Astro baby names

[LewisM]

As some MAY know, my wife and I are expecting our second child. We hit half way this week, and with that came another scan - we decided we would find out the sex, and it is another girl :)

So, of course now Mum and I are going through names, and I am trying to find nice astronomical names.

My thought, and wife seems to like it, is Elara (a Jovian moon to save you looking it up :) ). The other option is Eris, but she was the Goddess of Discord and Conflict, which may not be a good thing ;)

Anyone think of any other nice astronomical or mythological names? We went through Amalthea and Ariel, but one is Amouthful, and the other a mermaid :) :)

[Steffen]

Well, Venus of course! Doesn't get any more girlie (and astro) than that!

Cheers
Steffen.

[Steffen]

That said, there are lots of ancient Greek names that made it up there, such as Andromeda and Cassiopeia, and of course the seven sisters – Sterope, Merope, Electra, Maia, Taygeta, Celaeno, and Alcyone.

Lots and lots to choose from :) You shouldn't make life too hard for the little girl, though, so I stand by my original suggestion ;)

Cheers
Steffen.

[LewisM]

Venus rhymes too much with a male appendage :eyepop:

I suggested even Ophiuchus and Vela...

Now, I thought of Altair too :)

[Steffen]

Only in English, but I see your point. I thought Maia and Electra were pretty cool, too. And then there is always Luna, or course ;)

Cheers
Steffen.

[Steffen]

Ophiuchus is male, and Altair sounds male to me, too. Vela is fine, or how about Vega?

Cheers
Steffen.

[LewisM]

Ophelia...

And then there was Altaira from Forbidden planet ;)

Leia? NO WAY!!! (I could start a thread on the subtle and not so subtle meanings of Star Wars character names!!!)

Wife really likes Viktoria (Vika in short; a Russian name)...

[Steffen]

Finally (I promise), and I almost hesitate to mention it, Vixen is quintessentially female :)

Cheers
Steffen.

[LewisM]

Steffen, go to bed :) :) :)

[Steffen]

It's way before my bedtime, but I will stop making naming suggestions. Just don't listen to your wife, women pick the lamest girl's names ;)

Cheers
Steffen.

[LewisM]

I am really pushing Elara...

Name as much as you like, please :)

Some reason, SWMBO didn't like Betelgeuse ;)

But, thinking back to Venus, in Russian, of course it is Venera...

[Steffen]

Oh, you're after Russian names?

How about Valentina (in honour of the first woman in space)?

Cheers
Steffen.

[LewisM]

Yes and no... just has to entwine both our heritages (she is Russian, I am 99.9999% German with a small hint of Irish)

[Steffen]

Well, you can just think of Karl Valentin then :D

[Steffen]

Oh, stupid me!

We called our daughter Katrin, which in Russian would be Katarina (a wholly regal and timeless name). From there it's just a tiny step to Carina!

EDIT And when she has children of her own she can name the 7th one Eta!

Cheers
Steffen.

[LewisM]

Our first daughter's name is Ekaterina (Katya/Katyusha).

We now really like Eva - it's good in Russian AND German (unless one considers Ms. Braun ;) )

[Steffen]

I suppose it has to be good in English, too. So Eva fits the bill in every way.

Re Ms. Braun, her boyfriend got his a** kicked by those Katyusha rocket launchers, but that's not even close to being an omen :)

Cheers
Steffen.

[rustigsmed]

:rofl:Betelgeuse!!
haha very good Lewis!

[eddiedunlop]

Berenice (or Bernice)? It has astronomical and classical connections. Julia Berenice was the daughter of Herod Agrippa and the concubine of Titus the son of emperor Vespasian.

[Sarah84]

Elara & Eva are pretty!

My suggestions:
Celeste
Rhea
Luna

I used to work with a girl called Cassiopeia - such a cool name!

best of luck

[Octane]

Aurora.

I love Carina, though.

Congratulations to you and yours. :)

H

[PeterM]

Congrats Lewis and all concerned.
How about Atria, I think it's pronounced At Tree Ah
Or Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum if twins....ok maybe not, but how many know they are real astro names :lol:
http://www.oneminuteastronomer.com/2107/sadlyneglected-star-clusters-ophiuchus/

[Astro_Bot]

Congratulations.

Cassiopeia would be my pick so far. "Cass" or "Cassie" are fairly harmless nick-names ... so should be a not-too-painful childhood.

[Rob P]

Congratulations.

How about Bellatrix (female warrior)? And it shortens nicely to Bella.

[Russ59]

We named our daughter after the my first DSO some forty years ago. NGC 4755 jewel box. Her name is Gemma - Latin for 'Jewel'

[shenanigans000]

Congrats and well done.

It's gotta be Betelgeuse! Although you might have to save that for when you have a boy.