Nature, Place and Word Names
By Pamela Redmond · Updated September 2026
Across 6 pages
of 6
Persian
"immaculate"
Anahita is the name of the water goddess who rules, among other things, fertility and wisdom. Associated with Venue, Anahita is a stylish Iranian name for girls. Anahita was derived from the Old…
Hebrew
"wave"
Sprightly name popular in Israel with beachy meaning and international flex.
Hawaiian
"the power of the ocean"
This Hawaiian name gracefully celebrates the force of nature, paying tribute to the ocean. If you're looking for unique names that mean ocean , this should be on your short list.
American animal name
"pike, a fish"
The field of nature names is constantly expanding to include all species of flowers and trees and animals and birds and even fish. In addition to its appeal for anglers, Pike recalls Zebulon Pike,…
Roman god of the sea, freshwater springs, and horses.
This Roman mythology (and planet) name would be very hard to handle. It derives from a root meaning cloud.
Nature name
As likely to be tied to the detergent as to the rhythms of the ocean.
Greek
"from the sea"
An offbeat possible replacement for the overused Melissa and Marisa, Nerissa was used by Shakespeare for Portia's witty confidante in The Merchant of Venice . Queen Elizabeth has a cousin named…
English
"sea-bright; pleasant hill"
Merrill, once fairly common for American boys back in the first half of the 20th-century, is now a rare choice, given to just 7 girls and 6 boys in a recent year. Alternative spelling Meryl is also…
Scottish
"from the land by the sea"
An old-man name that sounds cute when used for a little girl, and is starting to seem cool again for boys too. For girls, it might be associated with Mina Murray (later, Mina Harker) from Bram…
Hebrew or Greek
"my candle; ocean spirit"
A simple but unusual name with roots in disparate cultures, Neri appears in the Bible as a male name and is still sometimes used for boys as well as girls. The appeal of Neri are its deep roots…
English word, Old English
"an inlet of the sea where the land curves inward; berry"
One of the most usable of the pleasant, newly adopted nature/water names (like Lake and Ocean), especially in middle position. It's gentle, slightly whimsical, but grounded by its similarity to May…
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.
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…
Irish
"sea tide"
Hurley is a possibility as a unisex surname-name ending with the "lee" sound. It is perhaps most associated with British actress Elizabeth Hurley, and is much rarer than Harley, because the "ur"…
Scandinavian
"sea competition"
A name from medieval romance with an endearingly clunky sound, à la Sherlock. The most famous modern wearer was twentieth-century psychologist/sexologist Havelock (born Henry) Ellis.
"kingfisher bird"
This highly unusual name -- the Halycyone was a mythic bird who could calm the seas -- conjures up images of utter peace and tranquility because of the phrase "Halycon days"...and the sleeping pill.
"long-winged swimming birds"
Suggests the salty, windswept air of the seashore.
"the surrounding sea or the surrounding third"
Amphitrite is a mysterious Greek mythological figure, most often cited as a sea goddess who was the wife of Poseidon. She was said to be the personification of the sea water itself and was said to be…
