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Cecaelia Names: 100 Octopus-Woman Names With Meanings
By Metavulgar · updated 2026-11-13 · 7 min read
Cecaelia names are names for an octopus woman: human from the waist up, eight arms below. The word cecaelia is a modern, fan-popularized label, built to sit beside "mermaid", and there is no old myth that came with a ready-made name list. That is useful to know, because it means every list that claims "ancient cecaelia names" is inventing something. This page does it honestly. Real names come from Greek mythology and the Greek sea. Words are real vocabulary (octopus, ink, tide) turned into names. Invented names are mine, built from those roots, and I label them.
How to name a cecaelia
Start with what she is, because the name should sound like her.
- Pick the water. Deep trench, warm reef, tide pool or stormy coast. Deep water wants long vowels and dark consonants. Reefs want bright, quick sounds.
- Pick the temperament. Patient and sinister, playful and clever, or elegant and imperious. An octopus is a famously clever, curious, soft-bodied hunter, and the best names carry a little of that.
- Say it out loud. If it reads as a mouthful, it will sound worse in a voice session. Two or three syllables is the sweet spot.
- Keep the source honest. If you use a real mythological name, say so when you share the character.
Where the idea of a woman with octopus arms comes from is tangled. Sources trace it to fantasy art, role-playing games and a famous sea-witch archetype in animation, with older echoes in Japanese woodblock art, and some retellings loosely connect it to Pacific coastal tales. None of those is a settled origin, which is why I treat the word as modern.
Greek sea names (real, from mythology)
Greek myth is full of sea women, and these suit a cecaelia because the sea is already their domain.
- Thetis: sea nymph and mother of Achilles; "establisher". A strong, dignified pick.
- Amphitrite: queen of the sea, wife of Poseidon; sometimes read as "the third one who surrounds".
- Galatea: a Nereid; "milk-white".
- Doris: a Nereid and an Oceanid, from the Greek for "gift".
- Nerine: "of the Nereids".
- Kymo: a Nereid, from kuma, "wave".
- Thalassa: "sea", personified.
- Pontia: "of the sea".
- Halia: a sea nymph; "of the salt sea".
- Eurydome: a sea figure; "wide rule".
- Calypso: "she who hides", a nymph of Ogygia.
- Leucothea: "white goddess", a sea deity.
- Melite: a Nereid, sometimes "honey".
- Psamathe: "sand", a Nereid.
- Eunike: "good victory".
- Cymothoe: "wave-swift".
- Glauke: "gleaming, blue-grey".
- Okyrhoe: "swift-flowing".
- Tethys: a sea Titaness; the name is an old, mother-of-waters sound.
- Ceto: sea monster goddess, mother of sea creatures in Hesiod.
These are all real names with a source. They fit well because they are old and watery, but they belong to other beings, so say you borrowed them.
Names from octopus, ink and tide (real words)
These use real Greek or Latin vocabulary. The meanings are the words themselves.
- Octavia: from Latin octo, "eight", and a real given name. Eight arms, eight in the name.
- Okto: short, from the same root.
- Poulpe: French for octopus.
- Polypa: from the Greek polypous, "many-footed", the old word for octopus.
- Sepia: the ink of the cuttlefish, and the color.
- Atrament: an old word for black ink.
- Nautilus: "sailor", a cousin of the octopus.
- Cirrus: "curl", used for arm-like filaments.
- Chroma: "color", for color-shifting skin.
- Mimic: for the octopus that mimics other species.
- Ventosa: Latin-based word for a suction cup.
- Umbra: "shadow", the dark cloud of ink.
- Marea: "tide" in Spanish and Italian.
- Brine, Kelp, Coral, Pearl: plain nature words that work as names.
- Abyssa: from abyssos, "bottomless".
Elegant names (invented, built from sea roots)
For a graceful, regal cecaelia, an invented name keeps her from sounding like a copy.
- Maresca: from mare, "sea".
- Thalassine: from thalassa.
- Nerissa: reads as a Nereid name.
- Oceania: formal and large.
- Lirelle: soft, musical.
- Seraphyne: bright, almost angelic.
- Velmara: vel with mare, a veil of sea.
- Isolde: a real name, here chosen for a sea queen mood.
- Marisol: "sea and sun".
- Aurelle: gold, for a sunlit reef.
- Cassiel: invented, with a quiet, silvery sound.
- Delphine: from the dolphin, a real French name.
- Ondine: from the water-spirit tradition.
- Pelagia: "of the sea", a real Greek name.
- Sirenne: nods at the siren family.
- Meridiana: invented and stately.
Dark names (invented)
For a deep-water hunter in a story about being drawn under and held.
- Morvanna: "sea" with a touch of sorrow.
- Nyxara: from Nyx, night.
- Kraeth: hard, short, ominous.
- Vorkelia: reads like a whirlpool.
- Abyssara: the abyss with a feminine ending.
- Drovanne: low and slow.
- Malvessa: ill-tempered grace.
- Tenebra: Latin for shadows.
- Ixelle: sharp, cold.
- Charybda: nods at the whirlpool of Greek tale, Charybdis.
- Scyllara: nods at Scylla.
- Oubliette: a French word for a pit where someone is forgotten.
- Morgaine: a real name with a sorcerous reputation.
- Silta: silt, sediment, the floor of the sea.
- Vantha: dark, rounded, invented.
- Grimelda: a heavy, old-fashioned sound.
Playful and warm names
For a curious, mischievous or comforting cecaelia.
- Inky, Bubbles and Squish exist as jokes; Inka, Pebble, Tilly and Mimi are gentler.
- Coralie: a real French name from coral.
