Water Related Names

This hauntingly euphonious Choctaw name has re-entered the public domain, as memories of the outrageous actress Tallulah Bankhead have faded. For years, Tallulah was a name associated only with Bankhead, named for her paternal grandmother who was named after the Georgia town of Tallulah Falls.

This name of London's famous river (it's pronounced tehms) might be an evocative if confusing choice for a non-British child. But if you want an unmistakably British girl name, this would be a clear choice.

Actress Jaime King gave her son Leo the middle name Thames, for the famous London river where she and her husband Kyle Newman were married. Thames is pronounced tehms, not necessarily common knowledge in the US. The etymology of the word Thames is uncertain, and may mean dark but more likely stems from an ancient word for river.

Unusual and simple: a winning combination. But it was the name of a fifteen-thousand-ton monster in a midcentury "Godzilla" movie.

This Indian name would make the perfect choice for those looking for a strong water-based name. A variation which may seem more immediately masculine to the English-speaking ear is Varun. The feminine version is Varuni, who was Varuna's consort.

Wade has never been outside the US Top 1000 for boys - there's a reason for that. It has a clean spelling, fresh sound and is neither too trendy (unlike Kade or Cade) or too old-school (like Richard or Albert). We think Wade is a winning name.

An established male name that might cross over to the girls' side -- though if it's a water name you're after, there are so many prettier choices.

An ancient tree that figures in literature from Shakespeare to Harry Potter and is believed to possess magical powers, Willow is a lovely name, as graceful as its inspiration.

Possibly a derivative variation of Yara, a popular name in Spanish-speaking countries meaning butterfly, Yareli was given to more than 400 baby girls in the US last year.

Africa's fourth-longest river would make a unique name choice.

In Slavic myth, this name belonged to the water priestess and protector of warriors.