Names that mean water
This list groups names by the literal gloss at the start of each meaning, not the cultural notes that follow. Closely related meanings are gathered under water. Tap any name for its story, or grow a tree and see which of them belong in your family.
Selin Turkish ยท river, flowing water
Sarita Sanskrit ยท river, the flowing one; a parent-generation staple that also matches Spanish Sarita, little Sara, a happy accident in US classrooms
River English ยท flowing water
Fon Thai ยท rain
Moe Burmese ยท rain, sky (แแญแฏแธ); a Thursday-letter name for boys and girls alike. In the US it lands as the friendly American nickname Moe, an easy bridge for a Burmese name
Hร Vietnamese ยท river
Giang Vietnamese ยท river
Nam Thai ยท water
Salil Bengali ยท water
Thuy Vietnamese ยท water; gentle
Rio Spanish ยท means 'river' in Spanish and Portuguese; a separate Japanese name uses several possible kanji combinations
Clyde Scottish ยท river name
Moses Hebrew ยท drawn out of water
Niloufar Persian ยท water lily, lotus
Irving Scottish ยท from the River Irvine, green water
Phirun Khmer ยท gentle rain; from Varuna, the Indic god of rain and waters
Yagmur Turkish ยท rain (Yaฤmur)
Raine English ยท modern coinage evoking 'rain'; also a short form of Regina or Lorraine
Amaya Basque ยท variant of Amaia, from Basque amaia, the end
Lake English ยท from the English word for a body of water
Yunxi Chinese ยท clouds over a mountain stream (้ฒๆบช)
Remington English ยท place name/surname, "settlement on the raven's stream"
Shannon Irish ยท traditionally old, wise river
Rayne English ยท modern variant spelling of the word Rain
Mazhai Tamil ยท rain (Tamil)
Siwoo Korean ยท poem and rain (a lyrical modern name combo)
Lluvia Spanish ยท Spanish word for 'rain'
Beckham English ยท surname/place name, "homestead by the stream"
Brook English ยท English word name for a small stream
Yuqing Chinese ยท rain clearing to sunshine (้จๆด)
Sude Turkish ยท pure water; from a beloved Turkish poem
Musa Arabic ยท Arabic form of Moses appearing in the Quran; Moses is most likely from Egyptian mes, "son" (the "drew out" reading is the Old Testament's own gloss)
Vu Vietnamese ยท rain (also a common surname)
Tuyen Vietnamese ยท a ray or line (as Tuyแบฟn), or spring water (as the feminine Tuyแปn)
Trent English ยท from the River Trent; flooding river
Wailani Hawaiian ยท heavenly water
Vellamo Finnish ยท the Kalevala's goddess of water, lakes, and seas; from velloa, "to churn", describing the movement of waves
Winford Old English ยท an English place and surname name, from elements read as friend and ford, or possibly white stream
Jiwoo Korean ยท ambition and universe, or rain, in common hanja
Wade English ยท surname/place name, "to ford, river crossing"
Nahla Arabic ยท traditionally 'first drink of water'
Yordanos Amharic ยท Ethiopian form of Jordan, the river
Wilford English ยท Old English compound of willow and ford, a river crossing; a place name and surname before becoming a first name.
Douglas Scottish ยท dark river
Sindhu Telugu ยท the Indus, the great river of Sanskrit tradition; carried onto every Telugu sports page by the Hyderabad badminton champion P. V. Sindhu
Tallulah Native-American ยท leaping water, from a Native American place name
Jordy Hebrew ยท nickname for Jordan, to flow down (the river)
Jordin Hebrew ยท variant spelling of Jordan, 'to flow down,' after the river
Shanon Modern American ยท A respelling of Shannon, Ireland's longest river, from Gaelic sean, 'old, wise one'.
