Image © Victoria Borodinova
Night is a mystical, magical time, and, with many babies being born during the hours of darkness, its a great place to find inspiration for your baby's name.
We've gathered together forty of our favourite names with nocturnal meanings from different origins. In this list, we've included the names belonging to moon goddesses, mythological stars, the night rain, the evening and, of course, the night itself.
Naming your child is a hugely personal choice, and the more names you have to pick from, the more likely you'll find the perfect one for your baby. From baby names like Ilta that mean night, to night-related names like Ratree (meaning "night jasmine") and Otieno ("born at night") as well as star and moon names like Izar and Cynthia, and mythological names like Anniki and Selena, we've got something for everyone to think about on this list.
33) Luan (Portuguese): This is an original Portuguese name meaning "moon", but it's an anagram of the girls' name Luna, another moon name, as well. It also has various meanings in other languages.
11) Esther(Hebrew): A Biblical name meaning "star".
34) Nash (English): the name of a star in the constellation Sagittarius. The original English word means "one who lives by the ash tree".
Zoyna, Meaning: beautiful Origin: Arabic via Urdu ~ View Detail
31) Izar(Basque): Another Basque-origin name, this one means "star".
37) Orpheus (Ancient Greek): Meaning "the darkness of night". A famous character in Greek myths.
51) Samar (Arabic): This name means "evening conversation".
15) Luna(Latin): Familiar to any Harry Potter fans, this Roman name means "moon".
Jaffa, Meaning: beautiful Origin: Hebrew place-name ~ View Detail
47) Hunapo (Maori): This Polynesian name means "hidden darkness", and is used for both girls and boys.
39) Ponui (Tahitian): This Polynesian name means "the great night".
42) Tarek (Arabic): An Arabic name meaning "morning star".
Ederne, Meaning: beautiful Origin: Basque
48) Indigo (English): This English name is the colour of the night sky, a dark, inky blue.
29) Darcel (French): An French-origin name meaning "dark".
32) Jiemba (Wiradjuri Aboriginal): This name means "laughing star", a local name for Venus.
43) Tynan (Irish): This Gaelic name means "dark".
40) Rajnish (Sanskrit): Meaning "Lord of the night", this is a name for the moon in Hindi.
46) Blake (Old English): This name means "dark", although whether that means night time or refers to their hair is up to you.
45) Arrats(Basque): A unisex name meaning "dusk".
52) Vesper (Latin): Although it's often associated with girls because of the James Bond character, this Latin name meaning evening has traditionally been used for both girls and boys.
18) Nyx (Greek): A Greek name meaning "night".
Kazumi, Meaning: beautiful peace Origin: Japanese
3) Ankareeda (Indian): A lovely name meaning "night star".
12) Hesper (Greek): A more specific star name, this one means "evening star".
1) Ajambo (Luo): This African name means "born at night".
36) Orion (Greek): Although originally meaning "dweller on the mountain", it's usually associated with the constellation Orion, and belonged to a hunter in Greek mythology.
30) Gau (Basque): This short Basque name means "night".
20) Rhiannon (Welsh): The name of the goddess of the moon in Welsh mythology.
Kalliroi, Meaning: beautiful flow Origin: Greek
13) Ilta (Finnish): This Finnish name means "night".
41) Sterling (Old English): An English name meaning "little star", it can also mean of high quality.
Tasanee, Meaning: beautiful view Origin: Thai
17) Nisha (Sanskrit): A sweet Sanskrit name meaning "night".
19) Ratree (Thai): This is name means "night jasmine".
Usain, Meaning: beautiful Origin: Arabic, possible variation of Hussein
44) Yiska (Navajo): This hopeful Native American name means "night is over".
4) Anniki(Finnish): The name of the goddess of night in Finnish mythology.
25) Aibek (Turkish): This charming boy name means "master of the moon".
35) Nishant (Sanskrit): This name comes from the Sanskrit language, and means "end of night".
24) Yvaine (Scottish): A traditional Scottish name meaning "evening star".
6) Bibigul(Kazakh): This name means "nightingale".
Elili, Meaning: beautiful Origin: Tamil
28) Ciaran (Irish Gaelic): This name meaning "dark" can be night-related, but can also be used to mean that a person is dark-haired.
7) Chausiku(Swahili): Another name meaning "born at night".
49) Nadir (Arabic): The sun's nadir, or lowest point, is also called solar midnight.
22) Shirina(Hindi): An Indian baby name meaning "night".
50) Nox (Latin): A short name meaning "night" that's just as good for a girl as for a boy.
Merindah, Meaning: beautiful Origin: Australian Aboriginal
23)Twyla (American): This modern invention means"twilight".
Kjellfrid, Meaning: beautiful kettle Origin: Norwegian
2) Amaya (Japanese): This name of Japanese origin means "night rain".
16) Miyako (Japanese): Japanese names can have multiple meanings, but spelled with certain kanji, this one means "beautiful night child".
38) Otieno (Luo): An African name meaning "born at night".
21) Selena (Greek): A variant name for the moon goddess Artemis.
27) Chandra (Indian): The name of a moon god in Hindu mythology.
26) Budde (Ganda): An African name meaning "night".
9) Danica (Slavic): This Slavic-origin name means "morning star".
8) Cynthia(Greek): Another name for the moon goddess, Artemis, in Greek mythology.
