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Mermaid Names: 90 Names From Melusine to Muirgen

By Metavulgar · updated 2026-11-13 · 5 min read

Mermaid names have more sources than people expect, because nearly every coast and river has a woman of the water. This list covers real mythological names, grouped by tradition, then sea-and-pearl names in the real languages of the sea, and invented ones for a grown mermaid character. Real names are marked as folklore, and invented ones are labelled. All are for adult fantasy characters.

Water women in myth, briefly

• Greek. Sirens were originally bird-women. By late antiquity and the Middle Ages they merged with the fish-tailed mermaid, and the Romance languages still say sirena for mermaid. Greek sea nymphs, the Nereids and Oceanids, are the other source.
• Near East. The goddess Atargatis was shown with a fish tail in some images.
• French. Melusine, a woman who is a serpent or fish from the waist down on one day a week, in the medieval legend of the Lusignan family.
• German. Undine (coined by the physician Paracelsus from Latin unda, "wave") and the Lorelei, the Rhine rock where a singing woman lures sailors, a legend largely created by Clemens Brentano and fixed by Heinrich Heine's 1824 poem.
• Slavic. The rusalka, a water spirit often said to be a drowned woman.
• Irish and Scottish. The merrow (Irish), the ceasg (Scottish Gaelic), and Muirgen, whom Irish tradition says was Liban, a woman who lived as a sea creature for three hundred years.
• African and Afro-Atlantic. Mami Wata, a water spirit honoured across West and Central Africa and the diaspora, and Yemaya, the Yoruba mother of the sea.
• Japanese. The ningyo, a fish-bodied creature in Edo-period tales, quite unlike the Western mermaid.
• Inuit. Sedna, the sea goddess of the Arctic.

Real names: mythology and legend

• Melusine — French water spirit; serpent- or fish-tailed in medieval legend
• Undine — German, from Latin unda, "wave"
• Ondine — French form of Undine
• Lorelei — German, the Rhine rock and its singing woman
• Rusalka — Slavic water spirit
• Sirena — Romance-language word for mermaid
• Merrow — Irish sea-woman
• Muirgen — Irish, "sea-born", the mermaid form of Liban
• Liban — Irish legend, the woman who became Muirgen
• Ceasg — Scottish Gaelic mermaid
• Mami Wata — West and Central African water spirit
• Yemaya — Yoruba mother of the waters
• Sedna — Inuit sea goddess
• Atargatis — Syrian goddess with a fish-tailed image
• Ningyo — Japanese fish-bodied creature
• Nixie — German water spirit, from Nixe
• Marmennill — Old Norse sea-being (male in the sources, used as a flavour word)
• Morgen — Breton sea-spirit, plural morgens

Greek sea nymphs

The Nereids and Oceanids are daughters of the sea gods. They are real mythological names of beings who live in the sea.

• Thetis — Nereid, mother of Achilles
• Galatea — Nereid
• Amphitrite — Nereid, wife of Poseidon
• Doris — Oceanid, mother of the Nereids
• Tethys — Titaness of the sea
• Nerites — a sea-nymph or youth in some sources
• Calypso — a nymph of the island Ogygia
• Leucothea — a sea goddess, the white goddess
• Thalassa — Greek "sea", personified
• Pelagia — Greek "of the sea"

Names in the languages of the sea

Real words and names, translated.

• Marina — Latin, "of the sea"
• Maris — Latin, "sea"
• Marisol — Spanish, "sea and sun"
• Marisa — soft form of Marina
• Meri — Finnish for sea
• Mare — Latin and Italian for sea
• Mar — Spanish and Catalan for sea
• Lir — Irish sea god; used as a name
• Muir — Gaelic for sea
• Moana — Hawaiian and Maori for ocean (a real word, also a well-known film title)
• Kai — Hawaiian for sea
• Nalu — Hawaiian for wave
• Samudra — Sanskrit for ocean
• Umi — Japanese for sea
• Hai — Chinese for sea

Pearl, shell and coral names

• Pearl · Perla · Margaret (Greek "pearl") · Coral · Coralie · Shell · Conch · Nacre · Opal · Abalone
• Marjan — Persian "coral" or "pearl"
• Mother-of-pearl — long and rich

Invented names for a grown mermaid

• Nerissa — a Shakespeare-invented name, used for a sea feel
• Oceana — "ocean" with a soft ending
• Aquila — from Latin aqua, though also "eagle"
• Naia — from Greek naiad
• Maren — Scandinavian, "of the sea"
• Syrena — a spelling of Siren
• Tideline · Brine · Spindrift · Undertow · Lagoon · Reef · Kelp
• Delphine — from Latin, "dolphin"
• Neriah — invented, echoes Nereid
• Sealine — invented
• Merrin — invented, echoes merrow
• Selkie-type names — avoid claiming a selkie is a mermaid; the selkie is a seal-folk tradition

Mermaid designs and the names that suit them

• The classic fish-tailed mermaid. Scales, a long tail, pearls in the hair. Names: Marina, Perla, Coralie, Thalassa.
• The singing luring woman. A siren-style figure. Names: Lorelei, Sirena, Syrena. See siren meaning and lore.
• The river or spring spirit. Shy, fresh water, light. Names: Undine, Rusalka, Nixie.
• The ancient sea queen. Old, grand, patient, with pearls and a crown of shells. Names: Amphitrite, Tethys, Muirgen, Melusine.
• The deep-sea woman. Dark water, glow, strange light. Names: Brine, Abyssia, Undertow.
• The coastal wanderer. Half in the surf, half on the rocks, practical and warm. Names: Maren, Merrin, Kai.

Mind the word ending

Many mermaid names end in -a, -ia or -ine, which is why they feel soft and liquid. If you want a harder, colder sea character, drop the ending: Brine, Reef, Spindrift. If you want the softest, add one: Perla, Marina, Thalassa.

One more consideration: sound

Mermaid audio has a strong association with water sound, so the name should work with it. A name with a long oo or ee sound sits well over waves; a short, sharp one stands out. Try the name aloud over a recording of water, and you will hear straight away if it fits.

How to choose

1. Pick the water. Salt sea, river, lake or spring? Rusalka and Undine suit rivers and springs; Muirgen and Sirena suit the sea.
2. Pick the mood. Dangerous and singing: Lorelei, Sirena. Old and noble: Melusine, Muirgen. Warm and powerful: Yemaya, Mami Wata (respect these as living traditions, not costumes).
3. Respect living traditions. Mami Wata, Yemaya and Sedna are venerated figures in living religions. Use them as inspiration or reference, not as a casual character name.
4. Mark the source. Lorelei is a real legend; Naia is your own.

Where it fits

Names for related sea creatures are in cecaelia names and siren names. For the difference between the three sea women, see siren vs mermaid and cecaelia vs mermaid. For a deeper look at the species, mermaid meaning and lore. For a scene, Sink: Held Under the Siren's Moonlit Tide and Melt: Held by the Slime Girl in the Glowing Spring both live by the water. Start Here is the gentle first step.

Listen next

Sink: Held Under the Siren's Moonlit Tide

EXCLUSIVEEXPLICIT 56m 01s

Melt: Held by the Slime Girl in the Glowing Spring

EXCLUSIVEEXPLICIT 57m 39s

Sink: Held Under the Siren's Moonlit Tide - Excerpt 2

EXCLUSIVEEXPLICIT 2m 59s

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