90 Cosmic Names for Dogs From the Heavens, Science and Sci-Fi

Barbara Fitzgerald is an AKC Breeder of Merit and author of the column
“Conversations with Champions” for the BCSA magazine, “Borderlines.”

Take inspiration from the stars when naming your dog. Discover name ideas such
as Atlas, Vega, Galaxy, Titan, and (of course) Pluto.

Photo by Chewy on Unsplash

The ancients looked to the heavens for guidance and the origins of universal
truths. Stars of ancient mythology live on as the stars in our evening sky.
Many of the Roman and Greek gods and heroes are immortalized in the names of
our most visible stellar bodies; these celestial names make for unique, cosmic
names for dogs.

Cosmic Dog Names From Stellar Bodies With Greek Names

Andromeda: The nearest large galaxy to our own, the Milky Way. Andromeda is named for the daughter of Ethiopian King Cepheus and his wife Cassiopeia. In the Greek myth, Cassiopeia vainly brags that her daughter is more beautiful than any of Poseidon’s daughters, the Nereids. Outraged by the insult to his daughters, Poseidon sends the sea monster, Cetus, to ravage the coast of Ethiopia. The only remedy to assuage Poseidon’s ruffled feathers is to chain the king’s daughter, Andromeda, to a rock and sacrifice her to the sea monster. Happily, Perseus happens to fly by on his winged sandals, just as Cetus is preparing to devour the young beauty. Perseus swiftly slays the sea monster and claims Andromeda as his bride. The descendants of Perseus and Andromeda are known today as the Persians.
Anthe: A small moon of Saturn, Anthe is named for one of the Alkyonides. In the Greek myth, the Alkyonides were nymph daughters of the king of the giants, Alkyoneus. When Heracles slays their father, the nymphs cast themselves into the sea in despair. Taking mercy on them, Poseidon’s wife, Amphitrite, transforms the girls into kingfishers.
Astro: Derived from the Greek word for star, astron , Astro is also the name of The Jetsons’ pet dog.
Atlas: One of Saturn’s inner moons, Atlas has a distinctive flying saucer shape. In Greek mythology, Atlas is the Titan god condemned to hold the heavens on his shoulders for leading the Titan gods in their war against the Olympic gods. Atlas makes a good name for a powerful, obedient male dog.
Aurora: A naturally occurring electrical phenomenon that creates streamers of green and reddish lights in the skies near the Northern and Southern poles. Aurora is the name of the Roman goddess of the dawn.
Betelgeuse: The ninth brightest star in the sky; it has a reddish tint. Betelgeuse is part of the Orion constellation and makes a good name for a red-coated dog.

Unique Dog Names From the Cosmos

Atom: The basic building block of all matter.
Calypso: A Trojan (trailing) moon of Saturn, Calypso is named for the Greek nymph who held Odysseus captive on the island of Ogygia for seven years. Calypso music is a light-hearted Caribbean genre originating from Trinidad and Tobago.
Celeste: A French name derived from the Greek root word for celestial or heavenly.
Comet: A small celestial body comprised of frozen gases, dust and rocks. Comet makes a cool name for any of the merle-coated dogs.
Corona: Derived from Latin, corona means “crown.” The corona is the aura that surrounds the sun and other stars in the universe.
Cosmo: Cosmo is derived from the Greek word Cosmos, which is a philosophical term referencing the universe.
Europa: The smallest of the Galilean moons, she was discovered by Galileo. In Greek myth, Zeus was so taken by the beauty of Europa that he disguised himself as a white bull, and when she thought to try to ride him, he whisked her away to a distant land. This distant land was named Europe in her honor.
Galaxy: Originally referring only to the Milky Way, galaxy is derived from the Greek word for milky, galaxias.
Gemini: One of the constellations of the Zodiac, the Gemini refers to the twins, Castor and Pollux of Greek mythology, also known as the Dioscuri. Gemini was also a series of NASA space missions, in which ten crews flew in the two-man Gemini spacecraft.
Kelvin: Unit of thermodynamic temperature. Zero degrees in Kelvin (-273 degrees Celsius) is absolute zero.
Nova: A star suddenly showing a dramatic increase in brightness, then returning to normal brightness, typically after several months.
Quantum: The smallest chunk anything can be divided into in physics. Quantum makes a cute name for a small dog, such as a teacup or toy dog.

