Luna

Today's name: Luna
Also try Lunabelle, Lunabella, Lunette, Lunetta, Luneth, or even Crescentia

Pronunciation: LOO-nah

Potential nicknames: Luu, Lulu, Una, NaNa

Origin: Latin, meaning "moon." It can be traced back to the word lumen, meaning "light."

Popularity: Luna has always been mildly popular. In 1880 she ranked at #444, while today she ranks at #278 with 1,138 births in 2011. There were 934 baby girls named Luna in 2010, ranking at #343, along with 7 Lunabella's and 5 Lunabelle's. Luna has been popular in Belgium for a while now as a top 10 name.

Fun fact: (1) Luna is associated as the name of the Roman goddess of the moon. It is one of the names of Artemis. The Greeks called her Selene. (2) Luna Lovegood, a character in Harry Potter. (3) Luna can be a special name given to those born as the astrological sign Cancer, whose ruling planet is the moon. (4) Some of you might recognize the name Luna from the Japanese animated TV show, also a manga (Japanese comic) titled "Sailor Moon." Luna was the wise black kitty, with an enchanting side story in the comic version and one of the movies. (5) Luna is where the words lunatic and lunar come from. (6) A little girl named Luna will always have a special connection to the pretty green Lunamoth. (7) Luna Park at Coney Island.