This constellation name generator builds a name the way the real ones are built: a Latin noun and a Latin describing word, as in Ardea Minor, the Heron the lesser. A line of invented sky lore follows.
Read the full guide
Figure, describing word, lore
Press New constellation name. Lock Sella and press for a family of them: Sella Major, Sella Minor, Sella Dormiens. Lock a describing word such as Borealis to fill one half of a sky.
Read the Latin
The lists under the tool give the English for every word: Ardea is the Heron, Dormiens is sleeping, Australis is southern. Every pairing agrees in Latin grammar, because only nouns and describing words that fit each other are listed.
Questions and answers
How many constellations are there?
In today's astronomy, 88 constellations are recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Each is a region of the sky, and together they cover the whole celestial sphere.
Why do constellations have Latin names?
Because of their Roman and European origins, every constellation has a Latin name, English Wikipedia says. Ursa Major is the Great Bear in English.
What do Major, Minor, Borealis and Australis mean?
Greater, lesser, northern and southern. The real sky uses all four: Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, Corona Borealis and Corona Australis.
Are these real constellations?
No. A figure whose Latin word stands in Wikipedia's list of the 88 constellations or in its article on former constellations was left out, and the lore is invented for a story world.
How this list was compiled: 90 Latin nouns, each with its English meaning. Own selection; every word and meaning was checked on 2026-10-03 in the Latin section of its English Wiktionary entry (https://en.wiktionary.org/, CC BY-SA 4.0). A word that stands anywhere in English Wikipedia's articles IAU designated constellations or Former constellations (https://en.wikipedia.org/, CC BY-SA 4.0) was left out, so no figure is the name of one of the 88 constellations or of a listed former one. Only masculine and feminine nouns are used, so each fits every describing word of the second list. Every pair of a figure and a describing word was looked up as a page title of English Wikipedia; a pair that is the scientific name of an animal or a plant cost the figure its place. 12 candidates were cut (12 a Wikipedia page title), among them Quercus, Hirundo, Fusus, Colus, Calamus, Salix. No Latin reader has read the list. Licence: own selection; words and meanings from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
Describing word: all 39 describing words
A 3
ArdensBurning.
AudaxBold.
AustralisSouthern. The real sky uses it: Corona Australis.
B 1
BorealisNorthern. The real sky uses it: Corona Borealis.
C 4
CaelestisHeavenly.
CantansSinging.
ClemensGentle.
CurrensRunning.
Show all 39 describing words (31 more)
D 2
DormiensSleeping.
DuplexDouble.
E 1
ErransWandering.
F 5
FelixLucky.
FidelisFaithful.
FortisStrong.
FugiensFleeing.
FulgensShining.
G 1
GracilisSlender.
H 1
HumilisLowly.
I 2
ImmortalisUndying.
IngensHuge.
L 1
LatensHidden.
M 3
MajorGreater. The real sky uses it: Ursa Major.
MinorLesser. The real sky uses it: Ursa Minor.
MirabilisWonderful.
N 2
NatansSwimming.
NobilisNoble.
O 2
OccidentalisWestern.
OrientalisEastern.
P 2
PallensPale.
PerennisEverlasting.
R 1
RidensLaughing.
S 4
SaliensLeaping.
SapiensWise.
SequensFollowing.
SilensSilent.
T 1
TristisSad.
V 3
VeloxSwift.
VetusOld.
VigilansWatchful.
How this list was compiled: 39 Latin describing words, each with its English meaning, checked on 2026-10-03 in the Latin section of its English Wiktionary entry (https://en.wiktionary.org/, CC BY-SA 4.0; Major is the entry maior). Four of them are used by real constellations, named on their lines as English Wikipedia's list IAU designated constellations gives them. Own selection: only words whose masculine and feminine forms are the same, so each fits every figure of the first list. Nothing was cut. Licence: own selection; words and meanings from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
What it shows: all 52 stories
A 2
a song lists its stars from brightest to faintest
a wedding under it is said to last
B 1
bakers claim it as their sign
C 1
children are told it guards lost shoes
F 1
fishers will not sail until it has set
G 1
grandmothers say it was once much lower in the sky
H 1
herders will not name it aloud after dark
Show all 52 stories (45 more)
I 29
it fits exactly inside a window of the old observatory
it is half hidden by the bright band of the sky
it is painted on the lids of old sea chests
it is said to be looking for its other half
it is said to be older than its own stars
it is said to be sewing the sky shut
it is said to chase the moon and never catch it
it is said to have been a gift from the sea
it is said to have been drawn by a child, and kept
it is said to have been put there as a thank-you
it is said to have swallowed a comet once
it is said to hold up one corner of the night
it is said to hum, though nobody has heard it twice
it is said to keep the key to the next year
it is said to light the road for late travelers
it is said to listen for thunder
it is said to open the sky for the rains
it is said to tip out the morning dew
it is the first shape children learn to find
it is the last shape to fade at dawn
it is the only shape the moon never crosses
it keeps the planets company along their road
it shares one star with its neighbor, and both claim it
it stands on the horizon like a doorway
it vanishes for one month in every year
it was named on a cloudy night, from memory
it wheels around the pole and never sets
its faintest star is used to test young eyes
its three bright stars are called the stepping stones
L 1
lighthouse keepers greet it by name
M 1
mapmakers argue over where it ends
N 1
no two villages agree on which stars belong to it
O 3
old sailors call it the homeward mark
the oldest star chart shows it with one star more
one of its stars flickers before a storm, people say
S 5
sailors steer by its brightest star
scholars say it was once two shapes
some see another shape in it and will not hear otherwise
the story goes that it dozed off while keeping watch
the story goes that it is waiting for someone
T 3
the tale says it lost a race to the dawn
travelers say it leans toward the nearest well
two of its stars are so close they look like one
W 2
watchmen change shifts when it crosses the tower
weavers stitch it into the hems of cloaks
How this list was compiled: Our own list of 52 invented lines of sky lore for a made-up world, written on 2026-10-03. None describes the real sky. Checked against every list on this site for repeats. 5 candidates were cut (4 taken out on a second reading; 1 on another list of this site), among them old maps draw it upside down, its brightest star is orange and its faintest is blue, beekeepers say the bees swarm when it rises, it is said to ring when the wind is right, shepherds say it counts their flocks at night. Licence: own work