Names That Mean Ocean or Sea

Tahnee

Polynesian, English

"by the sea; tawny, golden brown"

A captivating, watery name found primarily in Australia and New Zealand, Tahnee was used by Raquel Welch for her daughter. Earthy and summery at the same time, it may also be used as a spelling…

Tarni

Australian Aboriginal

"wave, surf"

Is there anything more Australian than the beach and surfing? Tarni is the Kaurna word for wave/surf, and is sometimes used as a girls name in Australia. Other spellings that are sometimes seen…

Thalassa

Greek

"the sea"

A pretty, rarely used Greek name, Thalassa is the ancient personification of the sea, particularly the Mediterranean, who is sometimes considered the mother of Aphrodite. In 1991, a newly discovered…

Thetis

Greek

"dogmatic"

This name of the mythological mother of Achilles might suffer from English speakers making the rhyming association to the word fetus. The traditional Greek pronunciation might alleviate that problem.

Tonwen

Welsh

"white wave"

Tonwen is another name for Gwen, the mother of Saint Cybi and sister of Non (who was the mother of St David, patron saint of Wales). An unusual -wen ending option.

Umina

Japanese or Quechua

"sea or emerald"

As a Japanese name, Umina derives from umi , meaning "sea", combined with a range of other kanji characters. As a Quechua name, it is properly spelt Umiña, and means "emerald".

Undine

Latin

"little wave"

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

Whetumoana

Maori

"star of the sea"

The title of a Maori poem and also used to reference Mary, mother of Jesus, adapted from the Latin Marian title Stella Maris "star of the sea".

Zaley

Feminine variation of Zale, invented nickname-name, or short form of Azalea

All baby names can be made more "creative" by putting a Z at the beginning instead of what's conventionally there: B or C or H, for instance. Zaley is an adorable entry in this group, also spelled…

Zale

Greek

"sea-strength"

More than 1000 baby girls were named Azalea in the US last year, but none were named Zale. Theoretically unisex, there were no baby boys named Zale either. Simple yet rare, Zale suffers by its…

Sewenna

Medieval English

"sea delight, sea joy"

A Latinized form of the Anglo-Saxon name, Sæwynn, with a poetic meaning and potential nickname Winnie.

Hafný

Icelandic

"new sea"

Combining the Old Norse elements haf "sea" and ný "new, recent", Hafný is an Icelandic name with a compelling meaning, that could work well for a baby born at the beginning of the year, to symbolize…

Bahari

Swahili

"ocean, sea; one who sails"

A unisex name of Swahili origin, this spirited and sunny sounding choice means "sea, ocean". In this case, it is ultimately derived from the Arabic baḥriyy meaning "maritime" or "of the sea", which…

Eione

Greek

"shore, beach, bank; shore goddess"

Short, sweet and appealing, Eione is a little used name from Greek mythology, borne by one of the Nereids, the sea nymph daughters of Nereus. Derived from the element eion , this name relates to the…