Aquarius baby names
Aquarius is the water bearer, a fixed air sign with two rulers, steady Saturn and sideways Uranus, born in the long nights of January and February. These names carry the sky, the poured water, the winter and the new idea, and every origin has been checked.
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An Aquarius baby is born between around 20 January and 18 February, under the water bearer, in the coldest and darkest stretch of the northern year. The sign has two rulers: Saturn, the old planet of structure and staying power, and Uranus, the planet of surprise, invention and the sudden new idea. Put those together and you get the child who does the thing nobody in the family does, calmly, with a good reason.
An Aquarius name can carry the sky, the poured water, the winter months, a new beginning or a friendship offered to everyone. It can also simply be a little unusual, which this sign rarely minds. Every name below has its origin and meaning checked, and a reason it suits this sign and no other quite so well.
Ten standout Aquarius names
- Urania (girl). Greek for “heavenly”, the Muse of astronomy, and the name that Uranus, Aquarius’s modern ruler, shares.
- Hebe (girl). Greek for “youth”. Hebe poured drinks for the gods before the boy who became the water bearer took her place.
- Aquila (any). Latin for “eagle”. The eagle that carried the water bearer up to the sky is the constellation right beside Aquarius.
- Miranda (girl). Latin for “admirable”. One of the moons of Uranus, and a name Shakespeare made.
- Oberon (boy). The fairy king of Shakespeare, and another moon of Uranus.
- Nova (girl). Latin for “new”. Aquarius is the sign of the new idea.
- Ezra (boy). Hebrew for “help”. This is the sign that helps the stranger as readily as the friend.
- Eira (girl). Welsh for “snow”, for a baby born in the depths of winter.
- Akash (boy). Sanskrit for “open space, sky”. Air with plenty of room in it, which is exactly how Aquarius likes it.
- Indigo (any). The deep blue dye and colour, near to the electric blue most often given to the sign.
What makes a name feel Aquarius
Aquarius has more threads than most signs, because it has two rulers and a figure that seems, at first, to belong to the wrong element. Once you understand them, you will be able to tell straight away whether a name you love is an Aquarius name or not.
The water bearer
Aquarius is drawn in the sky as a figure pouring water from a jar. The figure is often linked with Ganymede, the boy in Greek legend who was carried up by an eagle to pour drinks for the gods. He took the job from Hebe, the goddess of youth, who had poured before him. The eagle is in the sky as well, as the constellation Aquila, close by.
The water bearer confuses people, because Aquarius is not a water sign. It is air. The point of the figure is the pouring: Aquarius carries something and gives it out to everyone. It is the sign of sharing knowledge, of ideas poured into the world, of friendship that runs wide rather than deep. So water bearer names are names of pouring, of streams, of the sea, and of the figures in the story.
Saturn, the steady ruler
Every sign has a ruling planet, which gives it its main character. Aquarius had Saturn long before the telescope found anything further out. Saturn is the slow, ringed planet of structure, patience and holding firm, and it gives Aquarius its backbone. This is a fixed sign, steady and hard to move once it has decided. The Aquarius child who has taken a position on the coat, the cup or the bedtime story is perfectly calm about it, and will not be shifted by volume. Saturn names are names of steadiness and constancy.
Uranus, the sideways ruler
The modern ruler is Uranus, found in 1781 by the astronomer William Herschel, the first planet discovered with a telescope. It was named after Ouranos, the Greek god who was the sky itself. Uranus is the planet of surprise, invention, freedom and difference. And it fits the sign in a way that is almost a joke: Uranus spins tipped right over on its side, rolling around the Sun while every other planet turns more or less upright. The Aquarius keyword on this site is “sideways”, and the planet means it.
There is one more gift here. Almost all the moons of Uranus are named after characters from Shakespeare’s plays, with a couple from the poet Alexander Pope. That gives Aquarius its own little library of names, and you will find it below.
Air, the element
Astrology groups the twelve signs into four elements, fire, earth, air and water, and each has its own rhythm. The air signs, Gemini, Libra and Aquarius, live through thought, ideas and connection. The four elements before the twelve signs explains all four.
Aquarius is the air of the open sky: wide, cool, clear, with plenty of room. Its air names are names of sky, heavens and wide-open space rather than soft breezes.
