Exoplanet Name Generator

Catalog designations and proper names for alien worlds

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Generate exoplanet names in the two styles astronomers actually use: survey designations like Kepler-442b and TOI-700 d, and IAU-style proper names drawn from myth, history and invented worlds. Built for sci-fi writers, worldbuilders and space-game designers who want planets that sound discovered rather than made up.

About exoplanet names

Real exoplanets are named in two layers. The first is a catalog designation: the host star's survey name followed by a lowercase letter, starting at b because the star itself is implicitly a. Kepler-186f is the fifth planet found around the 186th star confirmed by the Kepler mission; TOI-700 d comes from the TESS Objects of Interest list; HD 189733 b uses the Henry Draper catalog number of a star bright enough to have been logged a century ago. Letters follow discovery order, not distance, which is why a system's b can sit outside its e.

The second layer is a proper name. Since 2015 the IAU's NameExoWorlds campaigns have let countries christen a handful of systems, producing names like Dimidium (51 Pegasi b, the first planet found around a Sun-like star), Poltergeist and Draugr (the pulsar planets), Dulcinea and Rocinante (the Mu Arae system, named after Don Quixote), and Yvaga, Koyopa' and Laligurans from Bolivian, Guatemalan and Nepali culture. Proper names tend to be short, pronounceable, and rooted in local myth, history or nature.

This generator mixes real designations, real IAU names, and original worlds that follow the same conventions, so you can pick a plausible survey tag for a hard-science setting or a mythic proper name for a colony world, and either would look right in a discovery announcement.

How to choose exoplanet names

  • For hard sci-fi, give a newly discovered world only a catalog designation (TOI-1452 b, GJ 1002 c); settlers and marketing departments add the proper name later, and that gap is a free bit of worldbuilding.
  • Letters follow discovery order: the first planet around a star is b, the next found is c, even if it orbits closer. A system whose habitable world is f or g quietly implies a crowded, well-studied system.
  • Match the prefix to the era and method: HD and Gliese/GJ numbers for bright or nearby stars known before exoplanet science, Kepler and K2 for 2009 to 2018 transit finds, TOI for the TESS era, WASP and HAT-P for hot Jupiters, OGLE and MOA for microlensing.
  • IAU-style proper names come from deities, culture heroes, rivers and mountains rather than English adjectives, so Perun, Tangaroa or Ishkara read as official where Bluehaven or Nova Terra read as fiction.
  • Name the star first and let the planets inherit it: a world called Nisaba around a star called Enlil tells the reader both came from the same naming committee.

Frequently asked questions

How are exoplanets actually named?

Each gets a designation made of the host star's catalog name plus a lowercase letter starting at b, assigned in order of discovery (for example Proxima Centauri b or Kepler-452b). A small number also receive an IAU-approved proper name through the NameExoWorlds campaigns, such as Dimidium, Arion or Dagon.

What do prefixes like Kepler, TOI, WASP and HD mean?

They identify the survey or catalog that listed the star. Kepler and K2 are NASA's Kepler mission, TOI means TESS Object of Interest, WASP and HAT-P are ground-based transit surveys that mostly find hot Jupiters, HD is the Henry Draper star catalog, GJ and Gliese are catalogs of nearby stars, and OGLE and MOA are microlensing surveys.

Can I use the real exoplanet names in my story or game?

Yes. Astronomical designations and IAU names are public, not trademarked, so Kepler-186f or TRAPPIST-1e can appear in fiction freely. The invented names on this page are also free to use for personal and commercial projects.

Which exoplanet names sound the most habitable?

In real science none of them do, but writers tend to reach for worlds in the habitable-zone headlines: Proxima Centauri b, TRAPPIST-1e, Kepler-442b, TOI-700 d, LHS 1140 b and K2-18b. For a settled colony, pair one of those with a mythic proper name like Ostara or Viracocha.

