Names that mean moon

Why a moon name works

The moon is among the oldest naming themes. It is a god in many mythologies, a calendar in many more, and a mood in countless stories: it watches, it changes, it pulls on the sea. A character named for it arrives with all of that attached, which is why moon names suit seers, thieves, healers and travellers by night equally well.

In Namewright the moon is a root like any other, so it joins freely. Moon plus a quality (pale, silent) gives something gentle; moon plus a creature (wolf, owl) gives a clan or a calling; moon plus silver is a name for someone people trust, or should.

Character hooks

• A cleric of a night god who was named at birth for the moon that hung above a battlefield, and has never been sure whether it was a blessing.
• A thief whose guild name is a moon word, and whose real name (a harvest word) she has not used in years.
• An elven navigator whose family names every child for the moon phase they were born under, so cousins share a root and an argument.

What to avoid

• Plain Luna is among the most familiar moon names in fiction. A root from a less familiar tongue, with the meaning in your back pocket, will feel fresher.
• Moon plus blood or shadow reads as stock villain. Pair the moon with something warm (hearth, song) when you want a surprise.