How popular is the baby name Astra in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Astra.

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Popularity of the baby name Astra


Posts that mention the name Astra

Popular baby names in the Philippines, 2020

Flag of the Philippines
Flag of the Philippines

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the most popular baby names in the country in 2020 were Althea and Jacob.

Here are the Philippines’ top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Althea, 2,268 baby girls
  2. Angel, 1,436
  3. Samantha, 1,430
  4. Princess, 1,193
  5. Nathalie, 1,144
  6. Sofia, 1,130
  7. Sophia, 1,122
  8. Jasmine, 1,102
  9. Andrea, 1,063
  10. Angela, 1,048

Boy Names

  1. Jacob, 2,164 baby boys
  2. Nathaniel, 2,014
  3. Gabriel, 1,895
  4. Nathan, 1.613
  5. Ethan, 1,548
  6. Ezekiel, 1,418
  7. Angelo, 1,395
  8. James, 1,318
  9. Joshua, 1,170 (tie)
  10. Kyle, 1,170 (tie)
Covid-related baby names in the Philippines

The most fascinating part of the publication, though, was the “pandemic-related names” section. It highlighted the following names:

  • Covid: 355 Filipino babies got “Covid” as part of their name in 2020
  • Corona: 31 got “Corona” as part of their name
  • Quarantine: 6 got “Quarantine” as part of their name
  • Astra/Aztra
  • Zeneca/Seneca
  • Lockdown
  • Mask
  • Pandemica
  • Vaccine

In 2019 (and in 2018), the top two names in the Philippines were Althea and Nathaniel.

Source: The Philippines’ Most Common Baby Names of 2020 (PDF)

Top image: Adapted from Flag of the Philippines (public domain)

Numerology: Baby names with a value of 5

Baby names with a numerological value of 5

If you’re on the hunt for baby names with a numerological value of 5, you’re in luck! Because today’s post features hundreds of 5-names.

Before we get to the names, though — how do we know that they’re “fives” in numerology?

Turning names into numbers

Here’s how to calculate the numerological value of a name.

First, for each letter, come up with a number to represent that letter’s position in the alphabet. (Letter A would be number 1, letter B would be number 2, and so forth.) Then, add all the numbers together. If the sum has two or more digits, add the digits together recursively until the result is a single digit. That single digit is the name’s numerological value.

For instance, the letters in the name Peyton correspond to the numbers 16, 5, 25, 20, 15, and 14. The sum of these numbers is 95. The digits of 95 added together equal 14, and the digits of 14 added together equal 5 — the numerological value of Peyton.

Baby names with a value of 5

Below you’ll find the most popular 5-names per gender, according to the latest U.S. baby name data. I’ve further sub-categorized them by total sums — just in case any of those larger numbers are significant to anyone.

5 via 14

The letters in the following baby names add up to 14, which reduces to five (1+4=5).

Girl names (5 via 14)Boy names (5 via 14)
Ida, Adah, Caia, Dia, BeccaAhad, Adi, Dj, Kc, Jac

5 via 23

The letters in the following baby names add up to 23, which reduces to five (2+3=5).

Girl names (5 via 23)Boy names (5 via 23)
Mia, Alia, Aila, Adela, Cara, Addie, Laia, Edie, Jaci, AmiCaleb, Coda, Acen, Iam, Adem

5 via 32

The letters in the following baby names add up to 32, which reduces to five (3+2=5).

Girl names (5 via 32)Boy names (5 via 32)
Emma, Bella, Sage, Lena, Eve, Rhea, Lara, Veda, Giana, Avah, Amiah, Ciara, Danica, Adalie, Lane, Iva, Elif, Aadya, Alaiah, Gigi, Adelia, Aleida, Adaya, Avi, Hera, AileeLeo, Lane, Sage, Reed, Avi, Jakai, Dash, Leif, Aldo, Cecil, Neal, Eder, Nael, Elan, Caine, Dave, Ram, Caeden, Alen

5 via 41

The letters in the following baby names add up to 41, which reduces to five (4+1=5).

Girl names (5 via 41)Boy names (5 via 41)
Amelia, Abigail, Isla, Amaya, Evie, Adelaide, Dream, Saige, Mira, Anya, Indie, Naya, Jayda, Elina, Lisa, Aura, Elani, Laine, Mari, Reem, Irie, Eiza, Madden, Ailen, Yana, Lanie, Maelee, Khali, Zaida, Rahma, Irma, Joana, Lacy, Maleia, Dalani, LeighAmir, King, Nico, Elian, Alijah, Clay, Madden, Duke, Ayan, Kye, Elio, Jadiel, Kabir, Kanan, Kalel, Jabari, Slade, Rami, Arham, Dov, Zack, Makoa, Draco, Haiden, Khaled, Joao, Lex, Dream, Isaak, Jamel, Saige, Banx, Pax, Laine, Geno, Eider, Kasai, Sakai, Omega, Anay, Rick, Gauge, Kofi, Abdallah

5 via 50

The letters in the following baby names add up to 50, which reduces to five (5+0=5).