January and February
Each sign has a modality, which says where it sits in its season. Cardinal signs open a season, fixed signs hold its middle and mutable signs close it. Aquarius is fixed, so it sits in the deep middle of winter in the northern hemisphere: frost, snowdrops, long dark evenings, the first light coming back at the end of it. January is named after Janus, the Roman god of doorways and beginnings, who looks backward and forward at once, and Aquarius, the sign that always has one eye on what comes next, starts inside it. (Cardinal, fixed and mutable children shows how the three modalities look in a child.)
The nights of an Aquarius birth are the longest and often the clearest of the northern year, when the winter stars, Orion and Sirius among them, are at their best.
In the southern hemisphere the same dates are high summer. A name like Eira, “snow”, becomes a sweet contradiction there, which an Aquarius child would probably enjoy. Sky, water and Uranus names work wherever you are.
Colours, stones and flowers
The colour most often given to Aquarius in astrology is electric blue, sometimes turquoise. The stone usually given is the amethyst, and the flower most often linked with it is the orchid. Separate from the sign, the February birthstone is also the amethyst and the January birthstone is the garnet. The February birth flowers are the violet and the primrose.
The qualities
Aquarius is original, independent, friendly to everybody, fair in principle, inventive and quietly stubborn. This child wants a reason, likes their own odd solution, and is kind to the one nobody else is talking to. An Aquarius name can be unusual, as long as it is not hard to live with. Names with an idea inside them, a story you can tell the child later, suit this sign beautifully.
The threads at a glance
| Thread | What to look for in a name | One example |
|---|---|---|
| The water bearer | Pouring, streams, the sea, Hebe, the eagle | Aquila |
| Saturn | Steadiness, constancy, the planet’s own name | Constance |
| Uranus | Heaven, sky, surprise, the moons of Uranus | Urania |
| Air | Open sky, wide space, wind | Akash |
| Season | Midwinter, snow, January, February, violets | Eira |
| Qualities | New, free, friendly, helpful, a little different | Nova |
The names
Each group comes with a short note and a table. Gender marks show how a name is mostly used today: girl, boy or any. Aquarius parents are the most likely of all to cross those lines, and the sign approves.
Names of the water bearer
The figure of the sign, the figures from its story, and the water it pours.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits an Aquarius |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hebe (girl) | Greek | “Youth” | The goddess who poured for the gods before Ganymede, the water bearer. Two syllables, said “HEE-bee”. |
| Aquila (any) | Latin | “Eagle” | The eagle that carried Ganymede up to the sky shines as the constellation beside Aquarius. |
| Dylan (boy) | Welsh | From Welsh words for “to, toward” and “tide, flow” | In Welsh legend Dylan went straight to the sea after his naming and swam like a fish. A name that flows. |
| Moana (girl) | Maori, Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages | “Ocean, wide expanse of water” | The wide water the bearer pours out for everyone. |
| River (any) | English, via Old French from Latin ripa | A flowing body of water | The stream from the jar, simple and modern. |
| Undine (girl) | Latin, from unda | “Wave” | A water spirit’s name, made by a Swiss writer in the 1500s. Rare, cool and a little strange, which is a compliment here. |
| Brook (any) | English surname for someone who lived by a brook | A small stream | The poured water in a short, clear name. |
Names of Saturn and Uranus
The two rulers, and the heavens they belong to.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits an Aquarius |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zuhal (girl) | Turkish, from the Arabic name of the planet | Saturn | A name that is literally Aquarius’s old ruler. Mostly a girl’s name in Turkey. |
| Urania (girl) | Greek, from Ourania | “Heavenly” | The Muse of astronomy, and the sister name of Uranus, the modern ruler. |
| Celeste (girl or any) | Latin, from Caelestis | “Of the sky, heavenly” | The heavens of Uranus in a soft, familiar name. |
| Celestine (girl) | English and French, from Caelestinus | “Heavenly”, through Caelestis | The longer form, with Celie or Tina inside it. |
| Kalani (any) | Hawaiian | “The heavens” | A Hawaiian name for the sky above, warm and open. |
| Herschel (boy) | Yiddish, a short form of Hirsh, “deer” | From Hirsh, “deer” | Through the astronomer’s surname, the name that found Uranus. A clever, quiet nod for a family who loves the story. |
Names of the open sky and the wind