- Pippa: a light, quick name.
- Marnie: a soft sea-ish name.
- Nell: short and friendly.
- Wisteria: for a tangle of purple arms.
- Tansy: lively, bright.
- Luma: from "light".
- Zelle, Fizz, Poppy, Lulu.
- Opal: a pearly, shifting stone, like octopus skin.
- Jetty: a harbor structure and a sweet name.
- Briar: a tangle, for a girl who clings.
Short names (one or two syllables)
Short names are easiest to use in a voice session: Sea, Kai ("sea" in Hawaiian), Nia, Ula (Hawaiian, "red"), Mara ("sea" in Latin roots and "bitter" in Hebrew), Ione (Greek, "violet"), Thea, Iris (the rainbow, also a Greek messenger), Coral, Wren, Sable, Rue, Vex, Ink, Eel, Rilla (a small stream).
Names with an octopus twist (invented)
- Octavine, Octavya, Octolia, Eightha (a pun, for a lighter story).
- Tentara, Tenta, Tendrila: use for a tentacle-forward character.
- Cephalia: from cephalopod, "head-foot", a real zoological word.
- Polyxene: a real Greek name, "many guests", with poly in the front.
- Kraken and Krakena: for a bigger, more monstrous take.
Names from other languages for "octopus", "sea" and "ink"
If you want a name that sounds foreign and watery without being a copy of anything, borrow the plain word for the thing.
- Tako: Japanese for octopus. Short and easy to say.
- Takoyo: an invented, affectionate extension.
- Pulpo: Spanish for octopus.
- Polpa: from the Italian polpo.
- Krake: German and Scandinavian root of "kraken".
- Mar: sea in Spanish and Catalan, a short name by itself.
- Mer: French for sea; also the root of "mermaid".
- Hav: Scandinavian word for sea.
- Moana: Hawaiian and Maori for ocean, a real given name.
- Namiko: Japanese, from nami, wave.
- Umi: Japanese for sea.
- Shiori: a Japanese name, here chosen for its soft sound.
- Maren: from Latin mare, a real Scandinavian name.
- Marin: the same root, a short form.
- Mirela: from the Slavic for "to admire" with a sea-ish ring.
- Oceane: French form, from the ocean.
- Nixie: a water spirit in German folklore, from the Nixe.
- Selkie: the Scottish seal-woman, not an octopus, but the name has the right feel.
Names for the three kinds of cecaelia story
The reef beauty. Bright, warm water, color-shifting skin. Coralie, Opal, Chroma, Marisol, Luma.
The deep-water patron. Cold, dark, patient, a voice you hear before you see her. Nyxara, Abyssara, Umbra, Thalassine, Morvanna.
The tide-pool trickster. Small, clever, a thief of shiny things, a collector. Mimic, Pippa, Tilly, Inka, Zelle.
Pick the story first, and the name follows. A character named Abyssara should not have a giggle, and one called Pippa should not own a trench.
Pairing a first name with a title
A good cecaelia often has a second name that does half the work: Maresca, Queen of the Low Tide, Nyxara of the Ink Garden, Octavia the Patient. Titles keep the first name short and give the voice something to say with a smile.
Quick picks by mood
- Regal: Amphitrite, Maresca, Thalassine.
- Dangerous: Nyxara, Charybda, Malvessa.
- Clever: Polypa, Octavia, Mimic.
- Gentle: Coralie, Opal, Luma.
- Mysterious: Sepia, Umbra, Abyssa.
If you want the same exercise for other creatures, Mermaid Names, Siren Names and Dragon Girl Names work the same way, and Monster Girl Names covers the general case. To see how the creature itself is built, Cecaelia vs Mermaid and Cecaelia Meaning and Lore lay it out.
Where she lives in my library
The closest thing to a cecaelia in my archive is a tide session: Melt: Held by the Slime Girl in the Glowing Spring for soft, enveloping water, and The Deepest Den: Claimed by the Monster for the dark-water mood. If you have not met the whole shelf, Start Here is five nights, one monster each, and Tentacles and the Deep is the course for the eight-armed kind. Every character is an adult, centuries old in her own story, and every name here is for fiction.
Frequently asked questions
What are good cecaelia names?
Octavia, Polypa, Sepia, Umbra, Maresca, Thalassine, Nerissa and Coralie are good starting points. Real Greek sea names like Thetis, Amphitrite and Galatea also fit well. Choose the water and temperament first, then pick.
Is cecaelia from mythology?
The word is modern and fan-popularized. Octopus-woman imagery appears in art and games, and some writers link it to older coastal tales, but there is no settled ancient source, so treat the creature as a modern monster girl.
What does Octavia mean?
Octavia comes from Latin octo, meaning eight, and was a real Roman family name. It suits an eight-armed character well. Okto is a short form from the same root.
Can I use Greek sea goddess names for my cecaelia?
Yes. Thetis, Amphitrite, Galatea and Tethys are real figures from Greek myth, so mention that you borrowed them. Invented names built from sea roots avoid that and sound more original.
How many tentacles does a cecaelia have?
Usually eight, matching an octopus. Some stories use more or fewer for effect. The name is flexible, so choose whatever fits your character.
Listen next
Keep reading
- Cecaelia vs Mermaid: Tentacles or Tail, and Which Suits Your Fantasy
A mermaid has a fish tail and centuries of folklore behind her; a cecaelia has octopus tentacles and is a modern fantasy invention. The difference sho - Siren Names: 60 Names From Greek Myth and Beyond, With Meanings
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Monster girl names work best when they borrow from the species' own mythology: Greek for lamia and harpy, Japanese for kitsune and oni, Latin and Hebr