Girl names (5 via 50)Boy names (5 via 50)
Sofia, Adeline, Lyla, June, Elsie, Elise, Kayla, Haven, Mariah, Fatima, Malani, Lexi, Salem, Joy, Amirah, Eileen, Ezra, Elodie, Milana, Annika, Drew, Baylee, Amiri, Kallie, Rebekah, Inaya, Libby, Rubi, Aniya, Alisha, Kaycee, Emeri, Lucie, Adilene, Anayah, Avaya, Clarke, Kianna, Ally, Delanie, Ever, Aavya, Jireh, Misha, Janet, Iyana, Emrie, Malina, Sabine, America, Azalia, Merida, Jalaya, Myka, Raeya, Darby, Selma, Zoha, Eliani, Mahira, Auria, IlariaEzra, Colt, Paul, Brady, Marco, Frank, Amiri, Drew, Kasen, Zain, Anakin, Donald, Salem, Jakari, Landen, Jedidiah, Calum, Veer, Jireh, Laith, Izan, Keenan, Ever, Raheem, Demari, Derick, Haven, Ivar, Ravi, Mikel, Kent, Olin, Baron, Lars, Makaio, Ahmari, Kru, Arlen, Zian, Hiro, Davin, Eldon, Natan, Jhacari, June, Lino, Zaden, Roel, Darsh, Edrick, Kaycee, Deven, Iroh, Nilan, Imari, Kaimana, Lejend, Lion, Mycah

5 via 59

The letters in the following baby names add up to 59, which reduces to five (5+9=14; 1+4=5).

Girl names (5 via 59)Boy names (5 via 59)
Melanie, Kaylee, Brianna, Kendall, Briella, Makenna, Mylah, Renata, Bonnie, Janelle, Lillie, Rayna, Carly, Joelle, Laylah, Luz, Tru, Viola, Giulia, Kamora, Mariela, Ayesha, Kamilla, Laramie, Noella, Jayden, Milania, Kalayah, Leticia, Marlo, Mileena, Bryn, Darlene, Tianna, Akshara, Aminata, Caliyah, Joanne, Renlee, Tayla, Nihira, Haislee, Astra, Miliana, Junie, Zaniah, Anaiyah, MabryJayden, Jason, Ismael, Bowen, Zaiden, Zaire, Jonas, Mohamed, Rayan, Tru, Idris, Bjorn, Misael, Aryan, Kellen, Mccoy, Kaisen, Jaxx, Kendall, Zabdiel, Jahmir, Sekani, Kaycen, Brent, Ripp, Hansel, Fynn, Leander, Ragnar, Izhaan, Kyden, Marlo, Ramir, Paolo, Brandt, Tiger, Baylen, Niles, Oziah, Gareth, Qasim, Rook, Herman, Mazen, Blayne, Dontae, Mikko

5 via 68

The letters in the following baby names add up to 68, which reduces to five (6+8=14; 1+4=5).

Girl names (5 via 68)Boy names (5 via 68)
Olivia, Sophia, Valeria, Blakely, Morgan, Juliana, Cataleya, Izabella, Madeleine, Oakleigh, Ellianna, Skyla, Kamiyah, Denver, Teresa, Kaydence, Janiyah, Mattie, Nairobi, Harleigh, Braylee, Evelina, Marlene, Jenny, Stacy, Nelly, Kaelyn, Alaysia, Audrina, Dolly, Nour, Zamira, Samiya, Kyrie, Lavinia, Amour, Kaylen, Caitlin, Siobhan, Shayna, Makiyah, Gracyn, Imogene, Alyanna, Taylee, Keiry, Dhriti, Lyrica, Gladys, Kamdyn, Amity, Layken, SitaraBenjamin, Carlos, Brandon, Kyrie, Zander, Cruz, Eduardo, Ricardo, Killian, Denver, Lewis, Morgan, Mohammad, Gerardo, Trey, Tomas, Derrick, Wayne, Rudy, Jericho, Brennan, Gianluca, Kamdyn, Nazir, Eleazar, Zamari, Barron, Finneas, Mauro, Levon, Natanael, Aarush, Karsen, Gionni, Yasin, Bryer, Lloyd, Mordecai, Ervin, Usman, Ayansh, Valor, Shalom, Colsen, Hoyt, Shayan, Lemuel, Fischer, Yerik, Ziaire, Avett, Yanis, Mamadou, Riyaan, Zekiel, Arius, Zayaan, Jyaire, Kaydence, Kaylen, Helios, Bowman, Cassiel, Nicolo, Taron, Bradford

5 via 77

The letters in the following baby names add up to 77, which reduces to five (7+7=14; 1+4=5).