Aquarius air is the wide sky, not the gentle breeze. These names have room in them.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits an Aquarius |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sky (any) | English, from Old Norse sky | The sky (the Old Norse word meant “cloud”) | Uranus was the sky. Plain, short and very Aquarius. |
| Akash (boy) | Sanskrit, from akasha | “Open space, sky” | Space is exactly what this child asks for. |
| Sora (any) | Japanese | “Sky” | A short, clear Japanese name for the open sky. Other characters can give other meanings, so check the writing. |
| Ciel (any) | French | “Sky” | The French word for sky. It is not used as a name in France itself, which feels right for a sign that does it differently. |
| Aella (girl) | Greek | “Whirlwind” | Air with Uranus energy in it: sudden, fast, turning. |
| Storm (any) | English, also Scandinavian | A storm | The flash and rumble of Uranus, the planet of sudden change. |
The moons of Uranus
Here is something no other sign has. The moons of Uranus are named after characters from Shakespeare, with a couple from Alexander Pope, so every name in this table is both a literary name and a real moon circling Aquarius’s modern ruler.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits an Aquarius |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miranda (girl) | Latin, from mirandus | “Admirable, worthy of being admired” | Created by Shakespeare for The Tempest, and one of Uranus’s five large moons. |
| Ariel (any) | Hebrew | “Lion of God” | The free spirit of The Tempest, who wants his liberty more than anything. Aquarius, through and through. |
| Titania (girl) | Probably Latin | “Of the Titans” | The fairy queen of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the largest moon of Uranus. |
| Oberon (boy) | From Auberon, an Old French form of Alberich | From Germanic words for “elf” and “ruler” | The fairy king, and the outermost of Uranus’s large moons. |
| Juliet (girl) | English form of Giulietta or Juliette | A form of Julia, from the Roman family name Julius | A small inner moon of Uranus, and the most famous young woman in English plays. |
| Bianca (girl) | Italian | “White” | A moon of Uranus, and the colour of a February frost. |
| Ophelia (girl) | Greek, from opheleia | “Help, advantage” | Another moon of Uranus, with a meaning of help, which is what Aquarius gives freely. |
| Rosalind (girl) | Old German | From “horse” and “soft, tender” | The clever, independent heroine of As You Like It, who dresses as a boy, calls herself Ganymede, the water bearer’s own name, and does exactly as she pleases. Also a moon. |
| Perdita (girl) | Latin, from perditus | “Lost” | A rare moon of Uranus and a Shakespeare heroine who was lost and found. Unusual, in the way Aquarius parents often like. |
| Prospero (boy) | Italian form of Prosper | From Latin, “fortunate, successful” | The magician of The Tempest, and a small, far moon of Uranus. |
Names of new beginnings and freedom
Aquarius looks forward. These names hold the new idea, the fresh start and the free choice.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits an Aquarius |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nova (girl) | Latin, from novus | “New” | A star that suddenly shines new and bright. The sign of the new idea, in four letters. |
| Zora (girl) | South Slavic, Czech and Slovak | “Dawn” | The first light after the long winter night. |
| Renata (girl) | Latin, feminine of Renatus | “Born again” | A fresh start, which Aquarius brings to almost any family tradition. |
| Liberty (girl or any) | English, from Latin libertas | “Freedom” | Uranus is the planet of freedom, and this child will want it. |
| Wilder (boy or any) | English surname | “Wild, untamed” | For the child who will do it their own way, cheerfully, whatever the instructions say. |
Midwinter, January and February
The season of the sign, its months, its stones and its flowers.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits an Aquarius |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janus (boy) | Latin | “Archway” | The two-faced god of doorways who gave January its name, looking back and forward at once. |
| Winter (any) | English | The season | The plain, cool name of the sign’s season. Best for northern hemisphere babies. |
| Eira (girl) | Welsh | “Snow” | A modern Welsh name, said “AY-ra”. Snow for a midwinter child. |
| Brigid (girl) | Irish, a form of Brighid | “The exalted one” | Saint Brigid’s Day, 1 February, is the old Irish first day of spring, right in the middle of Aquarius. Bridget is the English form. |
| Agnes (girl) | Greek, from Hagne | “Chaste”, and long linked with Latin agnus, “lamb” | Saint Agnes’s feast falls on 21 January, at the very start of Aquarius. |
