Names That Mean Eclipse

I’ve always found eclipses a little magical — that strange minute when the sun and moon seem to argue over the sky, and everything goes quiet and gold-edged. If you’re chasing a name with that same hushed, cosmic drama, you’re in the right place. I pulled together names from across cultures and centuries that circle around eclipse, shadow, darkness, and celestial cover-ups, so you can find one that actually fits your story.

Some of these names mean “eclipse” directly, others lean on moon, sun, shadow, or “the covering of light” — themes an eclipse is really built from. I’ve grouped them by category so you can jump straight to what you need.

Boy Names That Mean Eclipse

• Amon – hidden one
• Ekuwa – born on a dark day
• Kylan – narrow, slender shadow
• Chandra – moon
• Corvin – raven, dark one
• Duman – smoky, misty
• Erebus – deep darkness
• Grim – masked, dark-faced
• Hesper – evening star
• Kaimana – power of the ocean and sky
• Kuro – black
• Layth – lion who hides in shadow
• Melan – dark, black
• Nyx – night
• Ombra – shadow
• Orion – hunter of the night sky
• Ravi – sun (in eclipse, sun is hidden)
• Shadrach – command of the moon god
• Sol – sun
• Somnus – god of sleep and darkness
• Tenebris – darkness
• Umbra – shadow, dark spot
• Vesper – evening
• Wolfe – shadow hunter
• Xander – defender who stands in the dark
• Yami – darkness (Japanese-inspired)
• Zale – strength of the sea and sky
• Zohar – radiance hidden and revealed

Girl Names That Mean Eclipse

• Aditi – boundless sky
• Amaya – night rain
• Ashira – she who covers or hides
• Astra – star
• Aurinko – sun
• Bellanotte – beautiful night
• Chandni – moonlight
• Cressida – gold, glowing
• Dusk – twilight
• Eclipsa – she who eclipses
• Elowen – elm, shadowed grove
• Estelle – star
• Kira – light, glimmer
• Layla – night, dark beauty
• Luna – moon
• Mahina – moon (Hawaiian)
• Nyla – winner shadowed in mystery
• Nyssa – beginning, also night-linked
• Ombretta – little shadow
• Selene – moon goddess
• Shadow – literal shade
• Skye – sky
• Solene – sunlight
• Stella – star
• Umbriel – shadowed moon of Uranus
• Vesna – dawn spirit
• Yolanda – violet flower, dusky bloom
• Zora – dawn

Unisex Names That Mean Eclipse

• Ash – remains after fire, smoky grey
• Blaze – sudden burst of light then dark
• Corvus – raven, darkness
• Dune – shifting shadowed sand
• Eden – hidden paradise
• Gray – shade between light and dark
• Haze – misty covering
• Indigo – deep, dusky blue
• Ira – watchful one
• Jet – deep black
• Kai – sea, also sky-linked
• Lior – my light (contrast to eclipse)
• Onyx – black stone
• Phoenix – rebirth from darkness
• Quill – shadow-feathered
• Raven – black bird, darkness
• River – flowing shadow of light
• Sage – wise, quiet dark
• Shae – admirable, mysterious
• Storm – covered sky
• Sunder – to split, as light is split
• Tor – thunder, covered sky
• Vale – valley in shadow
• Wren – small, hidden bird
• Zephyr – twilight wind
• Zia – light (used ironically for eclipse names)

Last Names That Mean Eclipse

• Ecclestone – near the eclipse-church, dark chapel
• Darkling – dark one
• Duskin – of the dusk
• Grimsby – dark settlement
• Mondscheider – moon-divider (German-rooted)
• Nightshade – shadowed plant, night-linked
• Noire – black
• Obscura – hidden, obscure
• Shadwell – shadow spring
• Sombra – shadow (Spanish)
• Sunderland – split land
• Umbrio – shadowed
• Vesperman – man of evening
• Winters – dark season
• Yin – shadow, feminine dark force

Baby Names That Mean Eclipse

• Aro – sky, hidden light
• Cova – covering, shielding
• Elan – uplift from darkness
• Halo – ring of light (edge of an eclipse)
• Ilan – tree, shading canopy
• Kalinda – sun (paradoxically used for eclipse themes)
• Lior – light (contrast name)
• Maren – of the sea, dark tide
• Neve – snow, pale shadow
• Oren – pine tree, shaded
• Ren – lotus, calm shadow
• Shai – gift wrapped in mystery
• Talia – dew, morning shadow
• Umber – earthy brown-shadow tone
• Wren – small hidden bird
• Zaid – growth from darkness
• Zola – earth, quiet shade

