118 Water Names With Beautiful Meanings

Water names carry a quiet kind of beauty, from the rush of a waterfall to the calm of a still lake. Whether you want something soft and flowing or as bold as the open ocean, there is a fit here for every baby.

This list gathers 118 baby names that mean water from cultures around the world, split into girl, boy, and gender-neutral picks. Each one comes with its meaning, its origin, and a few famous namesakes to help you decide.

57 Pretty Girl Water Names

From river goddesses to soft one-syllable picks, these girl names carry the calm and beauty of water.

1. Ama – A gentle African girl name meaning “water,” traditionally given by the Akan of Ghana to a daughter born on a Saturday.
2. Aqua – A literal Latin pick and a trendy color baby name, calling to mind the pale blue-green of shallow “water” or “sea.”
3. Anahita – A Persian girl name tied to Anahita, the Zoroastrian goddess of the waters, honored across the old Persian empire for fertility, healing, and wisdom.
4. Araluen – An Aboriginal Australian place name with the delicate meaning “place of the water lilies.”
5. Baia – A short Portuguese and Italian choice meaning “bay.”
6. Beverly – An English name meaning “dweller by the beaver stream,” long linked to glamorous Beverly Hills.
7. Brooke – A polished English name meaning “small stream,” long familiar from actress Brooke Shields.
8. Cascade – A rhythmic French name meaning “waterfall” or “rushing waters.”
9. Chantara – A celestial, water-inspired pick meaning “moon water” in Thai.
10. Cherith – A Hebrew name meaning “winter stream,” after the biblical Brook Cherith where Elijah took shelter.
11. Cordelia – A literary Celtic and Latin name often read as “daughter of the sea,” best remembered as the loyal youngest daughter in Shakespeare’s King Lear.
12. Damla – A whimsical Turkish girl name meaning “water drop.”
13. Derya – A Turkish name meaning “sea,” rooted in the Persian word darya.
14. Doris – A vintage Greek name meaning “gift of the ocean,” borne in myth by the sea nymph Doris, wife of Nereus and mother of the fifty Nereids.
15. Dwyn – A Welsh diminutive of Dwynwen with the powerful meaning of “wave.”
16. Euna – An upscale Cherokee name meaning “waterfall.”
17. Gali – A short and sweet Hebrew girl’s name meaning “wave.”
18. Immokalee – A Native American name meaning “tumbling water,” also a town in southwest Florida.
19. India – A place name of English origin meaning “from the river Indus.”
20. Indra – A Sanskrit name read as “possessing rain drops,” linked to the Vedic god of rain and storms.
21. Isla – A chart-topping Scottish name for the isle and River Islay, pronounced EYE-la and shared by actress Isla Fisher. Isla ranked #28 for U.S. girls in 2025 with 6,012 newborns given the name, per the Social Security Administration’s national baby-name data.
22. Jora – The perfect autumn-inspired choice meaning “autumn rain” in Hebrew.
23. Kaimana – A Hawaiian name blending “kai” (ocean) and “mana” (power) for “power of the ocean,” and also used to mean “diamond.”