| Valentine (any) | Latin, from Valens | “Strong, vigorous, healthy” | Saint Valentine’s Day, 14 February, sits inside Aquarius. Love is the association, strength is the meaning. |
| Violet (girl) | English, from Latin viola | The flower | The February birth flower, and close to the colour of the amethyst. |
| Viola (girl) | Latin | “Violet” | The same flower in Latin, and the clever, disguised heroine of Twelfth Night. |
| Primrose (girl) | English, from Latin prima rosa | “First rose” | A February flower, and the first bright thing in the hedge after winter. |
| Amethyst (girl) | Greek, from amethystos | “Not drunk”, from an old belief about the stone | The February birthstone and the stone most often given to Aquarius. Unusual, but it has Amy built in. |
| Indigo (any) | English, from Greek Indikon | “From India”, for the blue dye | The deep blue nearest to Aquarius’s electric blue. |
Names of friendship and help
Aquarius is friendly with everyone and fair to all. These names carry that open friendliness and the habit of helping.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits an Aquarius |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edwin (boy) | Old English | “Rich friend” | A friend with plenty to give, which is Aquarius at its best. |
| Darwin (boy) | English surname, from Old English Deorwine | “Dear friend” | Friendship in the meaning, and a surname that many families link with curiosity and new ideas. |
| Oswin (boy) | Old English | “God friend” | An old Northumbrian name, rare and gentle. |
| Ezra (boy) | Hebrew | “Help” | The helper of the zodiac, in four letters. |
| Constance (girl) | Medieval form of Latin Constantia | From constans, “steadfast, constant” | Saturn’s steadiness and the loyalty of a fixed sign. Aquarius is unusual, and also very constant. |
Choosing well
Aquarius is the sign where parents are most tempted to choose something nobody else has, and that instinct is right for the sign. The tests below make sure the unusual name stays a gift and does not become a chore.
Unusual, but livable
Try three quick checks for any rare name. Can a stranger spell it after hearing it once? Can they say it after reading it once? If the answer to both is no, the child will spend years correcting people. That may be fine, since Aquarius children are rarely bothered by being different, but it is worth choosing on purpose. If you love a very rare name, Perdita or Undine or Zuhal, a familiar middle name gives the child a choice later. That is the most Aquarius gift of all: freedom.
Say it aloud with the surname
Say the full name, quickly and slowly. Listen for names that run into the surname, accidental rhymes, or a first name ending in the same sound as the surname begins. Sky-names and short names (Sky, Sora, Nova) can be swallowed by a long surname, so try them both ways.
Find the nickname
Constance becomes Connie. Celestine becomes Celie. Valentine becomes Val. Amethyst becomes Amy. Oberon becomes Obi, sooner or later. Decide whether you like the short form now.
Check the initials
Write the initials in a row. Look for words, and look again on a school name label.
Call it across a park
Stand at the edge of the playground and call the name as though your child has wandered off to examine something nobody else has noticed, which an Aquarius child will do. Two or three clear syllables (Ezra, Miranda, Aquila) carry well.
Give the reason
This one is only for Aquarius. When your child is old enough, they will ask why they have their name. This is the child who wants a reason for everything, and a name with a story (the eagle beside the water bearer, the moon of a sideways planet, the snow they were born in) is a reason they can keep.
First and middle names that work for an Aquarius
A good Aquarius combination often puts an unusual name beside a steady one: Uranus and Saturn, side by side.
- Urania Constance: the heavens and the steady ruler.
- Ezra Janus: help, and the god of new beginnings.
- Miranda Eira: the moon of Uranus and the midwinter snow.
- Aquila River: the eagle and the poured water.
- Oberon Edwin: the fairy king and the rich friend.
- Nova Brigid: the new star and the first day of the Irish spring.
- Akash Wilder: open sky and a free spirit.
- Hebe Violet: the one who poured, and the February flower.
Good Aquarius middle names for almost any first name: Sky, Nova, Eira, Celeste, River, Violet, Zora, Liberty.
Brothers and sisters from other signs
If you have, or hope to have, other children, these links help names sound like one family while each child keeps their own sign.
- With a Capricorn sibling: Saturn rules both signs, so Constance or Zuhal links them. See Capricorn baby names.
- With a Leo sibling: Leo sits opposite Aquarius, the Sun to Aquarius’s wide sky. A warm, golden Leo name beside a cool sky name is a natural balance. See Leo baby names.
