Babies bring so much light into our lives. They’re pure, full of joy, and they’ve got giggles for days. Plus, 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” right now.
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 let’s let in the light!
Boy names that mean “light”
- Abner: A Hebrew name meaning “father of light”
- Anwar: This Arabic name means “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
- Chand: This Hindi name means “moon, light”
- Epifanio: A Spanish name, this means “bringing light”
- Ivar: Meaning “light,” this name has Hebrew origins
- Jomei: This Japanese name means “spread light”
- Kiran: A Hindi name, this means “beam of light”
- Lucian: Of Latin origins, this name means “light”
- Ner: Meaning “candle or light,” this name has Hebrew roots
- Oran: With Aramaic or Gaelic roots, this means “light”
- Pradeep: This Hindi name means “light”
- Uri: Meaning “my light,” this name has Hebrew origins
- Zain: A Hindi name, this means “godly light”
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
- Dawn: Of Old English origins, this name refers to the first appearance of light
- Ellen: This Greek name means “sun, ray, shining light”
- Ilene: Variation of a Greek name meaning “light”
- Ilona: A Hungarian name, this means “light”
- Leora: This Greek name means “compassion, light”
- Lucy: Meaning “light,” this name has Latin origins
- Luz: A Spanish name, this means “light”
- Mahina: This Hawaiian name means “moonlight”
- Meira: Meaning “light,” this name has Hebrew roots
- Nura: An Arabic name, this means “light”
- Oralee: Meaning “my light,” this name has Hebrew origins
- Phoebe: From Greek mythology, this name means “brilliant, radiant”
- Sunny: Can’t argue with this one! Also works for babies of any gender
- Thea: She was the Greek goddess of light
- Zia: This Arabic name means “light, splendor”
- Ziv: Meaning “radiance or light of God,” this name has Hebrew roots
Light girl names that mean sunlight, starlight, or fire
- Aelia: A name of Roman origin, this light-filled baby name means “sun”
- Aster: This brilliant baby name means “star”—and works for boys as well as girls
- Astra: This elegant Latin name means “of the stars”
- Danica: Danica is a Slavic name that means “morning star” (AKA, the sun)
- Estelle/Estella: No surprise, this Latin baby name means “stars”
- Esther: A Biblical baby name favorite, Esther is actually Persian in origin and means “star”
- Hester: Most famous as the name of the heroine of the classic The Scarlet Letter, Hester is a variation on Esther, which also 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 sunny baby name of Hindi origin
- Roxanne: This light name is associated with the romantic Cyrano de Bergerac heroine 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”
Light boy names that mean sunlight, starlight, or fire
- Aarush: This poetic Indian baby name means “first rays of the sun.”
- Anatole: A classic Greek name, Anatole means “rising sun”
- Blaze: A fiery unisex baby name, Blaze is a word name associated with bonfires
- Cyrus: A Latin name that means “sun”
- Egan: A cute little Irish name, Egan means “little fire,” and is a nice alternative to Aidan
- Hayden: This Celtic baby name means “fire”
- Helios: This sunny baby name is Spanish in origin
- Izar: This Basque baby name means “star,” and could be a unisex option
- Kir: A Persian name meaning “sun”
- Namid: This indigenous baby name has a lyrical meaning—”star dancer”
- Polaris: Give your baby a name that means “North Star”
- Samson: This Biblical baby name is connected with the super-strong hero—it also means “sun”
- Tyson: A bright English 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 or your last name, you’re likely to find a luminous idea among the names on this list. And hey, if you’re nervous about naming your kid Ziv, you can always make it a middle name — or balance it out with a classic middle name (Ziv Christopher?). 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:
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