What to call your star

Name a star for someone special on the Intergalactic Star Database.

We choose the star. You choose what it is called, and that is the part people remember. Here are ideas sorted by the person you are buying for, with a few simple checks that will stop a good name going wrong in print.

How naming works with us

You type the name when you order, up to 60 characters, and we register and print it exactly as you type it. It can be a person's name, a couple, a pet, a date or a phrase. It does not have to look like a star name, and it does not have to make sense to anyone else.

What you don't choose is which star it goes on. From November 2026 we pick each new star from the Hipparcos catalogue, favouring stars visible from Britain for at least part of the year that show up well in ordinary binoculars. That means we can't promise a particular constellation or a star sign: only twelve constellations are the signs of the zodiac, and your star may well be in another one. Its constellation is printed on the Certificate of Registry.

Ideas, by who it is for

• A partner. A private nickname, both names with an ampersand, or the place you met: "Sam & Alex", "Our Bench in Regent's Park". See wife, husband, girlfriend and boyfriend.
• A wedding or anniversary. Both names and the date: "Sarah & James, 14 June 2026". Or the milestone: "Forty Years and Counting". More for couples.
• A new baby. Full name, or "Welcome to the World, Oliver". Check the spelling with the parents first. More for babies.
• A child's birthday. Children tend to like their own name in large letters, perhaps with a title: "Captain Maisie". Birthday ideas.
• Parents. "Mum", "Dad", or whatever word your family uses. Mother's Day and Father's Day pages have longer lists.
• Grandparents. "Nana's Star", or a name from all the grandchildren together. More for grandparents.
• A pet. "Biscuit", "Biscuit Jones", or "Biscuit, the Best Boy". More for pets.
• A teacher or class. "Mrs Patel, Year 4's Star" or "Oak Class 2027". More for teachers.
• Someone you have lost. "In Memory of Margaret Ellis", "Dad, Forever in Our Hearts", or a name only the family would know. More on choosing the words.
• A joke. "Still Owes Me a Tenner" is a perfectly good star. Just remember that other people may read the certificate too.

Five kinds of name, and how each one reads

If you are still undecided, it can help to work out which sort of name you want before thinking about the words. Most names fall into one of these five groups, and each of them gives a different feeling on the wall.

• The formal name is a full name with nothing added. It suits a frame and gets better with age. A christening, a retirement or a memorial often calls for this one.
• The everyday name is what you actually say. A certificate reading "Gran" can have more feeling in it than a certificate with every middle name spelled out.
• The dated name ties the star to a moment: "Emma's 18th", "Dad at 60", "Our first night, 14.2.2019". Decide how you want the date to look, because we print it just as you write it.
• The message is a short sentence: "We Love You Grandad", "You Did It". Try to keep it short enough to read at a glance.
• The in-joke means nothing to anyone else, and that is the point. Check it will still be funny in ten years, since the certificate may well be.

If you are writing for a child who will grow up with it, the formal name tends to age best. A nickname that delights a four-year-old may embarrass a fourteen-year-old, though it may delight a forty-year-old again. You could split the difference: "Oliver James Hart, Known as Bear".

Checks before you press Buy

• Spelling. Is it Catherine, Katherine or Kathryn? Find something in writing. Don't rely on memory.
• Capitals. Type it the way it should look. If you type everything in lower case, that is how it will appear.
• Apostrophes. "Mum's Star" has one; "Our Mums' Star" has it in a different place. Decide which you mean.
• Married or maiden name. Use the one they use, or for a memorial, the one the family would recognise.
• Length. Sixty characters is the limit. A shorter name is easier to read across a room.
• Other people's reaction. We may refuse a name that is offensive, unlawful or infringes someone else's rights. Our terms of sale set out what happens then.

Then type it onto the certificate preview and look at it for a moment. It is the quickest way to catch a mistake. The name goes on the certificate of a print-at-home star at £8.99 or a posted gift pack at £13.99, and on the star's page on our star finder. Most of our stars need binoculars to see, so the name is often what people notice first. It is recorded in the Intergalactic Star Database; official star names are decided by the International Astronomical Union, which doesn't recognise names from any commercial registry.

Questions about naming your star