Luna: meaning and UK use

What does Luna mean?

Luna is the Latin word for moon and the name of the Roman moon goddess. The association and the word meaning are both recorded.

Language or name family covered

Latin

Meaning or derivation

Moon

Our browsing group

girl; modern, nature

Browsing groups describe our editorial shortlist, not rules about who may use a name. A name can cross languages and genders.

Sources for this entry — reviewed 2026-10-07:

• Behind the Name — Luna

Pronunciation and related forms

LOO-nuh (English)

English respellings are approximate; IPA is labelled where used. Follow the pronunciation a person or family chooses, and check it with a speaker of the intended language if that connection matters to you.

No variants or nicknames have been verified for this entry. A family nickname does not need to be an established dictionary form.

How popular is Luna?

In 2025, 757 baby girls in England and Wales were registered as Luna, making it the 59th most popular girls’ name. That is down 11 places on 2024, when it ranked 48th. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it ranked 130th, so it has climbed 71 places in a decade. Its best year in the ONS series was 2022, at 34th. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole UK.

2025 rank (girls)

59th

2025 registrations

757

Best rank in this series

34th (2022)

Every year from 1996 to 2025

Luna: rank and number of baby girls by year (ONS)

Year	Rank	Babies
2025	59	757
2024	48	908
2023	38	1,063
2022	34	1,174
2021	35	1,261
2020	36	1,216
2019	36	1,213
2018	43	1,162
2017	48	1,093
2016	78	715
2015	130	439
2014	146	380
2013	225	224
2012	337	144
2011	376	124
2010	526	76
2009	565	68
2008	580	65
2007	706	48
2006	639	50
2005	1045	24
2004	1252	18
2003	1224	18
2002	1245	16
2001	1870	9
2000	1475	12
1999	1557	11
1998	2165	7
1997	—	Not published
1996	2683	5

The sum of published counts in this 1996–2025 girls series is 12,300. This is a lower bound where years are suppressed, not the number of living people with the name. A best rank is the best position within this series; it does not establish an all-time record.

Selected hyphenated registrations starting with Luna in 2025: Luna-Rose: 13 (girls); Luna-Rae: 10 (girls). This selection includes up to four matching forms with at least ten registrations, not every compound name.

Sources: ONS release, 2025; girls' dataset; boys' dataset. Our 20 top-ten positions were checked against Table 1 in the 2025 workbooks. The history chart and spelling comparisons come from the separate ONS 1996–2025 workbook, checked 7 October 2026. Spelling variants are separate entries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statistics.

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Names to compare with Luna

These suggestions share a browsing group and one or more of our style tags or source-context labels. They are taste comparisons, not etymological relatives or a popularity ranking.

• Islamodern, nature · Scottish form of Islay
• Junipernature, modern · The juniper tree
• Poppynature, modern · The poppy flower
• Willownature, modern · The willow tree
• Wrennature, modern · The wren bird
• Amaramodern · Grace

Read the UK naming guide for the difference between inspiration lists and official statistics, or return to the full name finder.

Registering or changing the name

Once you decide on Luna, confirm the registration process for your UK nation with the register office. If you later want to change a registered name, the route depends on the circumstances and may require consent from people with parental responsibility.

Start with GOV.UK birth registration or GOV.UK guidance on changing a child’s name. Our registration guide and child name-change guide explain where to find the relevant official process.