These are real given names whose meaning is the moon, moonlight, the full moon or the crescent moon, from Latin, Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Sanskrit, Japanese, Hawaiian and more. Every meaning has been checked against a cited source, mostly Behind the Name and Wiktionary, and the England and Wales rank shown beside a name comes from the ONS baby name figures.
Plenty of names are sold as moon names when they aren't. Diana and Phoebe belonged to moon goddesses but their names mean something else, and Celine has nothing to do with the moon at all. We've kept a few of these in, marked as uncertain, so you can see why.
By Rich · 13 November 2026 · 68 names · 24 with their real rank in England and Wales · every meaning checked against the sources below
Checked The meaning is recorded in the sources below.
Disputed The meaning is disputed or popular but unproven.
the meaning depends on the character: 月 is moon, 越 is not
No names match. Try a different letter or origin.
Turkish moon names and the word ay
A lot of the names here come from Turkish and the neighbouring languages, where ay means 'moon'. It turns up at the start (Aylin, Aysel, Ayhan) and at the end (Nuray, Berkay, Koray), joined to words for light, purity, crowns and luck. If you like the sound, you can read most of these names by spotting the ay.
One catch: Ayla is two different names. The Turkish one means 'moonlight' or halo; the Hebrew one means 'oak tree'. Both are used in England and Wales, so if the meaning matters to you, say which one you mean.
Spelling and pronunciation
Several of these names arrive through other alphabets, so there's more than one way to write them. Chandra is also Candra, and Qamar is also Kamar. Pick the spelling that's established in the family or community the name comes from, rather than one that just looks good in English.
Japanese names such as Mitsuki and Tsukiko only mean 'moon' when they're written with the moon kanji 月. The same sounds can be written with other characters and mean something else entirely.
Pairing a moon name with a surname
Short names like Luna, Hala and Qamar sit well with long surnames, while longer ones like Chandrashekhar or Purnima suit a short surname. Watch the join: Luna Andrews runs the two A sounds together, and Selene Lee doubles the 'ee' sound. Saying the full name aloud a few times is still the best test.
Names That Mean 'Star': Over 60 real names that mean 'star', from Stella, Estelle and Seren to Najm and Tara, with sourced meanings and the 'star' names that are myths.
Names That Mean 'Night': Real names that mean 'night', 'evening' or 'darkness', from Layla and Nyx to Kieran and Vesper, with sourced meanings and the 'night' names that are myths.
Names That Mean 'Light': Over 70 real names that mean 'light', 'lamp' or 'brightness', from Lucy and Nur to Uriel and Kiran, with every meaning checked against a cited source.
Names That Mean 'Sun': Over 60 real names that mean 'sun' or 'sunshine', from Soleil, Sunniva and Heulwen to Samson, Ravi and Shams, with every meaning checked and sourced.
Naming Fictional Characters: How Writers Have Done It (Naming Library): How Dickens, Rowling and Tolkien named characters: telling names, notebooks of collected names, Norse dwarf names, and why to avoid real people's names.
Frequently Asked Questions
+What girl names mean 'moon'?
Luna (Latin) and Selene (Greek) are the best known. Others include Aylin, Aysel and Aynur (Turkish), Mahsa and Mahtab (Persian), Mahina (Hawaiian), Purnima (Sanskrit, 'full moon') and Levana (Hebrew).
+What boy names mean 'moon'?
Badr means full moon and Hilal crescent moon in Arabic. Ayhan, Koray and Kutay are Turkish names built on ay, 'moon', and Rakesh means 'lord of the full moon' in Sanskrit. Chandra and Qamar, 'moon' itself, are used for boys and girls.
+What name means 'moon' in Japanese?
Names written with the kanji 月 (tsuki, moon), such as Tsukiko ('moon child') and Mitsuki ('beautiful moon'). The same names can be written with other kanji, so the meaning depends on the characters chosen.