Names That Mean River

The surname Bennington denoted someone from one of three towns name Ben(n)ington in England, all meaning "town by the Beane river." The river name Beane was derived from Beonna, an Old English given name.

Written as Genève, it's the authentic name of Switzerland's capital. The English version, Geneva, is more common as a baby name in the US.

The river Ganges in India is also called Jahnavi (literally "daughter of Jahnu") due to a legend involving the sage Jahnu. The Ganges river destroyed his fields, so Jahnu drank up all of the river's water to punish her. The Gods prayed to the sage to release the Ganges, and Jahnu relented and released the Ganges from his ear.

We'll have our sherry in the parlor, please, Bainbridge.

The good news: the Po is Italy's longest river, flowing across the north. The bad news: Po is a manic, scooter-riding red Teletubby.

Actor Pierce made both his first and last name appealing.

The Turkish name for the Danube River. Tuna is technically a unisex name in Turkey, yet it is more common among boys.

Variant of Treveri. The Treveri people gave their name to modern-day Trier, formerly known in English by its French name Treves, which is the oldest city in Germany and was one of the ancient capitals of the Roman Empire. This could be a novel way to honor an ancestral Trevor.

An English place name and surname derived from the name of the River Exe, which runs mainly in Devon and Somerset in the southwest of England. The river's name simply means "water" from Brythonic uisk.

Brings to mind the romantic and elegant eighteenth century portraits of George Romney.

An example of the Welsh love of naming children after rivers and places. Colwyn is rare in the States but has genuine appeal: no hidden spelling traps, and similar-yet-different to names like Colton, Colson and Colin.

Two names meaning "river" make the Turkish Top 100 for girls — Nehir and Irmak. Irmak is the less popular of the two.

Luknė is the name of a Lithuanian river that has been adapted into a hit baby name. It peaked in 2019 as the third-most-popular name for Lithuanian baby girls.

Variant of Kendall

A totally one-of-a-kind Waverly alternative with historic roots.

Soft and rhythmic.

Zaire, the former name of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is an ultra-hot baby name for boys. It's inspired a number of variations, including Zyair, Zyaire, and now, Ziaire.

River in north-west Wales, spelled in English as Dovey. Like many British river names, it may relate to the word for water.

Wharton is a rather stiff banker name that becomes creative as a middle name choice for lovers of the novels of writer Edith.