[name_m]Hi[/name_m] everyone!
Right now, Sunray is definitely in the guilty pleasure category, but since we do like it I’d like to know what you think anyway…!
Would it be at all suitable, for a second if not a first name?
Is it more a boys’ or a girls’ name to you?
[name_f]Do[/name_f] you know any names that are like it?
[name_m]How[/name_m] long did it take before you associated ‘[name_f]Sunday[/name_f]’? - any other associations?
Thanks heeps!!!
I don’t find it usable at all, I’m afraid. It does feel more feminine than masculine but only really because of the association I made that I’m going to suggest to you
What about [name_f]Soleil[/name_f]?
I see a myriad of benefits with this name. It feels like a real name, and a usable one. I would personally see it as a really fun middle name but it isnt as out there as Sunray. It sounds very similar (pronounced soh-[name_m]LAY[/name_m]) and happens to mean the same thing, as it is [name_m]French[/name_m] for [name_f]Sun[/name_f]. It also feels softer and more feminine than Sunray as a girls name. Its also much more established as a name, feels very cool and multicultural and is wearable. I cant see a Dr Sunray, Reverend Sunray, Senator Sunray, [name_m]Judge[/name_m] Sunray, but I actually almost could with [name_f]Soleil[/name_f].
I also much prefer [name_f]Sunday[/name_f] to Sunray, but its another one that is more fun middle name to me
Well it’s definitely a name that would stand out. Maybe that is a positive though ? I like the sound of Sunray, and for me it doesn’t remind me of [name_f]Sunday[/name_f] since its a word name already so the association immediately goes to the sun of course. If you used an established name as a middle that would both solidify it as a name and also give the child a way out if they decide they don’t like the extra attention that comes with being named Sunray. Uhh I don’t usually gender names but I guess I’d say it would be easier for a girl to wear.
I think [name_f]Sunshine[/name_f] might work, or like nj713 says [name_f]Soleil[/name_f]. You could also stick with plain [name_u]Ray[/name_u] and that is definitely a name. To get the same feeling maybe [name_f]Lumina[/name_f], Flare, [name_u]Blaze[/name_u]. Or see [name_f]Aurelia[/name_f] and any similar names, as they mean golden.
I think if you’re going to use it as a middle name you should pick another word name as the first name.
It definitely feels more like a girl name to me, but a lot of “sun” names do. It makes me think of [name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] “sun gift” and [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] ([name_m]Sol[/name_m]-vay) “daughter of the sun”, but [name_f]Sunday[/name_f] didn’t come up in my mind. Although, I do prefer it in the middle there’s nothing wrong with it.
Thanks very much for your replies! I love your alternative suggestions, too, especially [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] 
[name_u]Love[/name_u] [name_f]Solveig[/name_f], like [name_f]Soleil[/name_f], but I’m not keen on Sunray, I’m afraid. It’s just a bit too hippie and insubstantial. It could work as a middle name, I suppose, but it’s not to my taste.
Another similar-sounding option is the lovely Sóley/[name_f]Soley[/name_f] (SOH-lay). It’s an Icelandic name meaning “sunflower”, and a berry (@isla.c) just gave it to her new daughter as a middle name. I love it!
I love it for a girl
I don’t think it’s usable for a first name. It’s too hippie for me. Maybe as a fun middle name. And, I did think of [name_f]Sunday[/name_f] almost immediately. It actually sounds like someone mispronouncing [name_f]Sunday[/name_f] when I say it out loud. Sorry, not a fan. I do like [name_f]Soleil[/name_f] and [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] though!
I like it for a boy, which seems to be the unpopular opinion. It might be a too out there name for a child, but it would be really cool as a middle name.
I feel the need to comment that [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] originally has no relation to the sun, it’s an Old Norse name comprised of the elements [name_m]Sol[/name_m]-, meaning “hall, house with one room”, and -veig, meaning “strength”. My best site in English for Nordic names says that the “hall” meaning has been displaced by the newer interpretation “sun”, but this is not true of any of the Norwegian names books I own (at least 5, one written within the past 7 years). [name_m]Just[/name_m] a head’s up to do some more research before you commit to anything.
Sól is the name for the Old Norse goddess of the sun, so on her own, she does mean ‘sun’.
I also happen to quite like Sunray, but I also have Brightside and Minnow on my list so I’m not sure my opinion is worth much… I might object that it feels a little constructed, not like [name_f]Sunshine[/name_f] which is a word we actually use. I would be most pleased to hear it on a boy, but I would call it firmly gender-neutral. I’m just a little tired of seeing all the ‘sweet’ word names being immediately gendered as feminine.
Sóley is a great name, but the [name_m]Sol[/name_m]- part has the same origins as in [name_f]Solveig[/name_f] according to one site? I’ve heard it’s the Icelandic name for buttercup though, and on that note I’d also like to suggest Soleia, the Norwegian word for [name_f]Buttercup[/name_f]! ^^ She’s supersweet and sunny, and feels very precious and name-y.
Other sunny names:
[name_f]Sundance[/name_f] (love this for a boy!)¨
[name_f]Solstice[/name_f]
Solifer / Solifera (sun-bringer)
Sunflower
[name_m]Samson[/name_m] (sun, could be called [name_u]Sunny[/name_u]/[name_u]Sonny[/name_u])
[name_m]Helios[/name_m]
[name_f]Marisol[/name_f]
[name_m]Apollo[/name_m]
[name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] (sun-gift) or Sunna
Tesni (warmth of the sun)
[name_m]Sulien[/name_m] (born from the sun, Celtic god of the sun)
Belenus (bright/brilliant, a Gaulish solar god)
Tesni is one of my favourites, she feels every bit as warm and familiar as her meaning. She always makes me smile ^^ [name_m]Sulien[/name_m] would be my favourite for a boy.
And I was looking at Austra, a Latvian goddess of the dawn, and she reminded me of Austeja which isn’t related to the sun but is the name of a Lithuanian goddess of bees which feels very sunny and summery to me. Austeja is one of my most recent crushes.
Sóley doesn’t mean sunflower (that would be sólblóm.) literally, it would mean sun island (-ey being island), although it is such a common name in Iceland that I haven’t seen it discussed for its meaning in particular.
I really like Sunray (unisex to me) as a mn. To me it works lots better fhan [name_f]Sunshine[/name_f].
I love sun-related names too, so my other suggestions would be
[name_f]Soley[/name_f] (with or without the accent)
Sunna (Nordic sun goddess)
[name_f]Sunniva[/name_f] (gift of the sun, Swedish)
[name_f]Solveig[/name_f]
[name_f]Soleil[/name_f]
You could search for names (on here or babynamewizard.com?) with the first syllable being sol- or sun- and see if there are any names we’re forgetting. 