Nyota

Nyota is Swahili for star, a noun lifted gracefully into given-name territory. Two syllables, with the opening Ny sliding off the palate in a way English mouths have to practice. The name acquired global recognition through Star Trek's Lieutenant Nyota Uhura, whose first name was canonized late in the series—Uhura itself derived from the Swahili word for freedom. That cultural fingerprint gave Nyota a second life in the United States and Britain as a name with both African roots and science-fiction glamour. Celestial without being precious. A name that looks up as a matter of course.