Chinese Names That Mean Eclipse

• An (安) – peace after darkness
• Hei (黑) – black
• Hui (晦) – dim, dark day (literally lunar eclipse-linked)
• Jing (静) – quiet, still
• Long Shi (龙食) – “dragon eating the sun,” ancient eclipse term
• Mei (梅) – dark plum blossom
• Ming (明) – bright, used contrastively
• Ri Shi (日食) – solar eclipse
• Shan (闪) – flash, flicker
• Wan (晚) – evening, late
• Xi (夕) – sunset
• Xuan (玄) – dark, mysterious
• Yin (阴) – shade, dark feminine force
• Yue Shi (月食) – lunar eclipse
• Yun (云) – cloud, covering
• Zhe (遮) – to cover or block

Fantasy Names That Mean Eclipse

• Aeloria Duskbane – twilight destroyer
• Caligo – Latin-rooted mist and darkness
• Duskryn – born of dusk
• Eclipsia – embodiment of eclipse
• Kaelith Nightveil – veiled in night
• Morvane – dark wanderer
• Nocturne – of the night
• Obscuria – shadow queen
• Ravenshade – dark raven spirit
• Shadowmere – shadow lake
• Solmara – sun taken by sea
• Tenebrion – lord of darkness
• Umbraxis – axis of shadow
• Valdrun – fallen light
• Vexnight – trouble of the night
• Wyrmshade – dragon’s shadow
• Zaelric – eclipsed king
• Zephyrion – twilight wind spirit

Greek Names That Mean Eclipse

• Ekleipsis – the actual Greek root of “eclipse,” meaning abandonment or failing
• Erebus – deep darkness, primordial god of shadow
• Helios – sun god (eclipsed figure)
• Hemera – day, contrasted with night
• Nyx – goddess of night
• Phaethon – shining one, linked to solar myths
• Selene – moon goddess
• Skotos – darkness
• Thanatos – death, eternal dark
• Theia – goddess of sight and light
• Ourania – heavenly one

Gender Neutral Names That Mean Eclipse

• Cyprus – dark cypress tree
• Dune – shadowed sand hill
• Echo – reflection lost in shadow
• Indie – free spirit of dusk
• Kestrel – bird of dusky flight
• Lark – bird tied to dawn’s edge
• Nova – sudden burst of light
• Onyx – black gemstone
• Rue – regret, shadowed sorrow
• Sage – calm and shaded wisdom
• Wilder – untamed shadow
• Zephyr – twilight breeze

Japanese Names That Mean Eclipse

• Ai (蒼) – deep blue-black
• Akira (暗) – variant reading meaning dark
• Getsu (月) – moon
• Hikage (日陰) – shade, literally “sun-shadow”
• Kage (影) – shadow
• Kuraiyo (暗夜) – dark night
• Kurenai – deep crimson dusk
• Mikage (見影) – to see a shadow
• Nisshoku (日食) – solar eclipse
• Tsuki (月) – moon
• Yami (闇) – darkness
• Yoru (夜) – night
• Yuugure (夕暮れ) – dusk, twilight
• Gesshoku (月食) – lunar eclipse

Korean Names That Mean Eclipse

• ** Areum** – beautiful (used for contrast in dark-themed names)
• Bam – night
• Dal – moon
• Geurimja – shadow
• Haneul – sky
• Ilsik (일식) – solar eclipse
• Wolsik (월식) – lunar eclipse
• Eum – shade, the yin principle
• Sae-byeok – dawn, edge of darkness
• Yeon – mist, soft shadow

Male Names That Mean Eclipse

• Blackwell – dark spring
• Casimir – proclaimer who brings peace after dark times
• Draven – hunter of shadows
• Kato – wise one hidden in dusk
• Malachi – messenger, sometimes tied to dark omens
• Nero – black, dark-haired
• Osiris – god associated with the underworld and renewal
• Radovan – joy after gloom
• Roshan – light (used contrastively)
• Severin – stern, severe darkness
• Tobias – God is good, often used in shadow-name lists for balance
• Zephan – hidden by the divine

Other Names That Mean Eclipse

• Amavasya – Sanskrit term for the new moon, when eclipses occur
• Bardo – in-between state, shadowed transition
• Kalyug – dark age (Sanskrit-rooted)
• Rahu – Vedic shadow planet believed to cause eclipses
• Ketu – Rahu’s counterpart, the “descending” shadow node
• Surya Grahan – Hindi term for solar eclipse
• Chandra Grahan – Hindi term for lunar eclipse
• Grahan – the Sanskrit/Hindi word for eclipse itself

Unique Girl Names That Mean Eclipse

• Calantha – dark, beautiful blossom
• Elowyn – shadowed spring
• Isolde – ice-ruler, cold and distant
• Marisol – sea and sun, split light
• Ophira – golden, hidden gold
• Rosalind – gentle horse-shadow, tender dusk
• Seraphina – fiery one, burning through dark
• Thessaly – ancient land of shadowed myth
• Xiomara – ready for battle, glory in darkness
• Yseult – fair one veiled in mystery

What Are Names That Mean Eclipse?