Girl names (5 via 77)Boy names (5 via 77)
Caroline, Vivian, Samantha, Molly, Harlow, Alyssa, Juliet, Kelsey, Coraline, Louisa, Braelyn, Patricia, Kyleigh, Ellery, Saniyah, Keilany, Georgiana, Ashton, Keylani, Glory, Skylee, Sunni, Lluvia, Mirabelle, Linley, Taelyn, Nayomi, Yeimy, Hazley, Tasneem, Lilibeth, Evette, Hayzel, Berkleigh, Ysabella, JaylanieJameson, Ashton, Ryker, Kenneth, Fernando, Kameron, Braylen, Scott, Marvin, Fletcher, Cayson, Merrick, Trent, Tzvi, Kolten, Harlow, Jenson, Giovani, Bernardo, Taylen, Jaylon, Mavrick, Corbyn, Domingo, Konner, Virgil, Brantlee, Kyrin, Syaire, Braelyn, Sheldon, Jayven, Kerry, Dewayne, Kylon, Kelton, Zavien, Marty

5 via 86

The letters in the following baby names add up to 86, which reduces to five (8+6=14; 1+4=5).

Girl names (5 via 86)Boy names (5 via 86)
Skylar, Jordyn, Mckenzie, Theodora, Hunter, Saoirse, Paisleigh, Ellison, Elouise, Alyson, Bryleigh, Yasmine, Hollyn, Izzy, Yarely, Julianne, Haizley, Kailynn, Prudence, Maryann, Lillyana, Dawsyn, Esmeray, DorotheaSantiago, Hunter, Arthur, Cyrus, Johnny, Rodrigo, Tommy, Kolson, Terry, Skylar, Jordyn, Westen, Ellison, Keylor, Estevan, Maynor, Patton, Jamarcus, Percival, Zachery, Zyler, Maxson, Sabastian, Johannes, Ronny, Alastor

5 via 95

The letters in the following baby names add up to 95, which reduces to five (9+5=14; 1+4=5).

Girl names (5 via 95)Boy names (5 via 95)
Kinsley, Peyton, Kimberly, Bristol, Promise, Rowyn, Joslyn, Empress, Estefany, Brynnlee, Yvonne, Blossom, Rosario, Everett, Souline, Annalynn, Brixley, RaylynEverett, Gregory, Peyton, Huxley, Wesson, Viktor, Hussein, Summit, Abdulrahman, Rowyn, Yousif, Sirius, Brayton, Johnson, Whitaker

5 via 104

The letters in the following baby names add up to 104, which reduces to five (1+0+4=5).

Girl names (5 via 104)Boy names (5 via 104)
Yaretzi, Tinsley, Rosalyn, Whitney, Sterling, Violetta, Emmylou, JesslynSterling, Truett, Marcellus, Quintin, Braxtyn, Michelangelo

5 via 113

The letters in the following baby names add up to 113, which reduces to five (1+1+3=5).

Girl names (5 via 113)Boy names (5 via 113)
Primrose, Brittney, Tziporah, Constanza, SumayyahSalvatore, Woodrow, Cristofer, Alexandros, Bryston

5 via 122

The letters in the following baby names add up to 122, which reduces to five (1+2+2=5).

Girl names (5 via 122)Boy names (5 via 122)
Roselynn, Scotlynn, Krislynn, Rosslyn, ZerenityRighteous, Stetsyn, Dimitrius, Chukwuemeka, Houstyn

5 via 131

The letters in the following baby names add up to 131, which reduces to five (1+3+1=5).

Girl names (5 via 131)Boy names (5 via 131)
Brookelynn, Monserrath, Brooklynne, Temiloluwa, ImisioluwaCristopher, Wellington, Roosevelt, Maximillion, Hutchinson

Number 5: Significance and associations

What does the number five mean in numerology?

There’s no definitive answer, unfortunately, because various numerological systems exist, and each one has its own interpretation of the number five. That said, if we look at a couple of modern numerology/astrology websites, we see 5 being described as “freedom-loving,” “dynamic,” “adaptable,” “curious,” and “unpredictable.”

