Most of Uranus’s moons are named after characters from William Shakespeare’s plays, and a couple are named after characters from the works of Alexander Pope. NASA notes that this is why they are sometimes called the “literary moons.”
As of August 2026, NASA counts 29 officially recognized moons of Uranus, including five major ones: Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, Titania, and Oberon. William Herschel discovered Titania and Oberon in 1787, William Lassell found Ariel and Umbriel in 1851, and Gerard Kuiper found Miranda in 1948. The newest moon, first spotted in November 2023 and provisionally designated S/2023 U1, is expected to receive a literary name as well.
Source: NASA Science, Uranus Moons
Image: Uranus moons.jpg, public domain (NASA Voyager 2 imagery), via Wikimedia Commons.