Names That Mean Sun: 97 Sunny Names for Girls and Boys

Names that mean sun include Sol, Soleil, Helios, Surya, Ravi, Shams, Inti and Solveig, and this list of 97 sun names gives a checked origin and meaning for every one.

Names that mean sun come from nearly every language: the Spanish Sol, the French Soleil, the Greek Helios, the Sanskrit Surya and the Quechua Inti all simply mean sun. Others build on the word, like Solveig (“sun” plus “strength”) and Sunniva (“sun gift”).

We grouped the names into girls, boys and gender-neutral names, sun gods and goddesses, sunny and sunshine names, and Japanese and Chinese names where the characters carry the meaning. We also list popular names that are often said to mean sun but do not, plus short names, nickname ideas and sibling sets.

Names That Mean Sun at a Glance

Every name on this page was checked against its own entry on Behind the Name in October 2026, and we only list a name as a sun name when that entry says “sun” (or “sunny” or “sunshine”) in its meaning. Where the reference says a link is possible, traditional or uncertain, we say so too.

Sun names are warm, bright and easy to love, and they come from almost every language on Earth. Some are simply the word for sun (Sol, Arev, Siqiniq, Eguzki). Others are compounds with a little story inside: Solveig joins “sun” and “strength”, Narantsetseg is “sun flower” and Antiman is “condor of the sun”. A third group comes from mythology, where the sun was often a god or goddess with its own name.

Here is where each language family’s sun word turns up in this list:

Looking for the other lights in the sky? Our names that mean moon and names that mean light lists pair naturally with this one, and the same-run names that mean fire guide covers flame and fire names, which we keep separate here.

Girl Names That Mean Sun

These girl names that mean sun are listed as feminine on Behind the Name. They range from familiar picks (Marisol, Soleil, Solana) to names that are common in their home countries but rare in the United States (Solveig, Sunniva, Arevik, Mzia).

A few notes before you fall in love. Marisol is a good example of why we read every entry: it began as a short form of the Spanish María Soledad, and the “sea and sun” reading is a later interpretation the reference also mentions. Sóley means “buttercup” in Icelandic, but the flower’s name is built from the words for sun and island. Elanor is the only literary invention on the list: Tolkien created it in his Sindarin language with the meaning “star sun”.

The Scandinavian names have real history. Solveig comes from an Old Norse name and is the faithful heroine of Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. Sunniva is the name of a legendary saint, an Irish princess said to have settled on a Norwegian island. Solfrid is younger: the reference says it was coined in the 19th century.

If you want something short and sunny with a long tradition, look at Arev (Armenian, “sun”), Mzia (Georgian, from the word for sun), Shamsa (Arabic) and Güneş (Turkish). For more girl names from the natural world, see our nature names.

Boy Names That Mean Sun

Boy names that mean sun lean toward mythology and old languages: Greek helios, Sanskrit surya and ravi, Basque eguzki and Mapuche antü. Each name below is listed as masculine on Behind the Name.

Elio has two roots in the reference: it is the Italian and Spanish form of the Roman family name Aelius, and it is also the Italian form of Helios. Aelius itself has an unknown meaning; the link to the Greek word for sun is traditional, so we list it that way rather than as a certain meaning.

Samson surprises many parents. It comes from a Hebrew name built on shemesh, “sun”, and belongs to the Old Testament hero whose strength was tied to his hair. Sorin is a softer choice: the reference says it is possibly derived from the Romanian word for sun, so it carries a likely, not certain, sun meaning.

The Sanskrit names form a family of their own. Surya and Ravi both mean “sun”, Ravindra means “lord of the sun”, Dinesha means “day lord” and was used in Hindu texts for the sun, and Aditya and Bhaskara are other names for the sun god Surya. Their modern forms (Suraj, Dinesh, Bhaskar, Rabindra) are everyday names across India. Our Indian boy names list has many more.

Gender-Neutral Names That Mean Sun

Behind the Name lists each of these as both feminine and masculine. The table shows the gender order the reference uses, since some lean one way more than the other. More options live in our gender neutral names guide.

Sunny and Sunday are the easiest English choices. The reference notes that Sunday, from the Old English for “sun day”, is most common as a name in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. Shams works for any child and carries a long history: it is the Arabic word for sun and the name of a pre-Islamic Arabian sun goddess. Tonalli, from Nahuatl, means “day, warmth of the sun”, and Shandiin comes from the Navajo word for sunshine.

Names Linked to Sun Gods and Goddesses

Many cultures gave the sun a name and a story. The figures below are mythological: we describe them the way the reference does, as characters in the myths and religious traditions of their cultures. Some are still part of living faiths, so choose them with respect and learn the story first.

Notice how many sun deities are male in these traditions (Helios, Ra, Inti, Tonatiuh, Utu), while in Norse and Baltic myth the sun is a goddess: Sól and Saulė. That makes Sól and Saulė, along with Shams (the name of a pre-Islamic Arabian sun goddess), the names on this page that are both literally “sun” and tied to a female sun figure.

Some well known sun deities have names that do not mean sun at all. They are still sun-linked names, but the meaning is different:

Hyperion is a nice middle-ground choice for astronomy fans: in Greek myth he is the father of Helios (sun), Selene (moon) and Eos (dawn). For more names from the sky, see our space names.