- With a Gemini or Libra sibling: the other two air signs. Sky, wind and friendship names suit all three. See Gemini baby names and Libra baby names.
- With a Pisces sibling: Pisces begins the day after Aquarius ends, and the water bearer’s water flows towards the fishes. River, Moana and Dylan cross easily. See Pisces baby names.
- With any sibling at all: the Shakespeare moon names make a lovely family set. A Miranda, a Prospero and a Viola will always sound like they belong to the same story.
There is more on how the signs share a house in siblings by sign, and on raising a child who is very unlike you in when you and your child are nothing alike.
The chart is bigger than the Sun
The Sun sign is the beginning of a chart, not the whole of it. Two other placements matter a great deal for a small child, and either can be in Aquarius even when the Sun is not.
An Aquarius Moon
The Moon shows what a child needs to feel safe. An Aquarius Moon child needs room to step back from a feeling and come back to it, and to be accepted as their own unusual self. For a baby with the Moon in Aquarius and the Sun somewhere else, a sky name makes a lovely middle name: Sky, Akash, Sora, Celeste or Kalani. It names the space the child needs inside.
Aquarius rising
The rising sign is the sign coming up over the eastern horizon at the moment of birth. It shapes the first impression a child makes. Aquarius rising babies are often friendly with everyone and attached in their own particular way, more interested in the extractor fan than in the visitor. A first name with an idea in it (Nova, Miranda, Aquila, Ezra) can suit an Aquarius rising child even if the Sun is in a very different sign. The rising sign in children explains what it shows, and Sun, Moon and rising puts the three together.
If the baby is due near a cusp
The Sun moves from Capricorn into Aquarius around 20 January, and from Aquarius into Pisces around 19 February. That moment shifts by about a day from year to year, and born on the cusp explains why. Babies, meanwhile, arrive when they are ready.
If you are due within a week or so of either edge, a shortlist that works for both signs saves a lot of worry.
Due in mid to late January (Capricorn or Aquarius): Saturn rules both signs, so Constance and Zuhal belong on either side of the line. Janus, who gave his name to January, works for both too, and so do Winter, Eira and Agnes, since the season and the saint’s day are shared.
Due in mid to late February (Aquarius or Pisces): the water bearer’s water leads straight to the fishes. River, Moana, Dylan, Brook and Undine all suit a Pisces baby as well as an Aquarius one. Violet and Amethyst, the February flower and stone, are also safe on both sides.
Keep one name from the shared season. If you want a name that is only Aquarius, pair a Uranus or sky name with a season middle name. Urania Violet or Oberon Winter still makes sense if your Aquarius decides at the last minute to be a Pisces or a Capricorn.
When the baby has come and you know the time and place, you can find out for sure. Until then, a shortlist that works either way is the calmest plan.
A name with room in it
Aquarius children grow into themselves at their own peculiar pace, and the family’s job is mostly to leave them the room. A name can do the same. Choose one that gives your child something to think about, something to explain to friends, something they can carry their own way. If it also holds the sky, the poured water, a moon of Uranus or the snow they were born in, then it is a name with a reason, and this child, of all children, will want the reason.
For the first year and beyond, Aquarius baby gifts and first birthday gifts by sign have ideas, and double Aquarius is there for the baby with both the Sun and the Moon in the water bearer.
Sources and references
- Behind the Name: Hebe, Ganymede, Aquila, Dylan, Moana, River, Undine and Brook: water bearer and water names.
- Wikipedia: Zuhal: the Turkish given name meaning Saturn.
- Behind the Name: Ourania, Caelestis, Celestine, Kalani and Hershel: heaven names and the Herschel surname.
- Behind the Name: Sky, Akash, Sora, Ciel, Aella and Storm: sky and wind names.
- NASA Science: Uranus moons: the literary naming of the moons of Uranus.
- Behind the Name: Miranda, Ariel, Titania, Auberon, Alberich, Juliet, Bianca, Ophelia, Rosalind, Perdita and Prospero: the moon names.
- Behind the Name: Nova, Zora, Renatus, Liberty and Wilder: names of newness and freedom.
- Behind the Name: Janus, Eira, Bridget, Agnes, Valentine, Violet, Viola, Primrose, Amethyst and Indigo: season, flower, stone and colour names.
- Behind the Name: Edwin, Deorwine, Oswin, Ezra and Constance: friendship and steadiness names.