Ishtar as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Ishtar

What is the meaning of the name Ishtar ?

The baby name Ishtar is a Female name , 2 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈɪʃ.tɑːr/ (ISH-tar).

Ishtar is Akkadian in Origin.

Ishtar is the Akkadian form Ištar, the great Mesopotamian goddess’s name, closely related to Northwest Semitic Astarte (Phoenician Ashtart, Ugaritic ‘Athtart) and to South Arabian ʿAthtar. Scholars often connect these to a Proto‑Semitic root ʿṯtr referring to the planet Venus, the morning/evening star, though the precise etymology of the Akkadian form is debated. Ishtar corresponds functionally (not linguistically) to Sumerian Inanna. Meaning is therefore best given as “(the) Venus/star” or “associated with the planet Venus,” rather than a literal gloss.

The name was borne in antiquity by the deity revered across Babylonian and Assyrian cultures as patroness of love, sexuality, fertility, war, and justice; her emblems were the lion and the eight‑pointed star. As a modern given name, Ishtar is rare but recognized in the Middle East and internationally. Variants and cognates include Ištar, Eshtar, Astarte, Ashtart; compare (but do not equate) Esther.