Names That Mean Light

Names meaning light, bright, shining or radiant. Worth reading closely: light in a name is often a metaphor for fame or for clarity rather than for brightness, and the two senses sit on one root in several languages.

Every name here has a researched page whose stated meaning carries this sense.

Rankings for

21 names, uncommon — 100 to 499 a year, in United States

Very Rare Rare Uncommon

Girls Boys Unisex

Albert Albert is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "noble and bright."
Boy Germanic 461 in 2025
Cassandra Cassandra is a girl's name from Greek myth, borne by a prophet cursed to see the future and never be believed.
Girl Greek 463 in 2025
Noor Noor is a name of Arabic origin meaning "light."
Girl Arabic 478 in 2025
Ray Ray is a boy's name that serves as a short form of Raymond and as the English word for a beam of light.
Boy Germanic 338 in 2025
Alberto Alberto means bright nobility, and both halves are compliments — the Germanic joins a word for noble descent to one meaning bright or famous, with nothing descriptive about the person at all.
Boy Italian 301 in 2025
Kelly Kelly is a name from the Irish surname Ó Ceallaigh, borne almost entirely by men for most of its history and now 86 percent female in our data.
Unisex Irish 403 in 2025
Lucien Lucien is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "light," the French form of Lucian.
Boy French 265 in 2025
Clare Clare is the older English spelling and the one the Irish county carries, and its history is British and Irish rather than American — England, Scotland and Ireland all peaked far above the United States.
Girl English 283 in 2025
Chiara Chiara is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "bright" or "clear," the Italian form of Clare, and its saint is the patron of television.
Girl Italian 228 in 2025
Bobby Bobby is a boy's name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame."
Boy Germanic 207 in 2025
Clarissa Clarissa means bright, and it names one of the longest novels in English — Richardson's Clarissa runs to about a million words, which makes it longer than the whole of Proust in most editions.
Girl Latin 212 in 2025
Lucie Lucie is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "light," the French form of Lucy.
Girl French 207 in 2025
Alba Alba is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "dawn" or "white."
Girl Latin 177 in 2025
Nelly Nelly charts in five markets and England ranks it highest at 353rd — ahead of Scotland 486th, Ireland 640th, France 726th and the United States 1294th.
Girl English 182 in 2025
Roxanne Roxanne means dawn or bright, and it is Persian rather than Greek — Alexander married Roxana in Bactria, and she and their son were murdered after his death.
Girl Persian 170 in 2025
Gilbert Gilbert is a boy's name from Germanic elements meaning bright pledge, and it founded the only medieval religious order native to England.
Boy Germanic 145 in 2025
Robyn Robyn is a girl's name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame."
Girl Germanic 159 in 2025
Nour Nour is a girl's name of Arabic origin meaning "light," from nur.
Girl Arabic 148 in 2025
Shirley Shirley is a girl's name from an English place name meaning bright clearing, and it was a boys' name until Charlotte Brontë used it for a heroine in 1849.
Girl English 133 in 2025
Lucinda Lucinda was invented by Cervantes — the name appears in Don Quixote in 1605 and has no record before it, which makes it one of the few names on this site with a datable author.
Girl Spanish 116 in 2025
Robbie Robbie is a unisex name of Germanic origin meaning "bright fame," a diminutive of Robert.
Unisex Scottish 120 in 2025

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Names That Mean Light

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