Baby Name Meanings · Nature, Place and Word Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 12 pages
of 12
Latin
"star of the sea"
Stella Maris ("star of the sea") is an historic title for the Virgin Mary, in use since at least the early medieval period. Although it actually arose from a scribal error in the etymology of the…
Sumerian
"she who treads on the sea"
Asherah is probably one of the most ancient of mother goddess symbols, recorded in the pantheons of several civilisations from the tenth century BCE. As the mother to innumerable gods and goddesses,…
Italian place-name
"pond, lake"
Laguna Beach is a famous California spot -- though there's "goonie" teasing potential.
Welsh
"maiden"
Morwenna is an ancient Cornish name now being revived in Wales, deriving from a Celtic word meaning "maiden", although the Mor- syllable means that it's often associated with the sea. It's been heard…
Word name
Reef is a rare gender-neutral word name in the stylish ocean category. There were a handful of baby girls named Reef last years, and 60 baby boys — a not inconsiderable number.
Place name, English form of Séliš, Salishan
"Salish people"
The Salishan are ingenious people from the Pacific North West, made up of four major groups who speak one of 23 Salishan languages. The name "Salish" is an anglicization of Séliš, the local name of…
Maori
"healthy, impressive; ocean + life"
A stylish sounding choice of Maori origin, Kaiora can be considered a name in its own right, meaning "healthy, impressive" and a blend of the elements kai and ora , giving it the combined meaning of…
"from the sea"
Marine was trending for a long time in France, but the far right politician Marine (born Marion) LePen has dampened the mood.
Native American, Inuit
"goddess of the sea"
The name of the Inuit goddess of the sea, marine animals, and the underworld. There is also a dwarf planet in the outer solar system called 90377 Sedna, discovered in 2003 and named after the goddess…
Celtic
"gem of the sea"
Ula is among the unusual U names that may have a range of origins and meanings, from the Celtic one given here to its possibilities as a short form of Eulalia or Ursula. Ulla is a Scandinavian name…
Tahitian
"sea cave"
A pretty, mellifluous name from the Tahitian phrase vai ana o te mato teitei , meaning "water from the cave of the high rock". The Disney heroine Moana is called Vaiana in most European countries,…
Breton, Cornish
"forest, woodland; coast, coastland"
Arvor is an intriguing choice with two possible meanings. From Celtic and Breton, it means "woodland, forest, trees" and may be a cognate of Arbor from Cornish, however, it translates to "coast" or…
French from Latin
"sea water; color between green and blue"
A fresh and summery — if rather long — color that sounds namelike, but is extremely rarely used.
Greenlandic
"float made of sealskin"
A Greenlandic name with a very Greenlandic feel: its meaning, "float made of sealskin", refers to the floats used for kayaks, a historically important tool for survival in Inuit society.
Finnish, unknown meaning
In Finnish mythology, Ahti (also known as Ahto) was a heroic character and god of the sea, rivers and fishing, also referred to as Saarelainen ("Islander").
"pathway of the sea"
A beautiful elaboration on the Polynesian name Moana "sea", made famous by the 2016 Disney film of the same name. It is also a New Zealand place name.
French occupational name
"fisherman"
How to spruce up Fisher or Beau? This French surname-name might be an option for a parent unafraid of the unusual. The name derives from Barbel, a type of fish, which is how it became a surname for…
Nature name, English word name
"a shore of a body of water"
With the tide coming in on a new wave of word names, this one just might catch on, especially for parents who relish sun, sand, and surf. Forest lovers can spell it Beech, like the tree.
"great lord or sea lord"
Diminutive of Welsh Maredudd, the original (masculine) form of Meredith.
English from Latin
"sea raven"
Cormorant is definitely one of the most unusual of the newly fashionable animal names, and one of the rare bird names for boys.
