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FROM ARNO TO ZEZERE: RIVER NAMES THAT REALLY FLOW

danube-river We think and talk a lot about place names–countries like China, states like Georgia, cities like Dallas, even boroughs like Brooklyn. And we also think and talk about nature names, of flowers and trees. Well there’s one category that merges the two together, and that’s river names.

I was planning to put together a list of interesting river names worldwide, but I came upon so many intriguing and unusual possibilities in Western Europe alone, that I decided to save our own country, England and Ireland and others farther afield for some time in the future. Some of those listed here are major waterways like the Seine, others are much smaller streams; and some run through more than one country. And I’m sure you’ll notice that there are those that sound decidedly masculine (Arno), while others could be possible girls’ names (Adaja).

Not surprisingly, some of the most appealing names come from the French countryside:

AIRE

ALZETTE

ANDELLE

ANOUX

ARLY

AUBETTE

CALAVON

CEROU

CLAREE

CREUSE

DADOU

EAULINE

ESTERON

LAITA

LAQUETTE

LOIRE

MIDOU

RAVILLOU

RHONE

VARENNE

VIENNE

And here are some Latinate choices from Italy, Spain, and Portugal:

ADAJA

ARAGON

ARBIA

ARNO

BREGGIA

CAIA

EBRO

ELVO

ENZA

JABALON

JALON

JARAMA

MAIRA

MARANO

MINO

NAVIA

OLONA

ORBA

SELLA

TAJO

TIBER

TURIA

ULLA

ZANCARA

ZEZERE

And finally a few found in Germany, Austria, Holland, Belgium and Greece

ARDOS

AXIOS

DANUBE (which is shown in the illustration)

ELBE

ISAR

KRIOS

LADON

NEDA

NETTE

ORLA

RABA

REGEN

SENNE

THAYA

TYRIA

VLIET

Tags: baby names, European names, French names, Irish baby names, Italian names, nature names, river names, Spanish names, water names

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 15th, 2009 at 11:54 pm and is filed under Uncategorized, exotic baby names, nature names, place names . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

9 Responses to “FROM ARNO TO ZEZERE: RIVER NAMES THAT REALLY FLOW”

Elizabeth Says:

March 16th, 2009 at 7:38 am

Brendan Fraser’s (former?) wife was named Afton, after a river in Scotland. In looking at a list of rivers in Scotland, I saw another good name: Deveron. I like the idea of naming someone after a river.

Courteney Says:

March 16th, 2009 at 8:34 am

Great idea! I am so thrilled I found this web site! My husband and I have the HARDEST time finding names for our kids. We are expecting #3 in August and have no names that we like. I know for sure this site will offer something unique (but not obnoxiously so). I can’t wait to see what other ideas you come up with!!!! Have you ever investigated product names for babies? Our daughter is named Killian and I saw your article on beers. I was so excited to see her name here!

Lola Says:

March 16th, 2009 at 7:44 pm

I know an Orla! I think in her case, it’s an anglcisation (did I spell that right?) of Orfhlaith, it means “golden princess’ in Gaelic, Aint it gorgeous?

Ulla makes me think of “The Producers” and I would name a girl Vienne, no problem! Some of these don’t work for me though: Vliet, looks like Violet missing a vowel!

mina_gaspar Says:

March 16th, 2009 at 9:09 pm

Here are some more Portuguese rivers that i think would sound sweet for babies: Tâmega, Mondego, Tejo (or Tagus), Limia, Caio, Zêzere, Tua. All cute, huh? I like this idea…

Emmy Jo Says:

March 16th, 2009 at 9:16 pm

You’ve run across some lovely possibilities.

For girls, my favorites would be Aire, Vienne, Caia, Maira, Navia, Sella, Leda, Orla, and Senne.

For boys, I like the idea of Calavon, Aragon, Tiber, Isar, and Ardos.

A little voice in the back of my head is cautioning me that it would probably be a good idea to check into the etymology of these river names before bestowing one on a real child.

Tamara Says:

March 18th, 2009 at 4:30 pm

Regen is the Dutch word for Rain I recently found out that there’s a Dutch river named Mark, I didn’t even know that. I thought of it when I read this article, as Mark is an actual name that’s being used

kristie Says:

March 28th, 2009 at 9:12 pm

Diamantina is a River in Qld Australia that is pretty for a girl. Using a river, lake or place of significance is a really lovely idea

Ex Boyfriend Says:

April 9th, 2009 at 10:26 am

I read your posts for a long time and should tell that your articles are always valuable to readers.

Eva Says:

November 13th, 2009 at 2:06 am

We named our baby boy Cullen (which also means handsome), after a river not far from where we live. As both my partner and I were born in the Northern Territory of Australia, I wanted a name to link him to where he was born. We are now pregnant again, and I am on the hunt for another NT river name that i like and that is a bit different.