Names That Mean Wave

Guinevere was the name of the beautiful but ill-fated queen of Camelot, for so many years eclipsed by its modern Cornish form Jennifer. Today, Guinevere could be a cool possibility for adventurous parents intrigued by this richly evocative and romantic choice.

Jenna was first noted on the 1980s TV series Dallas, later associated with one of the First Twin Daughters. Jenna is still being used, but no longer feels much fresher than Jennifer. You can also spell it Jena, but then many people will pronounce it jeen-a, as in Gina.

Jennifer is the Cornish variation of Guinevere, which ultimately derived from the Welsh name Gwenhwyfar. It has been in use in the English-speaking world since the 18th century but came to prominence in the 20th. Playwright George Bernard Shaw chose Jennifer for the name of his leading lady in his play The Doctor’s Dilemma, which drew more attention to the name.

A name with many spelling variations, including Malek and Maliq. With Muslim roots, Malik ranks in the US Top 500 and is also popular in several European and Arabic countries. Malik can also be thought of as a nature name, via its Greenlandic meaning of wave.

A lovely alternative for the Jennifer-lover.

Aquatic Japanese choice that would work well cross-culturally.

Mythological spirit of the waters; spelled Undine, she was an Edith Wharton heroine.

The last name of Finnish moderne designer/architect makes an original, creative choice with an unexpected water-related meaning.

Mythological water spirit with the more common spelling of Ondine, heroine of an Edith Wharton novel.

Short, but still kind of a mouthful.

Sprightly.

Alda's brother name Aldo has been a mainstay of the U.S. popularity chart for decades now, and the related Alden is soaring up as well. This version has never really caught on. (Maybe it's the association with Alan Alda: great actor, unlikely namesake for a little girl.) However, there is possible hope now that Alba and Alma are on the rise. Aida and Arden are more familiar alternatives.

An offbeat way to get to Gwen.

Wave made, well, waves when it was revealed to be the name of Cardi B and Offset's son. Evocative of crashing waves at the beach, large surfing barrels, and tumultuous and stormy seas, Wave is a name with a lot of personalities.

Malek may be a variation of the more popular Malik, but it's most familiar via actor Ramy Malek.

Yennefer is the name of one of the protagists of The Witcher series, first books by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski and then a video game and now a Netflix series. Yennefer is a powerful fighter and sorceress. As a name, we don't think Yennefer is any improvement on millennial mom name Jennifer, but nickname Yen has it all over the dated Jen.

This unisex Israeli name, which rhymes with ball, is sure to receive more serious international attention now that actress Gal Gadot is the new Wonder Woman.

A unisex name in Israel but in the U.S., it might as well be Sue.

Epithet of the goddess Lakshmi with a watery meaning.

A pretty and intriguing elaboration of Gal — made internationally famous by Israeli actress Gal Gadot.