Names that mean eclipse usually come from one of three places: words that translate directly to “eclipse” (like the Hindi Grahan or Japanese Nisshoku), names tied to shadow, dusk, and darkness, or names connected to the sun and moon — since an eclipse is really just one of them briefly hiding the other. I like this category because it isn’t only about darkness; there’s a hidden layer of drama and return, since the light always comes back.

Zodiac Names That Mean Eclipse

• Aries-linked: Mars – warrior planet tied to eclipse mythology
• Cancer-linked: Selene – ruled by the moon
• Leo-linked: Sol – ruled by the sun
• Libra-linked: Umbra – balance of light and dark
• Scorpio-linked: Nyx – deep, mysterious night energy
• Sagittarius-linked: Rahu – Vedic shadow node
• Capricorn-linked: Saturn – planet of shadowed limits
• Aquarius-linked: Ketu – detachment, the other shadow node
• Pisces-linked: Nocturne – dreamy, veiled energy
• Gemini-linked: Umbriel – duality in shadow
• Taurus-linked: Terra – grounded amid darkness
• Virgo-linked: Eclipsa – precise, quiet darkness

Egyptian Names That Mean Eclipse

• Amunet – hidden goddess, feminine counterpart of Amun (the hidden one)
• Apep – serpent of chaos believed to swallow the sun
• Isis – goddess of magic, linked to solar myths
• Khonsu – moon god
• Kek – god of primordial darkness
• Nut – sky goddess who swallows the sun each evening
• Ra – sun god, the “eclipsed” figure in myth
• Set – god of chaos and darkness
• Thoth – moon-linked god of wisdom

French Names That Mean Eclipse

• Aube – dawn, the edge of darkness lifting
• Brune – dark-haired, dusky
• Céleste – heavenly
• Clair de Lune – moonlight (poetic phrase-name)
• Nuit – night
• Ombre – shadow
• Soleil – sun
• Ténèbres – darkness

Italian Names That Mean Eclipse

• Bruna – dark-haired, dusky one
• Luna – moon
• Notte – night
• Ombra – shadow
• Oscura – dark, obscured
• Sole – sun
• Tenebra – darkness

Latin Names That Mean Eclipse

• Caligo – mist, darkness
• Eclipsis – the Latin root of “eclipse” itself
• Lux – light (used contrastively)
• Luna – moon
• Nox – night
• Obscurus – hidden, dark
• Sol – sun
• Tenebrae – shadows, darkness
• Umbra – shadow

Roman Names That Mean Eclipse

• Aurora – dawn, goddess of the returning light
• Diana – moon goddess
• Luna – Roman moon goddess
• Nox – Roman personification of night
• Pluto – god of the underworld, shadowed realm
• Sol Invictus – “the unconquered sun,” title of a Roman sun god
• Somnus – god of sleep

Mythology Names That Mean Eclipse (A Bonus List)

• Fenrir – wolf believed in Norse myth to swallow the sun at Ragnarök
• Hati – Norse wolf that chases the moon
• Skoll – Norse wolf that chases the sun
• Rahu & Ketu – Hindu shadow deities of eclipses
• Coyolxauhqui – Aztec moon goddess, dismembered and darkened
• Amaterasu – Japanese sun goddess who once hid in a cave, darkening the world

FAQs

What is the literal meaning of the word “eclipse”?

It comes from the Greek ekleipsis, meaning “to fail” or “to abandon,” describing how the sun or moon seems to disappear.

Is there a name that literally means “eclipse”?

Yes — Hindi’s Grahan, Japanese Nisshoku (solar) and Gesshoku (lunar), and Korean Ilsik and Wolsik all translate directly to “eclipse.”

Are eclipse names considered dark or negative?

Not really — most parents and writers use them for the drama and mystery, not for anything ominous. An eclipse always ends with the light returning.

What are some nature-based names that pair well with eclipse themes?

Names like Luna, Nyx, Umbra, Aurora, and Sol work beautifully since they draw from the same sun-and-moon imagery.

Can eclipse-themed names work for pets or fictional characters, not just babies?

Absolutely — many of the fantasy and mythology names on this list were built exactly for that kind of creative use.

Which culture has the richest collection of eclipse-related names?

Sanskrit and Hindi traditions are especially rich here, largely because of Rahu and Ketu, the two shadow “planets” blamed for eclipses in Vedic astrology.