24. Kairi – A delicate Japanese girl name meaning “sea.”
25. Laguna – An upbeat and rare Italian option meaning “pond” or “lake.”
26. Lynn – A diminutive of Linda, this middle name favorite means “lake” in Welsh.
27. Locklyn – A feminine Gaelic variant of Lachlan meaning “lake land.”
28. Maayan – A soft Hebrew name meaning “spring of water,” pronounced mah-ah-YAHN and popular in Israel for both girls and boys.
29. Maren – A Latin girl’s name that translates to “of the sea,” a Scandinavian favorite and a fresh cousin to Mary.
30. Maya – A popular Hebrew, Spanish, and Greek female name meaning “water.”
31. Mira – A cross-cultural gem often associated with the Latin word for “ocean” or Sanskrit for “ocean.”
32. Misty – An English nature name meaning “mist,” familiar from ballerina Misty Copeland.
33. Moana – A Maori and Hawaiian name meaning “deep sea” or “ocean,” known worldwide from Disney’s Moana.
34. Morwenna – A rare Welsh beauty meaning “waves of the sea.”
35. Moselle – A Hebrew name meaning “drawn from the water,” echoing the Moselle River of France and Germany.
36. Nahla – A refreshing Arabic feminine name meaning “a drink of water.”
37. Naida – A Greek name meaning “water nymph,” after the naiads who watched over freshwater springs, wells, and streams in myth.
38. Narelle – This pretty Aboriginal name means “little river.”
39. Nebula – A futuristic Latin choice meaning “mist.”
40. Ngaio – A thoughtful Maori choice meaning “reflections on the water.”
41. Nixie – A German female name meaning “water nymph” that feels fairy-like.
42. Noelani – An ethereal Hawaiian girl name meaning “heavenly mist.”
43. Nori – A fun Japanese name meaning “doctrine” or “seaweed.”
44. Oceana – A Greek-rooted name for “ocean,” the feminine form of the Titan Oceanus.
45. Onda – This Italian girl’s name for “wave” makes a real splash.
46. Pasha – A short name with an upscale ring, linked to the meaning “of the sea.”
47. Picabo – A Native American name meaning “silver creek,” shared by Olympic ski champion Picabo Street.
48. Ria – A short Spanish feminine name for “small river,” and a geographic word for a coastal inlet.
49. River – An English nature name for a flowing body of water, climbing the charts and carried by actor River Phoenix.
50. Sabrina – A Celtic name for the River Severn, whose Roman name was Sabrina; Welsh legend ties it to the princess Habren, who drowned in the river and became its goddess.
51. Saga – A lovely Swedish female name meaning “seeress” or “story,” often associated with water goddess myths.
52. Sereia – A charming Portuguese girl name meaning “mermaid.”
53. Tallulah – An Irish and Native American girl name meaning “leaping water,” pronounced ta-LOO-la and echoing Georgia’s Tallulah Falls.
54. Thalassa – A Greek name meaning “the sea,” personified in myth as the primordial goddess who bore the fish and sea creatures.
55. Undine – A Latin name for “little wave,” tied to the undine water spirits of European folklore.
56. Varsha – An exotic Hindi girl’s name meaning “rain.”
57. Yarrow – A botanical English name meaning “rough stream.”

