optional screen reader
by
Monica Beyer, Rebecca Rakowitz
Babies bring so much light into our lives. They’re wholesome, full of joy, and they’ve got giggles for days. And so every baby deserves a brilliant name that will inspire their sunlit paths in life, encouraging them to shine on — even in moments when the world feels wrapped in darkness.
That’s why we’re loving all kinds of baby names that mean “light.” We’ve rounded up some of our favorites, including unique baby names like Ner and Nura, as well as more familiar classic names like Lucy and Dawn. And some of these names are likely to surprise you. For example, did you know Ellen and Phoebe are both Greek names that mean “light”?
We’ve also included lists of baby names meaning light that are a little further afield — think baby names associated with sunshine, starlight, or fire.
The radiant baby names below have origins that span centuries, cultures, and languages, with roots in Hindi, Hebrew, Greek, Arabic, Latin, Japanese, Gaelic, Old English, Spanish, Hungarian, Hawaiian, and more. There’s something for every baby here, so without further ado, it’s time to let in the light!
Boy names that mean “light”
- Abner: A Hebrew name meaning “father of light”
- Anwar: This Arabic name means “beams of light”
- Apollo: From Greek mythology, Apollo was the god of light, the sun, music, and poetry
- Beacon: Meaning “signal light,” this name has Old English roots
- Bodhi: In Sanskrit, this name means “enlightenment”
- Chand: This Hindi name means “shining moon”
- Epifanio: This Spanish name means “bringing light”
- Jomei: This Japanese name means “spread light”
- Kiran: A Hindi name, this means “ray of light” or “beam of light”
- Lucian: With Latin, French, and American backgrounds, this name means “light” or “illumination”
- Lux: This Latin name also means “light”
- Ner: Meaning “candle” or “light,” this name has Hebrew roots
- Pradeep: This Hindi name means “light,” “lantern,” “lamp,” or “shine”
- Uri: Meaning “my light,” this name has biblical origins
Girl names that mean “light”
- Alina: A Greek name, this means “light”
- Aonani: This Hawaiian name means “beautiful light”
- Ciana: Meaning “light,” this name has Italian roots
- Chiara: This Italian name also means “light.” Pronounced “key-ara” and could also be spelled Kiara.
- Claire: This name’s Latin roots mean “clear” or “bright”
- Dawn: Of Old English origins, this name refers to the first appearance of light
- Ellen: This Greek name means “sun,” “ray, or “shining light”
- Ilona: A Hungarian and Greek name that means “light”
- Leora: This name has Greek, Israeli, Italian, and American ties and means “shining light”
- Lucy: Meaning “light,” this name has Latin origins
- Luz: A Spanish name, this means “brings light”
- Mahina: This Hawaiian name means “moonlight”
- Meira: Meaning “light,” this name has Hebrew roots
- Nura: An Arabic name meaning “light”
- Oralee: Meaning “my light,” this name has Hebrew origins
- Phoebe: From Greek mythology, this name means “brilliant” or “radiant”
- Sunny: Can’t argue with this gender-neutral one!
- Thea: She was the Greek goddess of light and mother of the sun, moon, and dawn
- Zia: This Arabic name means “light, splendor”
- Ziv: Meaning “radiant,” this name has Hebrew roots
Girl names that mean sunlight, starlight, or fire
- Aelia: This Latin, light-filled baby name means “sun”
- Aster: This brilliant, gender-neutral baby name means “star”
- Astra: This elegant Latin name means “of the stars”
- Danica: Danica is a Slavic name that means “morning star”
- Estelle/Estella: This Latin baby name means “star”
- Esther: This Biblical baby name has Persian origins and means “star”
- Hester: Perhaps most famous as the name of the heroine of the classicThe Scarlet Letter,the Greek name means “evening star”
- Hestia: The Greek goddess of the hearth makes a fiery baby name pick
- Hoshi: This Japanese girl’s name means “star”
- Idalia: This Greek baby name means “behold the sun”
- Kalinda: A Hindi and Sanskrit name that means “sun”
- Roxanne: This multicultural name means “dawn”
- Soleil: A pretty (and pretty popular) French name, Soleil means “sun”
- Stellaluna: This pretty baby name literally means “stars and moon”
- Svetlana: This classic Russian baby name means “luminescent”
Boy names that mean sunlight, starlight, or fire
- Aarush: This poetic Indian baby name means “first rays of the sun”
- Aidan: This baby name has Irish, Celtic, Gaelic, and American ties and means “fire”
- Anatole: A classic Greek name, Anatole means “rising sun”
- Blaze: This fiery gender-neutral pick is often associated with bonfires
- Cyrus: A Latin name that means “sun”
- Egan: This Irish moniker means “fiery”
- Hayden: This Celtic baby name means “fire”
- Helios: As in, the Greek God of the sun
- Izar: This Spanish baby name means “star”
- Namid: This Native American baby name means”star dancer”
- Polaris: A guiding moniker that means “North Star”
- Samson: This baby name is connected with the biblical hero and also means “bright sun”
- Tyson: A bright name that means “firebrand”
Whether you’re more interested in choosing a baby name based on its meaning or are just obsessed with how one of these flows with a potential middle name, you’re likely to find a luminous idea among the names on this list. Check your family tree for contenders too. And shine on, baby.
A version of this article was originally published in June 2013.
Looking for more baby name inspiration? Check out these unique celebrity baby names:
optional screen reader
Leave a Comment
Comments are closed.
More Stories from Parenting
Parenting News
by Delilah Gray
Parenting News
by Delilah Gray
Parenting News
by Delilah Gray
Parenting News
by Delilah Gray
Parenting News
Meghan Markle’s Cooking Video Just Shared What Daughter Lilibet’s Encouraging Voice SoundsLike
by Delilah Gray