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All 500 exoplanet names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 26 names

  • AB Aurigae b
  • Abol
  • Adad
  • Aegir
  • Agni Prime
  • Ahra
  • Akycha
  • Albmi
  • Aldhafera Minor
  • Ama-no-Uzume
  • Amaranthe
  • Amateru
  • Anansi
  • Ankaris
  • Anshar
  • Arawn
  • Ardent's Landing
  • Arion
  • Arkas
  • Aryaman
  • Ashvattha
  • Asye
  • AU Microscopii b
  • Aumatex
  • Aurelith
  • Awasis

B: 24 names

  • Babylonia
  • Baiduri
  • Banba
  • Barnard's Star b
  • Belenus
  • Belet-Seri
  • Bélisama
  • Belobog
  • Bendida
  • Benten
  • Beta Pictoris b
  • Bhaga
  • Bharani Prime
  • Bocaprins
  • Boinayel
  • Brahe
  • Bran
  • Brannach
  • Brigantia
  • Brighid
  • Brihaspati
  • Bryndis
  • Budha
  • Buru

C: 19 names

  • Caer Sidi
  • Cailleach
  • Caleuche
  • Calyx Minor
  • Cangjie
  • Carthael
  • Castellan
  • Cayahuanca
  • Cernunnos
  • Chaac
  • Chandrika
  • Chang'e Minor
  • Chura
  • Cimmeria
  • COCONUTS-2b
  • CoRoT-7b
  • CoRoT-9b
  • Corvane
  • Cruinlagh

D: 9 names

  • Dagon
  • Danu
  • Dazhbog
  • Dian Cécht
  • Dimidium
  • Draugr
  • Dulcinea
  • Dumuzi
  • Dyaus

E: 14 names

  • Eburonia
  • Elyseum
  • Enkidu's World
  • Ephyra
  • EPIC 211945201 b
  • Epona
  • Epsilon Eridani b
  • Epsilon Indi Ab
  • Ereshkigal
  • Eridu
  • Ériu
  • Eshu
  • Eurynome
  • Eyeke

F: 6 names

  • Finlay
  • Fódla
  • Fomalhaut b
  • Fortitudo
  • Fujin
  • Fuxi

G: 25 names

  • Galileo
  • Gamma Cephei Ab
  • Geshtinanna
  • Gethsemane
  • Gilgamesh
  • GJ 1002 b
  • GJ 1061 d
  • GJ 1132 b
  • GJ 1214 b
  • GJ 163 c
  • GJ 357 d
  • GJ 3929 b
  • GJ 436 b
  • GJ 486 b
  • GJ 504 b
  • GJ 9827 d
  • Gliese 12 b
  • Gliese 229 b
  • Gliese 581d
  • Gliese 581g
  • Gliese 667 Cc
  • Gliese 876 d
  • Goibniu
  • Guarani
  • Gwydion

H: 35 names

  • Halcyon IV
  • Haldane
  • Harriot
  • HAT-P-11b
  • HAT-P-3b
  • HAT-P-7b
  • HD 10180 c
  • HD 106906 b
  • HD 114762 b
  • HD 1461 c
  • HD 149026 b
  • HD 188753 Ab
  • HD 189733 b
  • HD 191939 f
  • HD 20782 b
  • HD 209458 b
  • HD 219134 b
  • HD 3167 c
  • HD 40307 g
  • HD 69830 d
  • HD 80606 b
  • HD 95338 b
  • HD 97658 b
  • Hesperine
  • Hiisi
  • Hine-nui
  • HIP 65426 b
  • HIP 97166 b
  • HIP 99770 b
  • Hollowlight
  • Houyi
  • HR 8799 b
  • HR 8799 e
  • Hunahpu
  • Hypatia

I: 16 names

  • Ibirapitá
  • Ildoria
  • Inari
  • Indrasil
  • Inti
  • Inverness Minor
  • Iota Draconis b
  • Irisong
  • Isagel
  • Ishkara
  • Ithacar
  • Itzamna
  • Ivaldi
  • Ixchel
  • Izanami
  • Iztok

