Names That Mean Water

Unless you're making an intentional homage to the Maya civilization, the traditional spelling Maayan will prove less confusing.

A rare and appealing surname name, ultimately derived from the Norman female name Aveline, one root of Ava.

Astrological name retains a hippielike Age of Aquarius feel.

A minor goddess in Celtic mythology, associated with the river Aisne.

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.

Brandy's son, Sherry's grandson.

Dougie is one of those names that spotlights the huge gulf that can exist between US and UK naming trends. In England and Wales, Dougie is a trendy nickname-name, ranking all the way up at Number 315. In the US, on the other hand, Dougie was used for a grand total of zero baby boys last year. Same thing for short form Doug. Only the father name Douglas ranks in the US Top 1000.

Prettier than the other name the plant goes by, Hortensia.

Feminine spin on Moses and European river name that's also the name of a wine.

A name commonly heard on New York's Lower East Side at the turn of the last century.

This unisex Arabic name is most frequently used for baby boys in the US, although a significant number of girls are named Rayan each year as well. The emphasis belongs on the second syllable.

Māori form of India, also found as a male name: the Māori form of Aeneas.

In Basque mythology, Lamina are mermaid-like creatures (they can also have duck tails) who grant wishes.

Chisholm is a habitational surname — if it's on your family tree, you have ancestors from Chisholme, Scotland, although they were originally of Norman and Saxon descent.

This Hebrew water name has two main popular associations: Mayim Bialik, who played the title role in the early 90s TV series "Blossom," and the popular Israeli folk dance, "Mayim, Mayim."

Moses haas been a boys' name since the Biblical baby Moses was born in the bull rushes, but actress Moses Ingram put it in the lexicon for girls. Emmy-nominated for The Queen's Gambit, Ingram changed her name to Moses when she got to Yale Drama School. In 2020 there were nearly 600 baby boys named Moses and fewer than five baby girls in the US, but that can change as Ingram's profile rises. Soon Moses may feel as much a girls' name as Glenn, Cameron, and Drew mean now.

Rein, along with Reign, have taken over from Rain as a trendy word name. Should you rein it in or let it rein? Okay, bad puns we know, but that's the downside of word names. This is a true unisex name, given to 15 girls and 12 boys in the US in one recent year.

Likely to be misinterpreted as Mayan, with emphasis on the first syllable, as in the Maya civilization of Mesoamerica.