The solar eclipse passing over the United States Monday is a once in a lifetime event. What better occurrence to inspire a baby name?
Lucky for those looking to grow their family, the internet is full of out-of-this-world names perfect for the little bundles of joy entering the world.
Here are some of the best eclipse themed names we've found.
- Stella: The popular celestial themed name comes from Greece, BabyCenter.com said. The meaning in Greek is "star."
- Luna: Penelope Cruz, Chrissy Teigen and Ellen Pompeo have all named their little ones after the term for "moon." The name is ranked #32 on the Baby Center's most popular names of 2017.
- Aurora: Commonly known as the name of the princess in Disney's Sleeping Beauty, Aurora, is actually a Latin name meaning "dawn." The name sits at #45 for most popular 2017 names.
- Apollo: Apollo is one of the major figures in ancient Greek mythology. Known as the "Sun God," Apollo has become a popular name for children and NASA space travel alike. The name is still somewhat unique as it is ranked #521 on the Baby Center's most popular baby names for 2017.
- Ayla: NBC Today Show listed Ayla on their top picks for "Lunar" inspired names. According to Today, there are actually two origins for Ayla -- in Hebrew it means "oak tree" and in Turkish it means "moonlight." The name is ranked #183 on the Baby Center's most popular names for 2017.
- Surya: The name spurs from the east with roots in cultures like Hinduism, Indian, Indonesian and can be both for a boy or girl. Surya means "sun" in Sanskrit and is the name of the Hindu God of the sun.
- Selene/Selena: Selene is the Greek goddess of the moon. However, there's a big difference between the ending letter of a or e. According to Today, Selene is a subdued, grown-up while Selena is bright and energetic. The name Selene falls at #841 while Selena is #264 for 2017's most popular names.
- Nova: A nova is an astronomical event when, put simply, a star becomes extremely bright and then fades. "Novas originate in binary systems, where two stars orbit each other -- they occur when a white dwarf star becomes engorged with hydrogen fuel given to it by its companion star," Space.com said. The name is #100 on the list of 2017's most popular baby names for girls.
