20 Celestial Baby Names Rising Fast in 2026
Eleven of these star, moon and sky names hit all-time record highs in 2025. Elara grew 8.6x in a decade, Atlas 7.3x. Full list with official national birth data.
Parents have named children after the sky for as long as there have been records to check. What’s new is the speed. Eleven of the twenty names below set an all-time record high in 2025 — not a recent high, a record across the entire national birth record.
Here they are, grouped by how far they’ve travelled in the last ten years.
The 10-year rockets
1. Elara (#942 in America)
A moon of Jupiter, and the fastest-growing celestial name in the record: 32 babies in 2015, 275 in 2025 — 8.6 times as many. 2025 was its best year ever, and it first appeared in the national record only in 2002.
2. Atlas (#75 in America)
The Titan who holds up the sky, and the breakout of the whole category. 603 babies in 2015, 4,413 in 2025. It crossed into the top 100 for the first time this year. More on Atlas below — its run is remarkable enough to deserve its own story.
3. Sol (#722 in America)
Simply “sun.” 88 babies in 2015, 389 in 2025 — 4.4 times as many, and an all-time high. Short, warm, and works in English and Spanish without changing a letter.
4. Sunny (#390 in America)
218 in 2015, 798 in 2025. Not quite at its record — that was 2024, at 846 — but still nearly four times its 2015 level and comfortably inside the top 400.
5. Soleil (#757 in America)
The French sun. 114 in 2015, 358 in 2025, an all-time record.
Established and still climbing
6. Nova (#46 in America)
A star that suddenly brightens. 1,529 in 2015, 4,657 in 2025 — tripled in a decade, and a solid top-50 name. Its own peak was 2022 at 5,927.
7. Aurora (#15 in America)
The northern lights, and the highest-ranked name on this list. 3,654 in 2015, 7,065 in 2025 — and 2025 was its best year in 145 years of records.
8. Luna (#27 in America)
The moon itself. 2,809 in 2015, 6,076 in 2025. Still more than double its 2015 level, though it has eased back from a 2022 peak of 8,977.
9. Celeste (#188 in America)
“Heavenly.” 638 in 2015, 1,662 in 2025 — 2.6 times as many, and an all-time high.
10. Leo (#19 in America)
A constellation and a zodiac sign, and a genuine top-20 name. 4,603 in 2015, 8,173 in 2025.
The quiet risers
11. Lyra (#435 in America)
The harp constellation. 276 in 2015, 711 in 2025 — an all-time record.
12. Selene (#622 in America)
The Greek moon goddess. 214 in 2015, 469 in 2025, also a record high.
13. Cielo (#796 in America)
“Sky” in Spanish and Italian. 116 in 2015, 342 in 2025.
14. Aries (#661 in America)
The ram, and the first sign of the zodiac. 155 in 2015, 417 in 2025 — a record.
15. Apollo (#446 in America)
Sun god and spaceflight programme. 323 in 2015, 708 in 2025.
16. Artemis (#1,019 in America)
Moon goddess, twin of Apollo. 105 in 2015, 246 in 2025.
17. Juno (#1,252 in America)
Roman goddess and a Jupiter mission. 86 in 2015, 179 in 2025 — a record high.
18. Stellan (#1,140 in America)
From the Latin for star. 92 in 2015, 186 in 2025, also a record.
19. Orion (#334 in America)
The hunter, and the most recognisable constellation in the northern sky. 877 in 2015, 1,012 in 2025.
20. Estella (#509 in America)
“Star,” and the oldest story on this list. 317 in 2015, 581 in 2025 — climbing back toward a record set in 1921, when 638 girls were given the name.
The pattern worth noticing
The fastest growth in this category isn’t going to the famous names. Luna and Aurora are the household celestial names, and both have roughly doubled. The real movement is further down: Elara at 8.6 times, Atlas at 7.3, Sol at 4.4.
That’s the shape of a category still filling in. Parents who want the celestial feel without the top-50 exposure are reaching for the smaller moons and the fainter stars — and the record shows them finding the same handful at the same time.
Look up the full year-by-year history for any of these names, including every state, at babynamesreport.com.
Discover more at babynamesreport.com
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Get my 10 names →Source: U.S. Social Security Administration data, 1880–2025.