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Astronomy cat names

80 names

Astronomy cat names — Luna, Nova, Orion, Stella, Cosmo — are quietly some of the most popular cat names of the last ten years. There's a reason: they sound like names (most are short and end in a vowel), they carry real meaning, and they suit black cats and grey cats and white cats equally well. Luna alone has been a top-twenty cat name in most English-speaking countries for over a decade.

This collection draws from the moon and sun (Luna, Selene, Sol, Apollo, Helios), stars and star systems (Stella, Sirius, Vega, Polaris, Rigel, Altair), planets and dwarf planets (Mars, Mercury, Saturn, Neptune, Pluto), constellations and zodiac figures (Orion, Lyra, Andromeda, Leo, Phoenix), and broader cosmic vocabulary (Nova, Comet, Galaxy, Eclipse, Aurora).

Astronomy cat names suit cats whose colors evoke the night sky — black cats called Cosmo or Nyx, grey cats called Stella or Comet, white cats called Luna or Aurora. They also age well: a senior cat named Orion still sounds like Orion. Browse the list below for the full set with meanings and origins.

Adhara

Arabic

Maidens — second-brightest star in Canis Major

Aitken

Modern

The astronomer who catalogued thousands of binary stars

Aldebaran

Arabic

The follower — eye of Taurus

Algol

Arabic

The ghoul — eclipsing variable star in Perseus

Alsephina

Arabic

The ship — a bright star in Vela

Altair

Arabic

The flying eagle — bright star in Aquila

Andromeda

Greek

Princess of Greek myth, namesake of our nearest large galaxy

Antares

Greek

Rival of Mars — red supergiant in Scorpius

Antlia

Latin

The air pump — a faint southern constellation

Aquila

Latin

The eagle — northern constellation containing Altair

Ara

Latin

The altar — a southern constellation

Archer

Modern

For Sagittarius, the celestial archer

Arcturus

Greek

Guardian of the bear — fourth-brightest star in the night sky

Ariel

Hebrew

Lion of God — also a moon of Uranus

Aries

Greek

The ram — first zodiac constellation

Astra

Latin

Of the stars

Astraea

Greek

Goddess of innocence and justice, ascended to become Virgo

Ayla

Modern

Moonlight — also the heroine of Jean Auel's Clan of the Cave Bear

Bellatrix

Latin

Female warrior — bright blue star in Orion

Betelgeuse

Arabic

Red supergiant in Orion — "the giant's hand"

Canopus

Greek

Second-brightest star in the night sky

Capella

Latin

Little she-goat — brightest star in Auriga

Carina

Latin

The keel — a brilliant southern constellation

Cassiopeia

Greek

Vain queen of Greek myth, a constellation in the northern sky

Castor

Greek

One of the twin stars in Gemini

Celeste

Latin

Heavenly

Centaurus

Greek

The centaur — a large southern constellation

Charon

Greek

Pluto's largest moon, named for the ferryman of the dead

Chiron

Greek

The wise centaur of Greek myth — also a Saturn-crossing minor planet

Comet

Greek

Cosmic traveler

Cosmo

Greek

Of the cosmos

Cressida

Modern

A moon of Uranus

Deneb

Arabic

Tail — bright star in Cygnus, the Swan

Eclipse

Greek

When one celestial body crosses in front of another

Estelle

French

Star

Esther

Hebrew

Star — from the Persian root for Ishtar

Estrella

Spanish

Star

Fomalhaut

Arabic

Mouth of the fish — brightest star in Piscis Austrinus

Galileo

Italian

For the astronomer who first turned a telescope to the sky

Gemini

Latin

The twins — zodiac constellation

Gemma

Latin

Jewel — also a bright star in Corona Borealis

Halley

Modern

For Halley's Comet, returns every 76 years

Hydra

Greek

The water serpent — largest constellation in the sky

Jovian

Latin

Of Jupiter — the king-planet

Juno

Latin

Queen of the Roman gods — and one of the largest asteroids

Jupiter

Latin

King of the Roman gods, largest planet

Leo

Spanish

Lion — popular Spanish boy's name and the zodiac constellation

Libra

Latin

The scales — zodiac constellation

Lilith

Hebrew

A hypothesized dark second moon of Earth

Luna

Spanish

Moon — also the most popular cat name in many US cities

Lune

French

Moon

Lynx

Greek

A faint northern constellation named for the wild cat

Lyra

Greek

The lyre — small but storied northern constellation

Mars

Latin

The red planet, named for the Roman god of war

Mercury

Latin

Closest planet to the sun, named for the Roman messenger god

Mira

Latin

Wonderful — a famously variable red giant

Narvi

Norse

A small moon of Saturn

Neptune

Latin

The blue ice giant and Roman god of the sea

Nova

Latin

A star that suddenly increases in brightness

Nyx

Greek

Greek goddess of night — and a moon of Pluto

Orion

Greek

The hunter constellation

Pegasus

Greek

Winged horse of Greek myth, also a constellation

Phoebe

Greek

A moon of Saturn

Phoenix

Greek

Mythical bird that rises from ashes

Pluto

Literary

The black cat in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Black Cat"

Polaris

Latin

The North Star — fixed, steady, guiding

Pollux

Greek

Brighter twin in Gemini

Procyon

Greek

Before the dog — bright star in Canis Minor

Regulus

Latin

Little king — brightest star in Leo

Rigel

Arabic

Foot — bright blue star in Orion

Saturn

Latin

Roman god of time and the ringed planet

Selene

Greek

Goddess of the moon

Serene

Latin

Calm — also Sinus Serenitatis, the Bay of Serenity on the Moon

Sirius

Greek

The brightest star in the night sky — the Dog Star

Solstice

Latin

When the sun reaches its highest or lowest point

Spica

Latin

Ear of grain — brightest star in Virgo

Stella

Latin

Star

Taurus

Latin

The bull — zodiac constellation

Vega

Arabic

Falling — bright star in the constellation Lyra

Venus

Latin

The morning and evening star, named for the Roman goddess of love

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