We can also look at associations, which are a bit more concrete. Here are some things that are associated with the number 5:

  • Fingers
    • High-five (hand gesture)
  • Toes
  • Senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing)
  • Tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami)
  • Starfish (most starfish have 5 arms)
  • Basketball (5 players per side)
  • Olympic Games (symbolized by 5 interlocked rings)
  • Greek classical elements (water, earth, air, fire, aether)
    • Quintessence (refers to the fifth element, aether, which was a late addition to the list)
  • Chinese traditional elements (water, fire, earth, wood, metal)

What does the number 5 mean to you? What are your strongest associations with the number?

P.S. To see names with other numerological values, check out the posts for the numbers one, two, three, four, six, seven, eight, and nine.

Sources: SSA, Numerology – Cafe Astrology, The meaning of the numbers 1 – 9 – World Numerology, 5 – Wikipedia

[Latest update: Jan. 2024]

Baby names inspired by the solar eclipse: Helios, Mahina, Blake

Total solar eclipse (August 2017)
Total solar eclipse

On August 21, the United States will see its first coast-to-coast solar eclipse since 1918. If you’re planning to have (or conceive!) a baby around the time of the eclipse, you might be interested in a name that marks the event (but that perhaps isn’t as obvious as Eclipse itself).

So what are your options?

Names with “celestial” associations

A solar eclipse involves the alignment of three celestial bodies — the sun (a star), the moon, and the Earth — in the sky. You could use a name that is associated in some way with one of these elements, such as…

“Sun” names

  • Haru (Japanese)
  • Helios (ancient Greek)
  • Hina (Japanese)
  • Inti (Quechua)
  • Nou (Hmong)
  • Ra (ancient Egyptian)
  • Ravi (Sanskrit)
  • Shams (Arabic)
  • Sol (Spanish & Portuguese, ultimately from Latin)
  • Solaris (Latin)
  • Soleil (French)
  • Sunniva (Old English)
  • Sunny (English)
  • Surya (Sanskrit)

“Star” names

  • Aster (ancient Greek)
  • Astra (based on the ancient Greek word)
  • Citlalli (Nahuatl)
  • Estelle (French)
  • Estrella (Spanish)
  • Hoshi (Japanese)
  • Najm & Najma (Arabic)
  • Seren (Welsh)
  • Star (English)
  • Starla (based on the English word)
  • Stjarna (Icelandic)
  • Stella (Latin)
  • Tähti (Finnish)
  • Tara (Sanskrit)

“Moon” names

  • Aylin (Turkish)
  • Badr (Arabic)
  • Chandra (Sanskrit)
  • Dal (Korean)
  • Dawa (Tibetan)
  • Ilargi (Basque)
  • Luna (Latin)
  • Lusine (Armenian)
  • Mahina (Hawaiian & Tongan)
  • Máni (Icelandic)
  • Metztli (Nahuatl)
  • Moon (English)
  • Qamar (Arabic)
  • Selene (ancient Greek)

“Earth” names

  • Avani (Sanskrit)
  • Bhumi (Sanskrit)
  • Eartha (based on the English word)
  • Gaia (ancient Greek)
  • Ki (Sumerian)
  • Tierra (Spanish)
  • Tlalli (Nahuatl)

“Sky” names

  • Akash (Sanskrit)
  • Alya (Arabic)
  • Anu (Sumerian)
  • Caelus (Latin)
  • Céleste (French)
  • Ciel (French)
  • Cielo (Spanish)
  • Lani (Hawaiian)
  • Ortzi (Basque)
  • Sky (English)
  • Skyla (based on the English word)
  • Sora (Japanese)

You could even look for a name that contains more than one of these elements. I’ve come across a handful of names that happen to contain both an element meaning “sun” and an element meaning “moon,” for instance. Examples include Ravichandra (Sanskrit), Künnei (Yakut), Aygün (Turkish), and Günay (also Turkish).

Names with “dark” associations

The main event, from an Earthling’s perspective, is the darkening of the sun thanks to the moon getting in the way and casting its shadow over us. So you could use a name associated in some way with darkness, such as…

“Shadow” names

  • Chhaya (Sanskrit)
  • Shade (English)
  • Shadow (English)
  • Umbra (Latin)
  • Zalaph (Hebrew)
  • Zillah (Hebrew)

“Dark” or “Black” names

  • Adham (Arabic)
  • Blake (English surname)
  • Charna (Yiddish)
  • Ciar & Ciara (Irish)
  • Ciarán (Irish)
  • Dubhán (Irish)
  • Duff (Irish surname)
  • Jett (English)
  • Kara (Turkish)
  • Krishna (Sanskrit)
  • Melaina (ancient Greek)
    • Melania (Latin, based on melaina)
    • Mélanie (French form of Melania)
  • Raven (English)
  • Sullivan (Irish surname)

“Night” names

  • Layla (Arabic)
  • Nisha (Sanskrit)
  • Njóla (Icelandic)
  • Noctis (Latin)
  • Nox (Latin)
  • Nyx (ancient Greek)
  • Rajani (Sanskrit)
  • Rajnish (Sanskrit)
  • Tuta (Quechua)
  • Yoalli (Nahuatl)

I think Blake and Sullivan are particularly intriguing choices.