Roman and Greek Names of Moons, Planets, and Constellations

Helene: Helene is a moon of Saturn, named after Helen of Troy. In Greek myth, the abduction of Helen, by Paris, begins the Trojan War. Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world, is also known as the face that launched a thousand ships.
Jupiter: The largest planet in our solar system, Jupiter is named after the Roman version of the Greek god, Zeus.
Leo: The lion constellation of the Zodiac, Leo references the Nemean Lion, whose hide was impervious to weapons. The first of Heracles’ 12 labors was to slay the beast. Heracles accomplished this by wrestling it to death, then skinned its hide for his characteristic mantle.
Luna: Luna is the Roman goddess of the moon; her Greek counterpart is Selene.
Mars: The red planet, Mars is named for the Roman version of the Greek god of war, Ares.
Mercury: The smallest planet and closest to the sun, Mercury is named for the Roman god of messages, eloquence, commerce, travel, trickery and thieves. He also escorts souls to the Underworld. Mercury’s Greek counterpart, Hermes, is depicted with a winged helmet and sandals.
Neptune: Farthest planet from the sun and the fourth largest, Neptune is a cold dark gaseous planet. Named for the Roman god of the oceans, his Greek counterpart is Poseidon.
Pisces: Two large Syrian river fish assisted with the birth of Aphrodite from the sea foam and later helped to rescue her and Eros from the monster Typhoeus. Their reward was immortality in the heavens as the Pisces constellation in the Zodiac.
Pluto: A dwarf planet, Pluto is smaller than our moon. Pluto is the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Hades, ruler of the Underworld.
Procyon: Procyon is The Little Dog Star. Procyon, in Greek, means “before the dog,” as this star rises shortly before Sirius, the Dog Star. Procyon is the eighth brightest star in the sky.

Sirius, the Dog Star, is actually comprised of two stars, Sirius 1 and Sirius
2.

NASA HubbleSite

Rigel: Part of the Orion constellation, Rigel is the brightest star in Orion. A frequent destination for the USS Starship Enterprise, Rigel is the 7th brightest star in our sky.
Saturn: The second-largest planet in the solar system, Saturn is a gas giant with rings encompassing its equator and 82 moons in its orbit. Saturn is named for the Roman god of agriculture; his Greek counterpart is Cronus. Under Cronus’ rule, mankind enjoyed a golden age of prosperity.
Scorpio: From the Greek word Skorpios, meaning scorpion, this constellation is tied to the Orion constellation through mythology. When the hunter, Orion, boasted that he could slay all of the animals of earth, Earth goddess, Gaia, sent a giant scorpion to kill Orion and prevent the carnage. Following Orion’s demise, the gods placed him, his dog Sirius, and the scorpion in the heavens. Orion and the Scorpio are never seen in the sky at the same time.
Sirius: The Dog Star and brightest star in the sky, Sirius was the faithful hunting companion of Orion. After Orion’s death, Sirius wandered the Earth mourning the loss of his master. The gods took pity on the lonely canid and allowed him to join his master’s constellation in the heavens.
Tarvos: A moon of Saturn named after the Gaulish mythological deity, depicted as a bull with three cranes riding on his back.
Taurus: Named for Tauros, the Cretan Bull of Heracles’ 12 Labors, Taurus is one of the constellations of the Zodiac. Following Tauros capture by Heracles, he then set the bull free in an Athenian countryside. Here the bull terrorized the denizens of Marathon until he was killed by Theseus. The gods made Tauros immortal, by placing the fallen bull in the heavens. Tauros’ union with Queen Pasiphae of Crete produced the Minotaur.
Titan: The largest of Saturn’s moons, the Titans were the predecessors of the Olympic gods.
Tycho: Lunar crater.
Virgo: A constellation in the Zodiac, Virgo refers to the virgin goddess of justice, Astraia. Distressed by the increasing lawlessness of the Bronze Age of mankind, Zeus took mercy on Astraia and removed her to the heavens.
Ursa: Ursa Major is the constellation of stars commonly referred to as the Big Dipper.
Vega: The brightest star of the constellation Lyra, Vega is the fifth brightest star in the sky.
Venus: The second planet from the sun, Venus is named for the Roman goddess of beauty and love. Her Greek counterpart is Aphrodite.

