Baby Name: Moana

Looking for baby names that are associated with the color blue — including baby names that mean “blue”?

If so, you’re in the right place! I’ve collected dozens of ideas for you in this post.

Before we get to the names, though, let’s take a quick look at what blue represents…

Symbolism of blue

What does the color blue signify?

In Western cultures in particular, blue can be symbolic of:

• Trust
• Calm
• Sadness
• Peace
• Loyalty
• Depth
• Authenticity

It can also be associated with melancholy. “To have the blues,” for instance, is an expression meaning “to feel sad.”

Baby names associated with blue

All of the names below have an association with the color blue. The names range from traditional to unusual, and their associations range from strong to slight.

Those that have been popular enough to appear in the U.S. baby name data are linked to their corresponding popularity graphs.

Aciano
Aciano is the Spanish word for cornflower (Centaurea cyanus), a species of plant with flowers that are usually blue. Here’s the popularity graph for Aciano.

Afina
Afina is a Romanian feminine name meaning “blueberry.” Here’s the popularity graph for Afina.

Alice
Alice is part of “Alice blue” — a shade of blue named after Alice Roosevelt (the oldest daughter of U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt) in the mid-1910s. It was inspired by either the blue of Alice’s eyes or the blue of one of her dresses, sources disagree. The name Alice ultimately derives from the Germanic name Adalheidis, meaning “noble character” or “nobleness.” Here’s the popularity graph for Alice.

Ao
Ao is a Japanese name that can mean “blue,” depending upon the kanji being used to write the name. Here’s the popularity graph for Ao.

Aomi
Aomi is a Japanese name that can include the element Ao.

Aori
Aori is another Japanese name that can include the element Ao.

Aqua
Aqua is a greenish-blue color. The name of the shade comes from the Latin word aqua, meaning “water.” Here’s the popularity graph for Aqua.

Asuman
Asuman is a Turkish feminine name meaning “sky.”

Azul
Azul is the Spanish word for Azure. Here’s the popularity graph for Azul.

Azur
Azur is the French word for Azure. Here’s the popularity graph for Azur.

Azure
Azure is a sky-blue color. The name of the shade ultimately derives from the Arabic word lazuward, which refers to lapis lazuli. Here’s the popularity graph for Azure.

Azzurra and Azzurro
Azzurra (feminine) and Azzurro (masculine) are the Italian words for Azure. Here’s the popularity graph for Azzurra.

Beryl
Beryl is a mineral that can be blue. (Blue beryl is often called “aquamarine.”) The name of the mineral ultimately comes from the Ancient Greek word beryllos. Here’s the popularity graph for Beryl.

Blue
Blue, of course, refers to the color blue. :) Here’s the popularity graph for Blue.

Bluebell
Bluebell flowers are blue. “Bluebell” is the common name of plants of various genera (including Hyacinthoides).

Bluebird
Bluebird is a type of bird with predominantly blue plumage. “Bluebird” is the common name of birds in the North American genus Sialia.

Bluejay
Bluejay is another type of bird with predominantly blue plumage. “Bluejay” is the common name of the bird species Cyanocitta cristata.

Caelum
Caelum is the Latin word for “sky, heaven.” (Though it’s used as a name in modern-day America, it was simply a vocabulary word in Ancient Rome.) Here’s the popularity graph for Caelum.

Cielo
Cielo is a modern Spanish feminine name based on caelum. Here’s the popularity graph for Cielo.

Cerulean
Cerulean is a sky-blue color. The word may ultimately be derived from caelum. Here’s the popularity graph for Cerulean.

Chicory
Chicory flowers are typically blue. “Chicory” is the common name of the plant species Cichorium intybus.

Chóro
Chóro is a Hopi name meaning “blue-bird.”

Chórzhoya
Chórzhoya is a Hopi name meaning “little blue-bird.”

Cobalt
Cobalt is a vivid shade of blue. Cobalt pigment was originally made from the metallic element cobalt. Here’s the popularity graph for Cobalt.

Cyan
Cyan is the greenish-blue color halfway between blue and green on the visible spectrum. The name of the shade comes from the Ancient Greek word kyanos, meaning “dark blue.” Here’s the popularity graph for Cyan.

Darya
Darya (pronounced dar-YOH) is a Persian feminine name meaning “sea, ocean.” Here’s the popularity graph for Darya.

Denim
Denim fabric is traditionally blue, as it was originally dyed with indigo. The name of the textile is derived from the French phrase serge de Nîmes, which referred to fabric produced in Nîmes, a town in southern France. Here’s the popularity graph for Denim.

Deniz
Deniz (pronounced deh-neez) is a Turkish gender-neutral name meaning “ocean.” Here’s the popularity graph for Deniz.

Fayruz
Fayruz is an Arabic feminine name meaning “turquoise (the stone).”

