Top 52 Beautiful Names Meaning Night

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.

These beautiful baby girl names meaning night are perfect for your little star. Some of the names literally mean night, like Arabic- origin Layla and the Greek name Nyx, while others, like Luna and Estelle, are related to beautiful night time sights like the stars and moon. We've also included a few that mean evening or dusk - it's nearly night, so it still counts as far as we're concerned. One way or another, we've collected some of the prettiest names that mean night for you to enjoy.

1) Ajambo (Luo): This African name means "born at night".

2) Amaya (Japanese): This name of Japanese origin means "night rain".

3) Ankareeda (Indian): A lovely name meaning "night star".

4) Anniki (Finnish): The name of the goddess of night in Finnish mythology.

5) Asra (Arabic): This name means "travels at night". It can also be spelled Isra.

6) Bibigul (Kazakh): This name means "nightingale".

7) Chausiku (Swahili): Another name meaning "born at night".

8) Cynthia (Greek): Another name for the moon goddess, Artemis, in Greek mythology.

9) Danica (Slavic): This Slavic-origin name means "morning star".

10) Estelle (French): This French take on Stella means "star".

11) Esther (Hebrew): A Biblical name meaning "star".

12) Hesper (Greek): A more specific star name, this one means "evening star".

13) Ilta (Finnish): This Finnish name means "night".

14) Layla (Arabic): Most of us will know this Arabic name meaning "night" as the title of an Eric Clapton song, but it originally comes from the Persian and Arabic story of Layla and Majnun. Also spelled Leila or Laila.

15) Luna (Latin): Familiar to any Harry Potter fans, this Roman name means "moon".

16) Miyako (Japanese): Japanese names can have multiple meanings, but spelled with certain kanji, this one means "beautiful night child".

17) Nisha (Sanskrit): A sweet Sanskrit name meaning "night".

18) Nyx (Greek): A Greek name meaning "night".

19) Ratree (Thai): This is name means "night jasmine".

20) Rhiannon (Welsh): The name of the goddess of the moon in Welsh mythology.

21) Selena (Greek): A variant name for the moon goddess Artemis.

22) Shirina (Hindi): An Indian baby name meaning "night".

23)Twyla (American): This modern invention means"twilight".

24) Yvaine (Scottish): A traditional Scottish name meaning "evening star".

Here are some of our favourite boy names that mean darkness, night and other nocturnal things. Again, some are literal night names, like Gau and Ponui, while others like Rajnish and Orpheus are mythological. We've also included names with meanings related to the stars and constellations, like Izar and Nash, and ones that mean things like darkness, such as Darcel and the Gaelic name Tynan. Either way, there's a name here for every night owl in training.

25) Aibek (Turkish): This charming boy name means "master of the moon".

26) Budde (Ganda): An African name meaning "night".

27) Chandra (Indian): The name of a moon god in Hindu mythology.

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.

29) Darcel (French): An French-origin name meaning "dark".

30) Gau (Basque): This short Basque name means "night".

31) Izar (Basque): Another Basque-origin name, this one means "star".

32) Jiemba (Wiradjuri Aboriginal): This name means "laughing star", a local name for Venus.

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.

34) Nash (English): the name of a star in the constellation Sagittarius. The original English word means "one who lives by the ash tree".

35) Nishant (Sanskrit): This name comes from the Sanskrit language, and means "end of 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.

37) Orpheus (Ancient Greek): Meaning "the darkness of night". A famous character in Greek myths.

38) Otieno (Luo): An African name meaning "born at night".

39) Ponui (Tahitian): This Polynesian name means "the great night".

40) Rajnish (Sanskrit): Meaning "Lord of the night", this is a name for the moon in Hindi.

41) Sterling (Old English): An English name meaning "little star", it can also mean of high quality.

42) Tarek (Arabic): An Arabic name meaning "morning star".

43) Tynan (Irish): This Gaelic name means "dark".

44) Yiska (Navajo): This hopeful Native American name means "night is over".

Not all names meaning night have to be boys' names or girls' names. There's been a trend in recent years to go for baby names that can belong to both boys and girls, and these names with night-related meanings can belong to anyone.

45) Arrats (Basque): A unisex name meaning "dusk".

46) Blake (Old English): This name means "dark", although whether that means night time or refers to their hair is up to you.

47) Hunapo (Maori): This Polynesian name means "hidden darkness", and is used for both girls and boys.

48) Indigo (English): This English name is the colour of the night sky, a dark, inky blue.

49) Nadir (Arabic): The sun's nadir, or lowest point, is also called solar midnight.

50) Nox (Latin): A short name meaning "night" that's just as good for a girl as for a boy.

51) Samar (Arabic): This name means "evening conversation".

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.

We hope this list has inspired you with some beautiful night-related baby names for little stars everywhere.