Cosmic Science and Scientist Names That Make Unique Dog Names

Copernicus

Hawking

Perl

—|—|—

Curie

Herschel

Ptolemy

Darwin

Hubble

Reeves

Faraday

Kepler

Sagan

Einstein

Kuiper

Shockley

Galileo

Messier

Tyson

Halley

Newton

Zwiky

Famous NASA Starships and Star Trek Alien Races

Atlantis

Andorian

Borg

—|—|—

Big Bang

Maven

Spirit

Cassini

Mir

Spitzer

Challenger

Orion

Sputnik

Columbia

Xindi

Star

Discovery

Ozone

Stereo

Endeavor

Pioneer

Romulan

Enterprise

Quasar

Vulcan

Gaia

Rosetta

Tribble

Galactic

Rocket

Tartus

Juno

Sky

Voyager

25 Best Sci-Fi Dog Names from Science Fiction TV and Movies

These characters from sci-fi masterpieces introduce earthlings to the cosmos
via warp-speed starships and glimpses into our future. Name your dog after one
of these heroic characters and imbue him with the Force, to be the best
companion he can be.

Austin: Steve Austin, The Six Million Dollar Man and former test pilot,
crashed to Earth and is rebuilt, better and stronger than before with bionics.
Name your dog Austin if you are seeking a companion better and faster than any
of your previous canine companions.

Batty: Roy Batty, Replicant, returns to Earth to find his maker and
extend his life in Blade Runner.

Blade Runner: Highly stylized sci-fi film starring Harrison Ford, Rutger
Hauer, Daryl Hannah and Sean Young.

Caesar: Leader of the genetically enhanced chimpanzees in D awn of the
Planet of the Apes. He secretly dreams of a rapprochement between the humans
and the simians.

Chekov: Ensign on Star Trek, the Original Series.

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Chewy: Nickname for Star Wars ‘ Chewbacca, a cute name for any hairy,
bear-like dog.

Deckard: Replicant hunter in Blade Runner , played by Harrison Ford.

Ewok: A small hairy species featured in the Star Wars series.

Firefly: Cult sci-fi series.

Galactica: Battlestar Galactica , name your girl Galactica and you can
call her Gal, with an extra nod to Wonder Woman’s Gal Gadot.

Hal: The Hal 9000 computer controls the Discovery spacecraft in 2001: A
Space Odyssey. Hal has a mind of his own, and becomes a malevolent force for
the crew of the Discovery.

Jedi: Those of the Order of the Jedi use the Force, which resides in all
beings, and connects all beings to the universe, to enhance their combat
skills.

Kenobi: Old Ben Kenobi, aka Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi master and mentor to
both Anakin Skywalker and Luke Skywalker.

Kirk: Captain James Tiberius Kirk, first Captain of the Enterprise.

Koenig: John Koenig, leader of Moon Base Alpha on Space 1999. Koenig is
Dutch for King.

Maya: Shape-shifting alien and crew member on Space 1999.

Pris: Female replicant who returns to Earth with fellow replicant Roy
Batty to extend their lives in Blade Runner, played by Daryl Hannah.

Ripley: Warrant Officer and sole survivor of the starship Nostromo in the
film, Alien.

Scotty: Starship Enterprise’s chief of engineering. Scottie makes a
good name for and of the Scottish dog breeds.

Serling: Rod Serling, host of The Twilight Zone, took us to alien
civilizations as well as our own future and alternative realities.

Solo: Han Solo, captain of the Millennium Falcon in the first Star Wars
Series.

Spock: A cute name for any prick-eared dog.

Uhura: Lieutenant Nyota Uhura of Star Trek was a groundbreaking role, a
first in the USA where a Black female was seen on TV, as an equal in
intelligence and responsibility to the men of the series.

Wookiee: Star Wars species, of which Chewbacca is a member.

Yoda: A cute name for any small prick-eared dog, especially the Chinese
Crested breed.

Zulu: George Takei’s Star Trek character.