Your name in the sky vs ‘name a star’: what’s official and what’s marketing

If you’ve ever seen a website that lets you “name a star”, you’ve also seen why this can be confusing. Let’s separate official astronomical naming from marketing products.

Official naming: what is it?

In professional astronomy, names are tied to catalogs and standards:

• Planetary surface features: IAU/USGS nomenclature (craters, mountains, valleys…)
• Minor planets (asteroids): naming and numbering overseen by the Minor Planet Center (MPC), with data available through NASA/JPL services such as SBDB
• Stars: most stars are referenced by catalog identifiers (HD, HIP, Gaia…) rather than a unique “purchase name”

What ‘name a star’ services actually do

These services usually create a private registry. You get a certificate, but:

• It does not update scientific databases.
• It does not make the name “official” in astronomy.
• The same star may be “named” multiple times by different vendors.

What this project does instead

Your name in the sky only:

1. searches public, official sources, and
2. shows matches (exact or approximate) with a link to verify.

That’s why we always show an “Important” notice on the page.

Practical check-list (before you trust a name)

• Does it link to an official source (IAU/USGS, MPC, NASA/JPL)?
• Does it provide coordinates or a catalog ID?
• Can you independently verify it?

Keyword focus: “is name a star official”, “IAU official naming”, “asteroid naming rules”.

Related reading

• Planetary names 101: /en/blog/planetary-names-101
• Asteroid spotlights: /en/blog/spotlight-89-julia