Gentian
Gentian (pronounced jen-shun) flowers are often blue. According to Pliny, the genus Gentiana was named in honor of Illyrian king Gentius, who is said to have discovered the plant’s medicinal properties. The name Gentian is traditional in Albania, the territory of which was inhabited by Illyrian tribes during ancient times.

Gentiana
Gentiana is the modern Albanian feminine form of Gentian. Here’s the popularity graph for Gentiana.

Glory
Glory (besides being a vocabulary word) is part of “morning glory” — the common name of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae. Morning glory flowers are sometimes blue. Here’s the popularity graph for Glory.

Gökçe
Gökçe (pronounced gok-cheh) is a Turkish gender-neutral name meaning “sky blue.”

Haneul
Haneul is a Korean gender-neutral name meaning “sky.”

Hyacinth
Hyacinth flowers are sometimes blue. The genus Hyacinthus was named for the plant’s association with the myth of Hyacinthus (who was one of the lovers of Apollo in Greek mythology). Here’s the popularity graph for Hyacinth.

Indigo
The word indigo refers to flowering plants of the genus Indigofera — particularly the species Indigofera tinctoria — or to the dye made from the leaves of these plants. By extension, it also refers to the purplish-blue color of this dye. The name of the plant can be traced back to the Ancient Greek word Indikón, meaning “Indian,” as the plant is native to India. (It’s no coincidence that the British Royal Navy began using indigo dye extensively during the years that the British East India Company was gaining control over the Indian subcontinent.) Here’s the popularity graph for Indigo.

Jurate
Jurate (pronounced YOO-rah-teh) is a Lithuanian feminine name based on the word jura, meaning “sea.” Here’s the popularity graph for Jurate.

Kai
Kai is a Hawaiian gender-neutral name meaning “sea.” Here’s the popularity graph for Kai.

Kekai
Kekai is a Hawaiian gender-neutral name meaning “the sea.” Here’s the popularity graph for Kekai.

Kallfu
Kallfu is a Mapuche feminine name based on the word kallfü, meaning “blue.”

Kallfuray
Kallfuray is a Mapuche feminine name meaning “blue flower.”

Kyanite
Kyanite is a mineral that is usually blue. The name of the mineral is based on the Ancient Greek word kyanos, meaning “dark blue.” Here’s the popularity graph for Kyanite.

Lafken
Lafken is a Mapuche name meaning “sea, ocean.”

Lake
Lake water sometimes appears blue. Here’s the popularity graph for Lake.

Lani
Lani is a Hawaiian gender-neutral name meaning “sky.” Here’s the popularity graph for Lani.

Larimar
Larimar is a light blue variety of the mineral pectolite. Its name, coined in the 1970s, is a combination of Larissa (the name of the daughter of one of the stone’s discoverers) and mar, the Spanish word for “sea.” Here’s the popularity graph for Larimar.

Lazuli
Lazuli is part of “lapis lazuli” (pronounced LA-piss LA-zuh-lee) — the name of a deep-blue gemstone. The word lazuli can be traced back (via Latin lazulum and Arabic lazuward) to the place-name Lajward — a region in central Asia where the stone was mined. (The Latin word lapis simply means “stone.”) Here’s the popularity graph for Lazuli.

Livia and Livio
Livia (feminine) and Livio (masculine) are the modern Italian forms of the Roman family name Livius, which is thought to derive from the Latin word lividus, meaning “bluish.” Here are the popularity graphs for Livia and Livio.

Lobelia
Lobelia (pronounced loh-BEEL-ee-uh) flowers are often blue. The genus Lobelia was named in honor of Flemish botanist Matthias de l’Obel.

Lupine
Lupine flowers are sometimes blue. The genus name Lupinus is derived from the Latin word lupinus, meaning “wolfish” (from lupus, “wolf”). Here’s the popularity graph for Lupine.

Mayim
Mayim is the Hebrew word for “water.” (Though it’s used as a name among English speakers, it’s simply a vocabulary word among Hebrew speakers.) Here’s the popularity graph for Mayim.

Maya
Maya is a Hebrew feminine name based on mayim. It also happens to be a Zuni word meaning “crested blue-jay.” Here’s the popularity graph for Maya.

Mira and Meera
Mira, also spelled Meera, is a Hindi feminine name based on the Sanskrit word mira, meaning “sea, ocean.” Here are the popularity graphs for Mira and Meera.

Moana
Moana is a gender-neutral name meaning “ocean” in Hawaiian, Maori, Samoan, Tongan, and other Polynesian languages. Here’s the popularity graph for Moana.

Miosotis
Miosotis is the Spanish form of Myosotis. Here’s the popularity graph for Miosotis.

Myosotis
Myosotis (pronounced my-oh-SOH-tiss) flowers, also known as forget-me-nots, are frequently blue. The genus name Myosotis, meaning “mouse’s ear” in Latin, refers to the shape of the petals.