J: 3 names

  • Janssen
  • Jarilo
  • Jurrah

K: 54 names

  • K2-138 b
  • K2-141 b
  • K2-155 d
  • K2-18b
  • K2-33b
  • K2-3d
  • K2-417 b
  • K2-72e
  • Kaelith
  • Kagutsuchi
  • Kallisti
  • Kāne
  • Kapteyn b
  • Kaveh
  • KELT-20b
  • KELT-9b
  • Kepler-10b
  • Kepler-11f
  • Kepler-1229b
  • Kepler-138d
  • Kepler-1520b
  • Kepler-1625b
  • Kepler-1647b
  • Kepler-1649c
  • Kepler-16b
  • Kepler-1708b
  • Kepler-186f
  • Kepler-1931 b
  • Kepler-2044 d
  • Kepler-20e
  • Kepler-22b
  • Kepler-34b
  • Kepler-35b
  • Kepler-37b
  • Kepler-438b
  • Kepler-442b
  • Kepler-452b
  • Kepler-47c
  • Kepler-51b
  • Kepler-62e
  • Kepler-62f
  • Kepler-69c
  • Kepler-78b
  • Kepler-7b
  • Kepler-90i
  • Kessandra
  • Ketu
  • Kharybdis II
  • Kirinyaga
  • Kishar
  • KOI-5715.01
  • Koyopa
  • Kukulkan
  • Kupala

L: 24 names

  • L 98-59 d
  • Lagash
  • Laguna Roja
  • Laligurans
  • Leizu
  • Leklsullun
  • Lete
  • LHS 1140 b
  • LHS 1678 c
  • LHS 3844 b
  • LHS 475 b
  • Lipperhey
  • Lleu
  • Lono
  • LP 791-18 d
  • LP 890-9c
  • LTT 1445 Ab
  • LTT 3780 c
  • Lucerne
  • Lugalbanda
  • Lugh's Forge
  • Luyten b
  • Luyten's Star c
  • Lysandra

M: 28 names

  • M1207b
  • Mabon
  • Madriu
  • Maenalus
  • Magor
  • Majriti
  • Makropulos
  • Mama Quilla
  • Manannán
  • Mangala
  • Marduk
  • Marisol
  • Mastika
  • Maui's Hook
  • Mawu
  • Melquíades
  • Meridiana
  • Meztli
  • Midir
  • Mintome
  • Mirrenfall
  • Mitra
  • MOA-2007-BLG-192Lb
  • MOA-2011-BLG-262Lb
  • Mokosh
  • Morana
  • Morrigan's Eye
  • Mu Arae c

N: 22 names

  • Nabu
  • Nachtwacht
  • Nakanbé
  • Nanook
  • Negoiu
  • Nemain
  • Nereis
  • Nergal
  • NGTS-10b
  • Niamh
  • Ninhursag
  • Ninsun
  • Ninurta
  • Nippur
  • Nisaba
  • Nocturne
  • Nodens
  • Noifasui
  • Nu Octantis b
  • Nuwa
  • Nyame
  • Nymbria

O: 16 names

  • Obatala
  • Odrassa
  • OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb
  • OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb
  • Ogma
  • Ogun
  • Olokun
  • Onasilos
  • Ondrasil
  • Oranmore
  • Orbitar
  • Orphelia
  • Orynthe
  • Ostara
  • Oya
  • Oyelaran

P: 24 names

  • Pachamama
  • Pangu
  • PDS 70b
  • PDS 70c
  • Pele
  • Pelorum
  • Peregrine
  • Perun
  • Perwana
  • Phobetor
  • Pinga
  • Pipitea
  • Pollera
  • Pollux b
  • Poltergeist
  • Prithvi
  • Proxima Centauri b
  • PSO J318.5-22
  • PSR B1257+12 b
  • PSR B1620-26 b
  • PSR J1719-1438 b
  • PSR J2322-2650 b
  • Puli
  • Pushan