48 Unique Boy Names That Mean Water

Discover a boatload of enchanting boy names that mean river, ocean, and water.

1. Aalto – A melodic Finnish boy name meaning “water” or “wave,” shared by architect Alvar Aalto.
2. Alwyn – A lyrical Welsh name meaning “river.”
3. Aquarius – An astrological Latin masculine name meaning “water carrier.”
4. Arledge – A sophisticated pick meaning “dweller at the rabbit lake.”
5. Arnav – A strong Hindi male name meaning “ocean.”
6. Bach – A German surname name meaning “dweller near the brook,” pronounced BAHK and carried by composer Johann Sebastian Bach.
7. Barbeau – This French water name for “fisherman” sounds hardworking and distinct.
8. Beck – A punchy one-syllable name meaning “small stream,” from Old Norse bekkr and shared by musician Beck.
9. Birney – An adorable English name meaning “island with the brook.”
10. Bourne – A stealthy English name meaning “one who lives near a stream.”
11. Bradford – An English name representing a “wide river crossing.”
12. Brooks – A preppy English surname-turned-first-name meaning “of the brook.”
13. Carlow – An elegant Irish boy name meaning “four-part lake,” also a county in Ireland.
14. Clyde – A Scottish name meaning “river,” after the River Clyde that flows through Glasgow to the sea.
15. Cove – A gorgeous water-themed English name meaning “small bay.”
16. Deniz – The Turkish variant of Dennis, meaning “sea.”
17. Deveraux – A dapper French boy’s name meaning “riverbank.”
18. Douglas – A Scottish name meaning “dark water,” from the Gaelic dubh glais.
19. Dylan – A chart-topping Welsh name meaning “son of the sea”; in the Mabinogi, Dylan ail Don is a sea-child who swims like a fish, and the name now nods to Bob Dylan ⁽¹⁾.
20. Eaton – A preppy English water name that means “riverside.”
21. Fisher – An outdoorsy English occupational name meaning “fisherman.”
22. Fleetwood – A rhythmic English name meaning “woods with a stream,” echoed by the band Fleetwood Mac.
23. Ford – An English name meaning “dweller at the ford,” a shallow river crossing.
24. Hancock – A water-inspired English surname meaning “shellfish-gatherer.”
25. Holmes – A down-to-earth name meaning “from the island in the river.”
26. Hudson – A classic English name meaning “Hugh’s son,” tied to New York’s Hudson River and steadily popular on U.S. charts. Hudson ranked #17 for U.S. boys in 2025 with 8,583 newborns given the name, per the Social Security Administration’s national baby-name data ⁽²⁾.
27. Hurley – A sporty Irish name meaning “sea tide.”
28. Innes – A Scottish boy name meaning “from the river island.”
29. Irving – A traditional Scottish name meaning “green river” or “sea friend.”
30. Kano – A Japanese given name and surname, also read in African usage as “god of the waters”; the Kano school was a celebrated dynasty of Japanese painters.
31. Kelvin – A Scottish name for a “narrow, wooded river,” after Glasgow’s River Kelvin, which later lent its name to the temperature scale.
32. Loch – A modern, short form of Lachlan meaning “lake.”
33. Marsh – An English nature name representing wetlands.
34. Moses – A classic biblical boy’s name meaning “drawn out of the water,” after the prophet the Bible says was rescued from the Nile as a baby.
35. Nen – An Egyptian masculine name meaning “ancient waters.”
36. Po – The simplest of Italian boy names, sharing its name with the River Po.
37. Rio – A spirited Spanish and Portuguese name meaning “river.”
38. Romney – A well-known Welsh surname meaning “winding river.”
39. Strom – A unique German twist on Storm, meaning “stream.”
40. Tahoe – A cool Native American male name meaning “edge of the lake,” after Lake Tahoe.
41. Talcott – A cozy English name meaning “cottage near the lake.”
42. Varuna – A Sanskrit name for Varuna, the Hindu god of the waters, oceans, and cosmic order.
43. Wade – A smooth English male name meaning “at the river crossing.”
44. Wilton – A dashing old-fashioned name meaning “place by a stream.”
45. Windsor – A regal English name meaning “riverbank with a windlass,” shared with the British royal house.
46. Wolcott – A clean-cut English name meaning “cottage near a stream.”
47. Wyre – An English name meaning “winding river,” after the River Wyre in Lancashire.
48. Zenebe – An African Amharic name meaning “raining.”

13 Cool Unisex Names Meaning Water

There are endless gender-neutral water names for your baby-to-be. Here are our top picks.

1. Adair – A Scottish and English name meaning “river near oaks.”
2. Banks – A trendy English name referring to the “edge of the river.”
3. Cary – A breezy name meaning “pleasant stream,” shared by leading man Cary Grant.
4. Jordan – A popular Hebrew name meaning “to flow down,” after the River Jordan where tradition places many baptisms.
5. Kai – A short, popular unisex name meaning “sea” in Hawaiian, also found in Japanese and Scandinavian use and a fast riser for boys.
6. Kendall – An English favorite meaning “valley of the river Kent.”
7. Lake – A straightforward English nature name for a “body of water.”
8. Maxwell – A Scottish name meaning “great stream” that works for any gender.
9. Morgan – A classic Welsh name meaning “sea-born,” “sea-song,” or “sea-circle.”
10. Nile – A name tied to the famous River Nile, from the Greek Neilos.
11. Rain – An English word name meaning “rain” or “blessings from above.”
12. Remington – A charming English name meaning “place on a riverbank.”
13. Rowan – Often linked to the rowan tree, this Gaelic name also carries watery, nature-rooted roots and the sense of “little red one.” Rowan ranked #59 for U.S. boys in 2025 with 5,212 newborns given the name, per the Social Security Administration’s national baby-name data.

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