A strong storm filled with thunder and lightning evokes an undeniable sense of power; it’s hardly a surprise that throughout history, cultures have associated these forces with skybound deities.
Baby names meaning lightning or thunder carry a sense of natural strength that any parent would be proud to see their child aspire to.
There are many beautiful male, female, and unisex options, as nearly every culture has some word or phrase to describe these natural phenomena; you may even decide to choose a name meaning lighting or thunder that has cultural relevance to you or your partner.
Grab your umbrella, and let’s press on!
Male names
- Adad – a Hebrew name meaning ‘thunder’; the Akkadian god of storms and rain
- Axar – this is a Gujarati name meaning ‘ghost’
- Boran – a Turkish name that means ‘thunderstorm’
- Blitz – the German word for ‘lightning’, and a bold name choice for your little boy
- Brontes – a Greek name that means ‘thunder’; the name of one of the Cyclopes in Greek Mythology
- Donar – of Scandinavian origin meaning ‘god of thunder’
- Donner – this is the German word for ‘thunder’ and would make a strong boy’s name
- Foudre – a French name that means ‘lightning’
- Fulmo – ‘lightning’ in Esperanto, which is a constructed language originating in Poland that was designed to be easy to pick up as a universal language
- Fulmini – this is the Italian word for ‘lightning’ and ‘thunderbolt’
- Guntur – an Indonesian word that means ‘thunder’, ‘bolt’, or ‘boom’
- Hadad – another name for the Akkadian god of storms; a Hebrew name that means ‘thunder’
- Leigong – the god of thunder in Chinese mythology; a Chinese name
- Pailan – an Armenian word meaning ‘lightning’
- Perun – of Slavic origin, Perun means ‘thunder’
- Petir – an Indonesian word for ‘lightning’
- Raijin – the god of thunder and storm present in Japanese mythology
- Ramiel – a Hebrew word that means ‘the thunder of God’
- Ramman – the name of the Assyrian -Babylonian god of storm and thunder, this means ‘the thundering one’
- Thor – a perfect choice for Marvel fans, Thor is a Scandinavian name that means ‘thunder’; Thor was the name of the Norse god of thunder and war
- Toril – the Norse word for ‘Thor’s battle’
- Torben – a Danish name that means ‘thunder bear’
- Trueno – the Spanish word for ‘thunder’
- Välk – the Estonian word for ‘lightning’
- Vidyut – a Hindu word meaning ‘lightning’
- Zeus – the Greek god of the sky and thunder; his symbol is the thunderbolt
Female names
- Aashni – a Hindi name that means ‘lightning’
- Adhira – a feminine Sanskrit name that means ‘divine white lightning’
- Aella – of Greek origin meaning ‘lightning’ or ‘whirlwind’
- Àmụmà – a unique and beautiful choice, this means ‘lightning’ in Igbo
- Åska – a Swedish word that means ‘thunder’ and ‘thunderstorm’
- Ayanga – the Mongolian word for ‘lightning’
- Astrape – the goddess of lightning in Greek mythology
- Damini – a word of Hindi origin that means ‘lightning’
- Garjana – the Nepali word that means ‘thunder’
- Indira – a Hindu word meaning ‘god of thunderstorms’
- Kaminari – this is a beautiful Japanese name that means ‘thunder’
- Levina – this is a Latin word that means ‘lightning thunderbolt’
- Lyn – a Norwegian name meaning ‘lightning’
- Molniya – this is the Russian word for ‘lightning’
- Oluja – the Bosnian word meaning ‘thunderstorm’ or ‘windstorm’
- Salama – a Finnish word that means ‘lightning’
- Sandā – another Japanese word for ‘thunder’ (there are about seven!)
- Sorine – Danish for the ‘god of thunder’ and a beautiful name for your little girl
- Strela – the Slovenian word for ‘flash’ or ‘lightning’
- Tama – this is the Native American word for ‘thunderbolt’
- Taima – a popular Native American name that means ‘born during a thunderstorm’
- Thora – similar to the male name Thor, this is a Scandanavian feminine name that means ‘thunder’; Thora was the goddess of thunder
- Tormenta – the Spanish word for ‘thunderstorm’
- Trona – the Corsican word meaning ‘thunder’
- Trovoada – the Portuguese word for ‘thunderstorm’, ‘thunder’, and ‘crash’
- Uila – Hawaiian for ‘lightning’
- Vajra – Hindu for ‘thunderbolt’
Unisex names
- Asterope – beautiful for a girl or boy, this is the Greek word for ‘lightning’
- Bronte – another Greek word for ‘thunder’; can also be a nice literary nod
- Capala – of Hindi origin, meaning ‘lightning’ and ‘swift’
- Hekili – the Hawaiin word for ‘thunder’ or ‘thunderstorm’
- Indra – the Hindu ‘king of the gods’ and ‘god of thunder’
- Jupiter – a lovely boy’s name, Jupiter was the Roman god of lightning
- Kallik – is of Inuit origin; meaning ‘lightning’
- Kutsa – traditionally used as a boys’ name, this is an Indian name that means ‘lightning’
- Mellan – Irish for ‘little lightning’
- Munja – a Croatian name that could work for either gender that means ‘lightning bolt’
- Orage – French for ‘thunderstorm’, this makes a beautiful name for a boy or girl
- Radi – a Swahili word meaning ‘thunder’, this works for both genders
- Rai – a beautiful Japanese name that means both ‘lightning’ and ‘thunder’; pronounced RYE -ee
- Raicho – the Japanese word for ‘thunderbird’
- Raiden – a Japanese word that means ‘god spirit’ that is also used to refer to lightning and thunder
- Relámpago – the Spanish word for ‘lightning’; beautiful and original for a baby boy or girl
- Shango – in Yoruba mythology, Shango was the god of thunder
- Simsek – the Turkish word for ‘lightning flash’
- Tro – simple and sweet, this is the Catalan word for ‘thunder’
- Tunet – the Romanian word for ‘thunder’
- Umbani – the Zulu word for ‘lightning’; Zulu is a Bantu language spoken in South Africa
- Wachira – this means ‘lightning bolt’ in Thailand
