If your baby is due under a night sky, names that mean night offer plenty of beautiful choices. Some parents worry these names feel too dark, but most carry a sense of calm, mystery, and quiet strength.
We gathered names meaning night from cultures around the world, from soft moon and star picks to bolder names rooted in myth. There is a fit here whether you want something popular or rare.
Keep reading for the meanings, origins, and legends behind each one.
In This Article
71 Girl Names That Mean Night
These girl names meaning night carry the glow of the moon, stars, and dusk.
- Aiday: A Kazakh name from ay (moon), read as “moon child” or “moonlike beauty.”
- Ajambo: A Luo name common among African girls in Kenya and Uganda, meaning “born in the evening.”
- Amaris: A lyrical name of Hebrew and Spanish use, traditionally “given by God” and also read as “child of the moon.”
- Amaya: A popular Japanese name read as “night rain” (ama, rain), also a Basque place name.
- Ankareeda: An Arabic girl name said to mean “graceful and shining like a star at night.”
- Anniki: In the Finnish Kalevala, Annikki is a maid of the night and twilight, sister of the smith Ilmarinen.
- Astra: A Latin name meaning “of the stars,” ready-made for a child born under a night sky.
- Atieno: A Luo name from Kenya meaning “born at night,” the feminine pair to Otieno.
- Aylin: A Turkish name meaning “moonlight” or “halo of the moon” (ay, moon).
- Belinay: A modern Turkish female name pictured as the moon reflected on still water.
- Channary: A Khmer name from Cambodia meaning “moon-faced girl.”
- Chausiku: A Swahili name meaning “born at night,” used along the East African coast.
- Ciara: An Irish name meaning “dark” or “dark-haired,” the feminine of Ciaran.
- Cicada: A nature name for the insect whose song fills warm summer evenings.
- Cynthia: A Greek title for Artemis, goddess of the moon, born on Mount Cynthus.
- Danica: A Slavic name for the bright “morning star,” the planet Venus, which also glows first at dusk.
- Estelle: A French name meaning “star,” from Latin stella, vintage and rising again.
- Estrella: The Spanish word for “star,” a bright pick for a child born after dark.
- Eve: A Hebrew name meaning “life”; its sound also recalls “eve,” the close of day.
- Hala: An Arabic name for the ring of light, or “halo,” that circles the moon.
- Hoshiko: A Japanese name meaning “star child” (hoshi, star).
- Ilta: A soft Finnish pick that means “evening.”
- Inala: An Australian girl name meaning “place of peace” or “night-time,” also a suburb of Brisbane.
- Indu: A Sanskrit name meaning “the moon,” used across India and a poetic word for a drop of bright light.
- Isra: An Arabic name meaning “night journey,” tied to the Prophet Muhammad’s Isra.
- Jyotsana: A Sanskrit name meaning “moonlight,” also spelled Jyotsna.
- Kamar: An Arabic name meaning “moon,” also written Qamar.
- Kauket: An ancient Egyptian goddess of night and darkness, the female half of the god Kek.
- Koko: A short name meaning “night” in Blackfoot tradition.
- Leila: An Arabic name meaning “night,” famous from the old romance of Layla and Majnun.
- Lilith: A Hebrew name linked to “night,” drawn from ancient myth and now a bold modern choice.
- Livana: A Hebrew name meaning “the moon” or “white,” from levana.
- Luna: The Roman goddess of the moon and Latin for “moon,” now one of the most popular girl names in the US.
- Lycoris: A Greek-rooted name meaning “twilight,” shared with the red spider lily (Greek Lycoris) that blooms in autumn.
- Lyla: A bright variant of Leila, meaning “night,” with an easy modern spelling.
- Mahin: A Persian girl name meaning “like the moon” (mah, moon).
- Mahina: A Hawaiian name meaning “moon” or “moonlight,” also the lunar goddess.
- Menaali: A rare, lyrical name often given the meaning “dreamland.”
- Midnight: An English word name for the darkest, quietest hour of the night.
- Migina: A Native American (Omaha) name meaning “returning moon” or “new moon.”
- Miyako: A Japanese girl name meaning “beautiful night child.”
- Miyu: A Japanese name read as “beautiful evening” or “gentle beauty.”
- Moon: A plain English nature name for Earth’s bright night companion.
- Moonflower: A nature name for the white bloom that opens only after dusk.
- Naeva: A French name linked to “born in the evening,” and a variant of Eva.
- Nebetta: An Egyptian name meaning “child of the moon.”
- Neoma: A Greek-rooted name meaning “new moon.”
- Nikini: A Sinhala name from Sri Lanka for the full moon of August, the Nikini Poya.
- Nisa: A Turkish and Arabic name meaning “women,” also read as “dream” or “night.”
- Nisha: A Hindi name meaning “night,” from Sanskrit nisha.
- Nótt: The Norse goddess and personification of night, who rides the sky ahead of her son, Day.
- Nut: The ancient Egyptian goddess of the sky and night, often shown arching over the earth, covered in stars.