Navy
In the mid-18th century, officers in Britain’s Royal Navy began wearing uniforms that were dyed blue with indigo. The pigment was particularly colorfast (i.e., able to withstand exposure to sun and salt water), so, over time, other countries began to use it for naval dress as well. The dark shade of blue eventually came to be known as “navy blue.” The word navy refers to a country’s collective sea force. It comes (via French) from the Latin word navigia, meaning “vessels, ships, boats.” Here’s the popularity graph for Navy.

Nila and Neela
Nila, also spelled Neela, is a Hindi feminine name based on the Sanskrit word nila, meaning “dark blue” or “blue.” Here are the popularity graphs for Nila and Neela.

Nilam and Neelam
Nilam, also spelled Neelam, is another Hindi feminine name based on the Sanskrit word nila. Here are the popularity graphs for Nilam and Neelam.

Nilgün
Nilgün is a Turkish feminine given name based on the Persian word nilgun, meaning “indigo (the color).”

Ocean
The word ocean refers to the vast body of salt water that covers over 70% of the earth’s surface — or to any of the five large bodies of water (Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Antarctic, or Arctic) into which it is divided. Here’s the popularity graph for Ocean.

Rayleigh
Rayleigh scattering explains why the sky is blue. The process — which involves electromagnetic radiation (such as visible light) being scattered by particles much smaller in size than the wavelength of that radiation — was named after British physicist John William Strutt, third Baron Rayleigh, who first described it in 1871. Here’s the popularity graph for Rayleigh.

Safira
Safira is the Portuguese word for “sapphire.” Here’s the popularity graph for Safira.

Sagar
Sagar is a Hindi masculine name meaning “sea, ocean.” Here’s the popularity graph for Sagar.

Sama and Samaa
Sama, also spelled Samaa, is a an Arabic feminine name meaning “sky.” Here are the popularity graphs for Sama and Samaa.

Sapphire
The word sapphire refers to the blue variety of the mineral corundum. By extension, it also refers to the blue color of these crystals. The name of the stone can be traced back to the Ancient Greek word sappheiros, which is thought to have referred to lapis lazuli originally (not to sapphire as we know it today). Here’s the popularity graph for Sapphire.

Shyam
Shyam is a Hindi masculine name based on the Sanskrit word shyama, meaning “dark blue.” Here’s the popularity graph for Shyam.

Sky
The word sky refers to the upper atmosphere, which is bright blue on clear days. It’s based on the Old Norse word ský, which meant “cloud” (ironically). Here’s the popularity graph for Sky.

Sini
Sini is a Finnish feminine name meaning “blue.”

Sora
Sora is a Japanese gender-neutral name meaning “sky.” Here’s the popularity graph for Sora.

Sunil
Sunil is a Hindi masculine name derived from the Sanskrit word sunila, meaning “very blue.” Here’s the popularity graph for Sunil.

Tchelet
Tchelet is a Hebrew feminine name meaning “sky blue.”

True
True (besides being a vocabulary word) is part of “true blue” — an expression that means “loyal, faithful.” The association between the color blue and the idea of loyalty or constancy may been inspired by the unchanging blue of the sky. Here’s the popularity graph for True.

Turquoise
Turquoise (pronounced TUR-koyz) is a mineral that is typically greenish-blue. The name of the stone can be traced back to the Old French term pierre tourques, meaning “Turkish stone.” Though it was mined in Persia, the stone was introduced to Europe in the 13th century by Turkish traders. Here’s the popularity graph for Turquoise.

Umi
Umi is a Japanese feminine name that can mean “sea,” depending upon the kanji being used to write the name. Here’s the popularity graph for Umi.

Umiko
Umiko is a Japanese name that can include the element Umi.

Zafiro
Zafiro is the Spanish word for “sapphire.” Here’s the popularity graph for Zafiro.

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Can you think of any other names that have a connection to the color blue?

P.S. Want to see more color-related baby names? Here are lists of red, orange, yellow, green, and purple names.

Sources:

• Ammer, Christine. The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013
• Color Symbolism – Interaction Design Foundation
• Dutfield, Scott and Natalie Wolchover. “The meaning of colors: How 8 colors became symbolic.” Live Science 28 Jan. 2022.
• History of Turquoise – American Gem Society
• Nordic Names
• Online Etymology Dictionary
• Sappheiros – Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon
• Simpson, Paul. The Colour Code: Why We See Red, Feel Blue and Go Green. London: Profile Books, 2021.
• SSA
• Turquoise History and Lore – GIA
• Voth, H. R. “Hopi Proper Names.” Field Columbian Museum Publication 100, Anthropological Series, vol. 6, no. 3, 1905, pp. 65-113.
• Wikipedia
• Wiktionary
• Wisdom Library

Images:

• Sky image adapted from Bildsky by Joho345 under CC BY-SA 4.0.
• Water image adapted from Rippled wake wave in Gullmarsfjorden at Sämstad by W.carter under CC0 1.0.
• Aliceblue image by Nancy.

[Latest update: Nov. 2023]