Luna

J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books have been popular among young readers for a few decades. These stories have popularized certain names through their side characters. One example is Luna Lovegood.

Luna, which means "moon" in Latin, has been a name long before the Harry Potter books existed. It first associated itself with the Roman goddess of the moon who rode a horse-drawn chariot across the sky. As a given name, Luna has seen some usage in England as early as the sixteenth century. Plus, Luna is the daughter of the titular sleeping beauty in an early version: Giambattista Basile's 1634 Sole, Luna e Talia. 

Luna has seen low to moderate usage in England and the United States in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The name first peaked in the low 300s in 1881 before its gradual decline. Luna dropped out of the American top 1000 in the 1920s. It became rare in England shortly afterward. 

The twenty-first century shifted stakes for Luna. It returned to the top 1000 in 2003, the same year J.K. Rowling introduced Luna Lovegood in The Order of the Phoenix. It began to rise in England three years later. Luna has been a top 100 choice in both nations since 2016 as well as in the rest of the English-speaking world (Australia, Canada, New Zealand) since 2017. Luna even entered the American top 10 this past year. 

Luna is not just popular among English-speakers, but it is also common in several other European languages. These include Belgian, Spanish, Danish, French, Irish, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Poland, Portuguese, Scottish, Swedish, and Swiss. Luna is popular in South American languages like Brazilian as well. This makes Luna a truly international name.

Luna has many elements that make it appealing to modern parents: mythological roots, connections to the night sky, fantastical associations, and a few centuries of history. It is the most popular "lu" name followed by classic Lucy.

STYLES:

Compact, Fantastical, Liquid, Mythological

SISTERS:

Nova, Scarlett, Ivy, Aurora, Eden, Willow, Ruby, Freya

BROTHERS:

Orion, Axel, Jasper, Nico, Finn, Silas, Eli, Liam 

ALTERNATIVES:

Bluma, Juno, Leia, Lumen, Lux, Lyra, Rhea, Rue

FURTHER RESOURCES:

"Luna." Names, Behind the Name, 9 Jun. 2023, https://www.behindthename.com/name/luna. 

Nickerson, Eleanor. "Luna." Names, Names of the Week, 31 Jan, 2016, https://www.britishbabynames.com/blog/2016/01/luna.html. 

What do you think about Luna?

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