Q: 3 names

  • Qatar-1b
  • Quijote
  • Quillon

R: 12 names

  • Rahu
  • Raijin
  • Ramajay
  • Ratri
  • Ravelin
  • Rhiannon
  • Rho Coronae Borealis b
  • Riosar
  • Rocinante
  • Rongo
  • Ross 128 b
  • Runa

S: 32 names

  • Saasa
  • Sabik's Rest
  • Saffar
  • Samagiya
  • Samh
  • Sancho
  • Saphrene
  • Sarnath Minor
  • Savitr
  • Sazum
  • Sedna's Veil
  • Serapha
  • Shamash
  • Shango's Anvil
  • Shani
  • Shukra
  • Shuruppak
  • Sila
  • Sissi
  • Skadi
  • Smertrios
  • Solenne
  • Soma
  • Spe
  • Staburags
  • Stribog
  • Sulis
  • Sumajmajta
  • Supay
  • Surt
  • Susanoo
  • Svarog

T: 49 names

  • Tadmor
  • Talavera
  • Tamsin
  • Tāne
  • Tangaroa
  • Tanzanite
  • Taphao Kaew
  • Taphao Thong
  • Taranis
  • Tarsis Major
  • Tassili
  • Tau Boötis b
  • Tau Ceti e
  • Tāwhaki
  • Teberda
  • Teegarden's Star b
  • Tenebrae
  • Tessaline
  • Thalassa Prime
  • Thessaly
  • Thestias
  • Tiamat Minor
  • TIC 257060897 b
  • Tlaloc Minor
  • Tohil
  • TOI-1338 b
  • TOI-1452 b
  • TOI-178 g
  • TOI-270 d
  • TOI-4460 b
  • TOI-5122 c
  • TOI-561 b
  • TOI-700 d
  • TOI-700 e
  • TOI-715 b
  • TOI-849 b
  • Tondra
  • Torngasak
  • Tovrain
  • TRAPPIST-1d
  • TRAPPIST-1e
  • TRAPPIST-1f
  • TRAPPIST-1g
  • TrES-2b
  • Trimobe
  • Tsukuyomi
  • TW Hydrae b
  • TYC 8998-760-1 b
  • Tylos

U: 6 names

  • Ugarit
  • Ukemochi
  • Ulvaris
  • Upsilon Andromedae d
  • Uruk Prime
  • Ushas

V: 11 names

  • V830 Tauri b
  • Vaelora
  • Veles
  • Vellamo
  • Verenthal
  • Veridia
  • Viculus
  • Viracocha
  • Viriato
  • Vlasina
  • Vorhalla

W: 20 names

  • Wadirum
  • Wakatipu
  • WASP-107b
  • WASP-121b
  • WASP-127b
  • WASP-12b
  • WASP-166b
  • WASP-17b
  • WASP-18b
  • WASP-33b
  • WASP-39b
  • WASP-43b
  • WASP-47e
  • WASP-76b
  • WASP-96b
  • WD 1856+534 b
  • WD J0914+1914 b
  • Wolf 1061c
  • Wolf 327 b
  • Wyndhollow

X: 6 names

  • Xanthe
  • Xbalanque
  • Xihe
  • XO-1b
  • XO-3b
  • Xolotlan

Y: 5 names

  • Yanyan
  • Yemoja
  • YSES-1b
  • Ysolde
  • Yvaga

Z: 4 names

  • Zal Prime
  • Zephyrion
  • Zhurong
  • Zorya

0-9: 7 names

  • 16 Cygni Bb
  • 47 Ursae Majoris b
  • 51 Pegasi b
  • 55 Cancri e
  • 55 Cancri f
  • 70 Virginis b
  • 82 G. Eridani b