Names That Mean Sunny, Sunshine or Morning Sun

If you want the feeling of sunshine rather than the sun itself, these names from the tables above fit best. Each entry uses “sunny”, “sunshine” or a sunny phrase:

• Sunshine: the English word, from Old English for “sun” and “shine”.
• Heulwen: Welsh for “sunshine”, from haul, “sun”, and gwen, “white, blessed”.
• Shandiin: from the Navajo word for sunshine.
• Sunny: from the English word meaning “sunny, cheerful”.
• Sunčana: from the Croatian word for “sunny”.
• K’inich: “hot, sunny” in Classic Maya.
• Solana and Solano: Solana can come from the Spanish word for a “sunny spot”, and Solano traces back to place names meaning “sunny”.
• Asahi: “morning sun” in Japanese.
• Hinata: “sunny place” or “toward the sun”, depending on the characters.
• Ochieng and Achieng: “born when the sun shines” in Luo.

Names that mean dawn or daylight are close cousins but have their own meanings, so we left them to our light names guide.

Japanese and Chinese Sun Names: Why the Characters Matter

Japanese and Chinese names are written with characters, and the meaning comes from the characters a family chooses, not from the sound alone. Haru, for example, can be written 陽, “light, sun, male”, 春, “spring”, or 晴, “clear weather”. The same spoken name can mean the sun for one child and spring for another.

The characters behind the sun meaning in this list:

• 陽 (haru, yō, hi): “light, sun, male”: used in Haru, Haruto, Haruki, Haruko, Yōko, Yōta, Hina and Himari.
• 日 (hi): “sun, day”: one way to write Hina, and part of 日向 in Hinata.
• 旭 or 朝日 (asahi): “morning sun”: the name Asahi.
• 阳 (yáng): “light, sun, male” in Chinese: used in Yang and Haiyang.

If you choose one of these names for its sun meaning, write the character down when you register the name in your family records and share it with relatives. Our Japanese girl names guide explains more about how kanji shape a name’s meaning.

Names Often Said to Mean Sun (That Don’t, per the Reference)

Popular name lists often call these sun names. Their own entries tell a different story, so we list them here with the meaning the reference actually gives. Eliana is in the U.S. top 10: it ranked No. 10 for girls born in 2025, according to the Social Security Administration.

Apollo is the trickiest. He became a god of the sun and light later in Greek tradition, so he is sun-linked, but his name has an unknown meaning. Eliana’s link is even more distant: the Romance name traces back through several forms to Aelius, whose connection to the Greek word for sun is only traditional. If the sun meaning matters most, Helios, Sol or Surya give you the real thing.

Short Sun Names, Nicknames and Sibling Ideas

Short names. Many sun names on this page have only two to four letters: Sol, Ra, Inti, Utu, Nou, Hnub, Arev, Areg, Arpi, Haru, Hina, Yang, Mzia, Sole, Ravi, Haul and Aten. Short names balance a long surname nicely.

Built-in nicknames. These are informal ideas you could use at home, not forms listed by the reference: Sol from Solana, Solveig or Marisol; Sunny from Sunniva or Sunshine; Elio for Heliodoro; Ravi from Ravindra. Check the full name first, since the nickname should not carry a meaning you did not intend.

Sibling and twin sets. Sun and moon pairings are a classic: Aygün and Günay each combine the Turkic words for sun and moon, so they work as a pair on their own. Other ideas: Sol and Luna (Luna means “the moon” in Latin), Helios and Sól for two sun names from mythology, Solveig and Sunniva for a Scandinavian feel, or Surya and Ravi for two brothers.

How to Choose a Name That Means Sun

• Decide how literal you want it: Sol, Helios, Surya and Arev simply mean sun. Solveig, Sunniva and Heulwen are compounds. Apollo and Amaterasu are sun-linked through mythology but do not mean sun.
• Read the whole entry: some names have two roots (Elio, Marisol), and some sun meanings are only possible (Sorin) or traditional (Aelius).
• Respect the source culture: mythological names such as Inti, Ra or Amaterasu belong to real traditions. Learn the story and how the name is used today.
• Say it with your surname: Soleil and Sol end softly; Helios and Surya end crisply. Try both with your last name and a middle name.
• Plan for spelling: names like Sóley, Saulė, Güneş and Jóhonaa’éí carry special letters. U.S. paperwork does not always carry accents or special characters, so decide early how you will write the name.
• Pick a middle name for balance: a short sun name works well with a longer middle name, and a sun name makes a bright middle choice too. Our middle names guide covers rhythm and flow.

Related Betteroo Guides

• Names That Mean Moon
• Names That Mean Light
• Names That Mean Fire
• Space Names
• Nature Names
• Hawaiian Girl Names

The Bottom Line

Names that mean sun range from simple word names (Sol, Soleil, Sunny) to old compounds (Solveig, Sunniva, Heulwen) and mythological names (Helios, Inti, Saulė). Our list of 97 sun names keeps only names whose entries say sun, sunny or sunshine, adds four sun deities whose names mean something else (such as Amaterasu), and flags popular look-alikes such as Eliana and Apollo whose meanings are different. Shortlist three to five, read each entry and say each one out loud for a week.

Once your little sunshine arrives, sleep becomes the next big project. Our newborn sleep schedule week by week is a gentle place to start.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Betteroo Guides

• names that mean star
• Hawaiian boy names