Mermaid Names

Now that all names Adel- are the height of fashion, Adella is an unusual name that nevertheless sounds very trendy. Adella is one of Ariel's sisters in The Little Mermaid.

Astrological name retains a hippielike Age of Aquarius feel.

The name of a nymph in Greek mythology, one of the prophetic Thriai, who divined the future by throwing pebbles. She was a lover of the sea god Poseidon.

Muirgen in Irish mythology was turned into a mermaid and then brought back to land after 300 years and transformed back into a woman -- which must have been quite a shock. Muirgen's original name was Liban. Muirgen may also be spelled Muireann or Muirenn.

Andrina is best-known as an older sister of The Little Mermaid.

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

In Slavic mythology, Rusalka is the equivalent of the Little Mermaid — she's a water nymph who falls in love with a land-dwelling man and eventually dies of a broken heart. Her tale was made into an opera of the same name by Dvorak. A good alternative for those who are turned off by the popularity of other fairy tale names like Aurora and Ariel.

Coralia was the name of a dancing mermaid in a 19th century ballet. As Cora -- which has another root and means maiden -- rises, so may elaborations and related names such as Coralie, Coraline, and Coralia.

Morvoren derives from the Cornish mor, meaning "sea," and moren, "maiden," taking on the meaning of "mermaid." The Mermaid of Zennor, a local mythological figure, was associated with morvoren, although it wasn't until after the 20th-century revival of the Cornish language that Morvoren became the mermaid's name rather than her species. In recent years, the name has been given to baby girls a handful of times in its native Cornwall.

In Irish mythology, the term merrow was synonymous with "mermaid." According to legend, the merrow wear caps called cohuleen druith so they can remain under the water.