Names That Mean River
26 names whose etymology relates to “river” — drawn from documented origins, sorted by all-time U.S. popularity.
ChristopherFrom Late Latin Christophorus, from Koine Greek Χρῑστόφορος (Khrīstóphoros, “carrier of Christ”), from Ancient Greek Χριστός (Khristós, “Christ”) + φόρος (phóros, “carrier, bear…
JordanFrom Latin Iordanēs, from Ancient Greek Ἰορδάνης (Iordánēs), from Biblical Hebrew יַרְדֵּן (yardén, “Jordan (river)”). Doublet of Yarden. The area in Hong Kong is named after Jo…
WendyPopularized by the character in J. M. Barrie's play, Peter Pan (1904), though occasionally found earlier; the author explained that he got it from Fwendy-Wendy ("friend"), a nic…
SavannahThe cities are named after the Savannah River, possibly derived from Shawnee or Algonquian.
WarrenFrom the Anglo-Norman surname (de) Warenne, a reference to a place called Varenne, a hamlet near Arques-la-Bataille, along the river Varenne in Normandy, from Medieval Latin War…
PearlFrom pearl. * (river in China): From Chinese 珠江 (Zhūjiāng, Zyu1 Gong1, “Pearl River”)API; calque of Chinese 珠 (zhū, zyu1, “pearl”)API. * (haven in Hawaii): From Hawaiian Wai Mom…
ClydeFrom Scottish Gaelic Cluaidh, the name of a river in Scotland, of uncertain origin. Possibly influenced by clut (“the cleansing one”).
LenaThe female name is from the Scandinavian, German and Russian pet form of Helena, Magdalena and Yelena (also spelled Elena). The river in Yakutia is from Russian Лена (Lena), fro…
AnaFrom various languages including Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian, Slovene, and Macedonian, all derived—sometimes via Late Latin Anna in the Vulgate—from…
KendallFrom the placename Kendal in Cumbria, "valley of the river Kent", and Kendale in Humberside, from Old Norse kelda (“spring”) + dalr (“valley”).
ClintonEnglish habitational surname): A habitational surname, derived from places named Glinton ("town on a hill") or Glympton ("settlement on the River Glyme"), from Old English [Term…
GenevaMentioned in Latin texts as Genava. Probably via a Proto-Celtic *genwā from Proto-Indo-European *ǵénw-eh₂ (“knee”), a derivative of *ǵónu in the sense of a bending river or estu…
RiverFrom river.
KelvinOf Celtic/Scottish Gaelic origin, possibly from caol (“narrow”) or coille (“wooded”) + abhainn (“river”). The surname is derived from the river. The surname was also possibly in…
Trentpx|none| River API on Wikipedia Inherited from Middle English Trent, from Old English Trēonte; Koch (2006) derives the river name from Proto-Celtic *tri-sent(o)-on-ā-, from the …
AltonFrom Old English ǣwell (“river source”) + tūn (“settlement, town”).
IrvingVariant of the Scottish habitational surname Irvine, probably from a Celtic word cognate with Welsh ir, yr (“fresh”) + afon (“river”).
MonroeFrom Old English mann m (“human being, person, man”) + Roe, a river in Northern Ireland, meaning "man from the River Roe".
IndiaInherited from Old English India, Indea, from Latin India, from Ancient Greek Ἰνδία (Indía), from Ancient Greek Ἰνδός (Indós, “Indus river”), from Old Persian 𐏃𐎡𐎯𐎢𐏁 (hindūš…
HalleAs a German surname, variant of Hall. * As a French surname, from the noun halle (“covered room”). * As a Belgian and Dutch surname, from Halle, Belgium. * As a Jewish surname, …
KendalFrom Old English Cent + dæl = "valley of the river Kent".
BlytheEnglish surname, from Old English blīþe (“merry”). Many senses are derived from placenames, such as the River Blythe, all from the Old English adjective.
TallulahBorrowed from Cherokee Tallulah, name of a river in Georgia. See etymology section of Wikipedia article Tallulah River.
LeytonFrom the name of the River Lea + Old English tūn (“enclosure; settlement, town”). Doublet of Luton.
Arunpx|none| River API on Wikipedia
TennesseeFrom Cherokee ᏔᎾᏏ (tanasi), believed to mean “winding river”.
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Etymologies adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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