Names that mean water
Water names include the English words River and Brooke, place names for a stream or a ford, and names from Welsh, Irish and Hawaiian words for the sea.
Girl names (12)
| Name | Meaning | Origin | Rank 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kaylani | sea and sky (variant of Kailani) | Hawaiian | #185 |
| Jordyn | variant of Jordan (the river) | Hebrew | #371 |
| Brooke | brook, stream | English | #313 |
| Murphy | descendant of Murchadh, 'sea warrior' (Irish surname) | Irish | #397 |
| Sabrina | Latin name of the river Severn | Latin | #321 |
| Maren | of the sea (Danish form of Marina) | Latin | #472 |
| Marina | of the sea (Latin) | Latin | #602 |
| Marlowe | lake remnant hill? (English place name Marlow) | English | #523 |
| Lindsey | island of Lincoln (place name) | English | #1,369 |
| Shannon | River Shannon (Irish) | Irish | #2,405 |
| Lynn | lake or pool (surname) | Welsh | #2,558 |
| Muriel | "bright sea" | Irish | #4,430 |
Boy names (24)
| Name | Meaning | Origin | Rank 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln | lake settlement (place name) | English | #69 |
| River | river (word name) | English | #111 |
| Brooks | brook, stream (surname) | English | #64 |
| Jordan | the Jordan River (perhaps 'flowing down') | Hebrew | #131 |
| Maxwell | Mack's spring (place name) | Scottish | #189 |
| Wade | ford | English | #344 |
| Kyle | strait, narrows (Gaelic caol) | Scottish | #509 |
| Ocean | ocean (English word) | English | #720 |
| Wells | springs, wells | English | #347 |
| Rio | river (Spanish/Portuguese); also Rio de Janeiro | Spanish | #532 |
| Zaire | river (Kongo nzere) | African | #503 |
| Ford | ford, river crossing | English | #474 |
| Makai | toward the sea (Hawaiian word) | Hawaiian | #481 |
| Rayan | well-watered (Arabic) | Arabic | #588 |
| Caspian | of the Caspian (Sea); from Narnia | Latin | #491 |
| Clyde | the river Clyde (origin uncertain) | Scottish | #743 |
| Douglas | black stream | Scottish | #807 |
| Kelvin | Scottish | #1,036 | |
| Trent | Celtic | #1,344 | |
| Lamar | "the pool" | French | #1,517 |
| Clifford | ford by a cliff | English | #1,352 |
| Alton | "settlement at the river source" | English | #1,602 |
| Irving | from the River Irvine; perhaps "fresh river" | Scottish | #1,783 |
| Bradford | "broad ford" | English | #3,522 |
How names get on this list
Our editors read each name's documented etymology and tag a theme only when the roots of the name carry that meaning. Popular explanations without support (folk etymologies) don't count, and names whose origin is uncertain are left out unless every explanation agrees. The list covers the roughly 2,000 most used names we have researched so far, ordered by the number of US babies in the last five years. How we research meanings.