One benefit of discovery is that you get to name the things you discovered. Astronomy is blessed in this regard. There are more stars in the observable universe than grains of sand on Earth, trillions upon trillions — enough to name a galaxy for every human who ever did or will live and every god or goblin proposed by human imagination.

In the last two decades a new wonderland of naming opportunities has emerged with the discovery of planets around other stars, potential cradles of life and far-future adventure. But so far exoplanets, like everything else in the sky, mostly don’t have names, just numbers, like HD 156411 b or HAT-P-5b. Are they secret agents?

Celestial nomenclature typically is a rigid and exclusive business, closely managed by the International Astronomical Union, the world organization of astronomers. But in celebration of its hundredth anniversary, the I.A.U. is sharing the fun, allowing every country in the world to name its own exoplanet and the star it calls home.

On June 7, the organization released a list of stars and their planets for the 79 countries that have signed up so far for IAU100 NameExoWorlds, as the project is officially called. Each star on the list is visible and bright enough to be seen with a small telescope from the country that now has dibs on it.