The English surname Blake can come from either of two similar Middle English words that happen to have opposite definitions: blac, meaning “black,” or blac, meaning “wan, pale, white, fair.” So it manages to encapsulate the concepts of both darkness and lightness — two key elements of an eclipse.

And the Irish surname Sullivan, “descendant of Súileabhán,” is based on the Gaelic personal name Súileabhán, meaning “little dark eye” — which sounds a lot like a poetic description of an eclipse.

Name pairings with both “celestial” and “dark” associations

You could combine some of the “celestial” and “dark” names above to get something more specific, like…

  • Layla Soleil: “night” and “sun”
  • Jett Helios: “black” and “sun”
  • Ciarán Sol: “black” and “sun”
  • Mélanie Stella: “dark” and “star” (“Dark Star” is also a Grateful Dead song)
  • Luna Zillah: “moon” and “shadow” (“Moon Shadow” is also a Cat Stevens song)

Names (or name pairings) featuring the letters “S” and “E”

This is as inconspicuous as it gets. Commemorate the solar eclipse simply by using the letters “S” and “E” in combination. You could choose a single name that starts with “Se-,” like…

Sela
Selene (“moon” in Greek)
Selma
Seraphina
Seren (“star” in Welsh)
Serenity		Sean
Sebastian
Sefton
Sergio
Seth
Severino

Or, you could use a pair of names that start with “S-” and “E-,” such as…

Sabrina Eden
Sydney Elise
Sarah Evangeline
Susanna Elizabeth		Simon Elijah
Spencer Ellis
Shane Everett
Samuel Edward

Which of the above names (or combos) do you like most? What other solar eclipse-themed ideas would you add to this list?

P.S. Did you know that Cleopatra gave her twins the middle names Selene and Helios?

Update, 5/15/2018: The baby name Eclipse debuted in the 2017 SSA data! The baby name Moon also more than tripled in usage last year.

Update, 12/31/2022: The rare Icelandic name Myrkvi can mean “eclipse” (also “darkness”).

Update, 2/28/2023: Actress Soleil Moon Frye‘s given names mean “sun” and (of course) “moon.”

Sources:

Image: Adapted from 2017 Total Solar Eclipse by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center under CC BY 2.0.

Where did the baby name Astrea come from in 1978?

The character Astrea from the animated TV series "The Space Sentinels" (1977).
Astrea from “The Space Sentinels“

In 1978, the names Astria, Astrea and Astreia all debuted in the U.S. baby name data, and the name Astra saw its then-highest-ever usage (unsurpassed until 2020):

AstraAstriaAstreaAstreia
198055..
19791714..
197825†24*9*6*
197719...
19769...
*Debut, †Peak usage (up to that point)

What caused this sudden interest in the name Astrea?

A Saturday morning cartoon called The Space Sentinels (originally titled The Young Sentinels). It premiered in September of 1977, and the main characters were a trio of teenage superheroes that represented three different racial groups:

  • Mercury (Asian), “the amazing athlete who can match the speed of light”
  • Astrea (African-American), “able to assume any living form”
  • Hercules (white), “empowered with the strength of a hundred men”
The characters Hercules, Mercury and Astrea from the animated TV series "Space Sentinels" (1977).
Main characters of “The Space Sentinels“

Astrea (pronounced ASS-tree-uh) was one of the few African-American superheroes on television around this time. (The Super Friends character Black Vulcan was another.)

Like Hercules and Mercury, Astrea’s name was taken from a figure in ancient mythology: the Greek goddess of justice, Astraea.

Though I’ve chosen the spelling Astrea for this post — because “Astrea” is the most common alternative spelling of “Astraea” — I have to admit that I don’t know which spelling was used in the cartoon. None of the episodes I watched on YouTube displayed the character’s name on-screen.

Speaking of episodes, not very many exist: only 13 aired before The Space Sentinels was cancelled. Was the mixed-race cartoon too ahead of its time to survive?

So which of those three debut spellings do you like best: Astria, Astrea or (one-hit wonder) Astreia?

Sources: