There seems to be a competition among new parents to see who can come up with the most interesting name for their baby. Sometimes the name is “interesting” in the good way, other times in the bad way. One common technique is looking to the interests of the parents for a name. In this regard, astronomy is an untapped resource. The potential names are as countless as the stars in the sky, but that means the potential for error is too. So, proceed with caution.

There are some terrific options. Bellatrix would be a pretty girls name. It is almost like it is a mixture of Beatrix and Bella, so Bea and Bella would work well as nicknames. Beware of using Trixie, as it doesn’t live up to the intended astronomy theme.

Copernicus, Neptune and Neutrino are solid boy names. Cope or Nic would be good variations of Copernicus. Copernicus is so fun to say, though, that short names are only preferred when the little guy is in trouble. Neptune is the forgotten planet. This isn’t a bad thing when it comes to a name. People will understand the intent and see it as a hip name for a boy to have. A son named Neutrino is sure to be the ultimate peacemaker.

If you’re expecting a girl, avoid Luna. This name isn’t extremely uncommon in the world, but think about the non-stop teasing a lass would get. Luna is way too similar to Loony.

You might be tempted to name your daughter Moon. Fight it. At the most, limit this to a middle name. Gamma Ray is fun to say out-loud, and with Ray being a common middle name makes it an easy justification. Take a step back, though. The first name Gamma will only be cute when the baby is crawling and when she is a grandma. A majority of her life will be lived in between those two stages, so give you daughter a break and find something else.