Occasions

A star for every occasion

Birth, wedding, anniversary or remembrance: ideas, suitable stars and dedications for your free star naming.

Name a star for a newborn baby

To celebrate a birth, you can pick a real star on Sternschenker, give it the baby’s name and download a free PDF certificate with the date of birth and a personal dedication. The name is symbolic, the gesture is real – and no data is stored.

Name a star as a christening gift

For a christening, baptism or naming ceremony, you can name a real star after the child on Sternschenker for free and download a PDF certificate with the date and a personal dedication. It’s a lasting gift for godparents, grandparents and guests – no account, no stored data.

Name a star as a wedding gift

For a wedding, you can name a real star after the couple on Sternschenker for free and download a PDF certificate with the wedding date and a dedication. It’s a romantic gift from guests, the best man or maid of honour – or from the couple to each other. No account, no stored data.

Name a star for an anniversary

For a relationship or wedding anniversary, you can name a real star for the two of you on Sternschenker for free and download a PDF certificate with your date and a dedication. A lovely touch: choose a star whose light has been travelling about as long as you’ve been together.

Name a star for Valentine's Day

For Valentine's Day you can pick a real star on Sternschenker's sky map for free, give it a name and a dedication, and download a PDF certificate instantly. The name is symbolic – the gesture and looking up at the night sky together are the real gift.

Name a star for a birthday

For a birthday you can pick a real star on Sternschenker for free, name it after the birthday person and instantly download a PDF certificate with a dedication. It becomes especially personal when the star comes from the constellation of their zodiac sign.

Name a star for Christmas

For Christmas you can name a real star on Sternschenker for free and download the certificate instantly as a PDF – no shipping, no waiting, even on Christmas Eve. The bright winter stars such as Sirius, Capella and Aldebaran are a particularly good fit.

Name a star in memory of a loved one

On Sternschenker you can name a real star in memory of a person or pet who has died and keep a PDF certificate with their name, a date and a dedication. Many people who are grieving find comfort in having a fixed place in the sky to look up to.

Honestly

Why we don’t need a database – and that’s why we’re free

Giving someone a star is a beautiful gesture. It says: you mean so much to me that I’m writing you into the sky. That’s what Sternschenker is all about.

So you know exactly what you’re giving, we’ll be honest: only the International Astronomical Union (IAU) gives stars official names – and to date it has named only around 640 of them. Astronomers know every other star by a catalogue number such as “HIP 26093”. The Gaia catalogue alone lists more than 1.8 billion objects. No private register – ours included – changes what science calls a star.

A central database would therefore just be stage scenery. So we leave it out: everything that makes your star yours – name, date, dedication and coordinates – lives right inside your QR code and link. It belongs to you and works without us.

And because there’s no register to maintain and no fees for entries that mean nothing astronomically, Sternschenker is free. You give your star its meaning. The sky belongs to everyone anyway.

Can you officially name a star?

“Like many of the best things in life, the beauty of the night sky is not for sale – it is free for all to enjoy.”

— International Astronomical Union (IAU) on star names

Which star will it be?

The sky is waiting. Naming your star takes about two minutes.

Name a star for free