Jhilmil Bengali ยท sparkle, glitter, twinkle, especially the shimmer of light on water or stars
Moshe Hebrew ยท form of Moses, traditionally "drawn out of water"
Clodagh Irish ยท named for a river goddess in Irish mythology
Sanford English ยท English place name/surname, 'sandy river crossing'
Beverly English ยท from an English place name meaning 'beaver stream' or 'beaver meadow'
Rayford English ยท An English surname, likely from raed, counsel, and ford, river crossing, or from the place name Radford
Ichamati Bengali ยท a river of the Bengal delta on the India-Bangladesh border; from Bengali/Sanskrit iccha (wish, desire) and mati (mind), "the river of its own will," for its history of shifting course
Carey Welsh ยท from a Welsh river name, or an Irish surname
Lam Cantonese ยท fine jade (็ณ) for girls or steady rain (้) for boys; the modern closing element in names like Hoi-Lam
Ford English ยท place name/surname meaning 'river crossing'
Mose Samoan ยท Samoan form of Moses: drawn out of the water
Mazen Arabic ยท rain clouds (a spelling of Mazin)
Ahti Finnish ยท the Finnish god of water and fishing; in the Kalevala he appears as Ahto to avoid confusion with the hero Ahti Saarelainen
Jourdan Hebrew ยท French spelling of Jordan, from Hebrew Yarden, to flow down, the river where John baptized Jesus.
Nadeesha Sinhala ยท a modern coinage built on Sanskrit nadi, river, in the popular -eesha fashion of the 1980s-90s
Jordynn Hebrew ยท feminine respelling of Jordan, from the biblical river, 'to flow down'
Neha Sanskrit and Hindi ยท Sanskrit and Hindi name generally meaning rain or love; famously borne by Neha Narkhede, co-founder of Confluent.
Nile Greek ยท from the Nile River, name of Greek origin (Neilos)
India English ยท from the country name India, itself from the Indus River
Shannan Modern American ยท A 1970s spelling of Shannon, the Irish river name from Sionann, granddaughter of the sea god Lir in myth.
Beck English ยท English surname meaning 'stream', from Old Norse bekkr
Jorden Hebrew ยท variant spelling of Jordan, from the Jordan River, 'to flow down'
Anahita Persian ยท ancient Zoroastrian goddess of water and fertility
Beverley English ยท From the English place name Beverley in Yorkshire, meaning beaver stream or beaver clearing.
Jordon Hebrew ยท variant spelling of Jordan, from the River Jordan, traditionally 'to flow down'
Wilburn English ยท English habitational surname from a place meaning willow stream, later used as a given name.
Kendall English ยท place name, "valley of the river Kent"
Irvin Scottish ยท variant of Irving, green water
Vaigai Tamil ยท the river running through Madurai, celebrated in Sangam-era Tamil poetry
Cary Welsh ยท variant of Carey, from a Welsh river name
Kendal English ยท place name, "valley of the River Kent"
Monroe Scottish ยท surname, "mouth of the river Roe"
Ponni Tamil ยท a classical poetic name for the Kaveri river, from Tamil "pon" (gold); popularized by the historical novel Ponniyin Selvan
Aila Scottish ยท variant of Isla, from the Scottish river name
Mozelle Uncertain ยท Disputed: possibly a feminine name honoring Moses, drawn from the water, or from Moselle, the French river name.
Yeon-woo Korean ยท commonly glossed as lotus and rain (unisex)
Crawford Scottish ยท Scottish surname, 'crow ford, river crossing'
Ayrton English ยท farm on the River Aire (English surname and place name); famously borne by F1 legend Ayrton Senna
Kelvin Scottish ยท from the River Kelvin in Scotland, of uncertain Celtic origin; Brazil's 2000s wave pick, a Kevin with an L of its own
Iyla Scottish ยท variant of Isla, from Islay, the Scottish island name
Moises Hebrew ยท Spanish and Portuguese form of Moses; 'drawn from the water' in the Bible's telling, though scholars favor Egyptian mes, 'son'
Which of these fits YOUR family? โ