- Nyx: The Greek goddess and personification of night, mother of Sleep and Day.
- Primrose: A floral name; the evening primrose opens its petals at dusk.
- Rajani: A Sanskrit name meaning “the night” or “the dark one.”
- Ratree: A Thai female name for the night-blooming jasmine, fragrant after dark.
- Ratri: A Hindu goddess and the Sanskrit personification of “night.”
- Samira: An Arabic name meaning “companion in evening talk,” the feminine of Samir.
- Sandhya: A Sanskrit name meaning “dusk” or “twilight,” also the word for Hindu evening prayers.
- Sayoko: A Japanese name read as “child born at night” or “clear, small one.”
- Selene: The Greek goddess of the moon, who drives her silver chariot across the night sky.
- Shabana: An Urdu and Arabic name meaning “belonging to the night,” from Persian shab (night).
- Shirina: A Hindi name meaning “night.”
- Sitara: A Hindi and Urdu name meaning “star,” from Persian sitara.
- Te-Uri: A Tahitian name tied to the goddess of darkness and the deep night.
- Tinuviel: Tolkien’s name for Luthien, meaning “nightingale” or “daughter of twilight.”
- Tsukiko: A Japanese name meaning “moon child” (tsuki, moon).
- Twyla: A modern name likely from “twilight,” worn by choreographer Twyla Tharp.
- Yamini: A Sanskrit name meaning “night” or “starry night.”
- Yiska: A Navajo name meaning “the night has passed,” a hopeful dawn pick.
- Yvaine: The “evening star” heroine of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust.
25 Boy Names That Mean Night
These boy names meaning night nod to the moon, the stars, and the dark hours.
- Aayaan: A Persian name meaning “long night,” also an Arabic name for “gift of God.”
- Ahtahkakoop: A Cree name meaning “star blanket,” borne by a 19th-century Plains Cree chief.
- Aibek: A Turkic male name meaning “master of the moon” (ay, moon).
- Altair: An Arabic name meaning “the flying eagle,” and the brightest star in the Aquila constellation.
- Arrats: A Basque name meaning “dusk” or “sunset.”
- Astro: A Greek prefix meaning “of the stars,” punchy and space-age.
- Ayaz: A Turkish name meaning “clear, cold night air.”
- Bahloo: In Aboriginal Australian lore, Bahloo is the moon man who roams the night sky, a pick for space lovers.
- Byakuya: A Japanese male name meaning “white night,” the bright midnight of polar summers.
- Chandrakant: A Sanskrit name meaning “beloved of the moon,” and a word for the moonstone gem.
- Ciaran: An Irish name meaning “little dark one,” from ciar (black).
- Gau: The Basque word for “night,” short and striking.
- Hilal: An Arabic name meaning “crescent moon,” the slim new moon that opens each month.
- Huáng Hún: A rare Chinese boy name (huáng hūn) meaning “dusk” or “nightfall.”
- Kek: The ancient Egyptian god of primordial darkness, paired with the goddess Kauket.
- Knight: An English word name for a noble warrior, and a homophone of “night.”
- Mbita: A Swahili name meaning “born on a cold night.”
- Namid: An Ojibwe name meaning “star dancer,” one who dances among the stars.
- Nishith: A Sanskrit name meaning “midnight,” with the short form Nish.
- Nox: Latin for “night,” and the Roman goddess of night.
- Orfeo: The Italian form of Orpheus, the Greek musician who walked into the dark of the underworld.
- Orpheus: The Greek poet-musician whose song softened even the rulers of the dead.
- Otieno: A Luo name from Kenya meaning “born at night,” the masculine pair to Atieno.
- Rajnish: A Sanskrit name meaning “lord of the night,” a title of the moon.
- Samar: An Arabic male name meaning “conversation by moonlight.”
14 Unisex Names That Mean Night
These gender-neutral names meaning night work for any baby born after dark.
- Chandra: A Sanskrit name meaning “moon,” worn by the Hindu lunar god.
- Dusk: An English word name for the half-light after sunset, a moodier cousin to Dawn.
- Hesper: A Greek name from Hesperos, the “evening star,” which is the planet Venus at dusk.
- Hōkū: A Hawaiian name meaning “star,” or “night of the full moon.”
- Hoshi: A Japanese name meaning “star,” simple and bright.
- Jiemba: An Aboriginal Australian (Wiradjuri) name meaning “laughing star,” the planet Venus.
- Metztli: The Aztec moon deity, and Nahuatl for “moon.”
- Nightingale: A bird name for the songbird famous for singing through the night.
- Nuit: The French word for “night,” and an alternate spelling of the Egyptian sky goddess Nut.
- Pomare: A Tahitian royal name meaning “night cough,” carried by Tahiti’s ruling dynasty.
- Vesper: Latin for the “evening star” and evening prayers, also a James Bond heroine.
- Weayaya: A Dakota (Sioux) name meaning “setting sun” or “sunset.”
- Yö: The Finnish word for “night,” two letters of pure cool.
- Yoru: A Japanese word name meaning “night.”
