Silent-film star Pola Negri, born Apolonia Chałupiec, carried the diminutive to Hollywood as Polonia's first global celebrity, and today's Polish parents have made Pola a national favorite again, a home name promoted to the birth certificate the way Zosia and Hania were; four letters that work in any language.
Kylo English · modern invented name popularized by the Star Wars character Kylo Ren; no established prior meaning
Nithin Telugu · grounded in right conduct (traditionally from Sanskrit niti, moral guidance). The th spelling is the Telugu badge: the same name is Nitin in Mumbai and Nithin in Hyderabad, as with the Telugu star Nithiin, and US school rosters in Telugu-heavy districts show the th form almost exclusively
Which of these fits YOUR family? →