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Siren Names: 60 Names From Greek Myth and Beyond, With Meanings
By Metavulgar · updated 2026-11-12 · 5 min read
Siren names have a real source, which is unusual for monster girls. The ancient Greeks named the sirens, but they did not agree on who they were. Hesiod gives one list, others give three, and some give two, four or five. This page collects the ancient names with their meanings, adds Greek words for song and sea that make good names, and says plainly which are invented. Keep in mind that the classical siren is a bird-woman, not a mermaid; the fish-tailed version is later, and I treat that difference in siren vs mermaid.
The ancient lists
Different writers named different sirens, and the lists below do not agree with each other. That is a feature, not a mistake: it means you can choose from several traditions.
The Parthenope trio
The most widely accepted version of three sirens, found in Strabo, Lycophron and others:
- Parthenope (Παρθενόπη): "maiden-faced" or "maiden voice". Tied to the founding of Naples, which was once called Parthenope.
- Leucosia (Λευκωσία): "the white one". Linked to the island that bears her name.
- Ligeia (Λιγεία): "clear-voiced", "shrill". A natural for a singer.
Hesiod and other lists
- Thelxiope (also Thelxinoe or Thelxiepeia): "charm-voiced" or "enchanting voice".
- Molpe: "song".
- Aglaophonos (or Aglaope, Aglaopheme): "splendid voice".
- Peisinoe: "persuading the mind".
- Teles: "perfection", from Hyginus's list.
- Raidne (Rhaidne): a name in Hyginus's list, of unclear meaning.
- Himerope: "desire-voiced". Appears in some lists.
Note: the lists vary by author, and I have used the meanings that scholars usually give. Check a source such as the Theoi catalogue if you need the exact author for a name.
Greek words for voice and song
Real Greek words that make fine names:
- Melodia: "melody" or "singing".
- Ode: "song", as in ode.
- Aoide: "song" or "voice"; the old muse of singing.
- Thelxis: "enchantment".
- Peitho: "persuasion", also a goddess.
- Himeros: "desire", a lesser god of longing.
- Phone: "voice".
- Kalliope: "beautiful voice", the muse of epic poetry.
- Terpsichore: "delight in dancing", the muse of dance.
- Thalia: "blooming", a muse.
- Euterpe: "well-pleasing".
- Melpomene: "to sing" or "to celebrate".
- Polyhymnia: "many hymns".
- Erato: "lovely".
- Calliope, Clio, Urania: the remaining muses.
The sirens were sometimes described as daughters of a muse (Terpsichore, Melpomene or Calliope in different tellings) or of the river god Achelous, which links them to these names.
Sea and shore names
The siren's home is a rocky island by the sea. These are real Greek sea words:
- Thalassa: "sea".
- Pelagia: "of the open sea".
- Galene: "calm", a Nereid.
- Cymo: "wave", another Nereid.
- Thetis: a sea goddess of Greek myth.
- Amphitrite: a sea goddess, wife of Poseidon.
- Doris: an ocean nymph and mother of the Nereids.
- Eione: "shore".
- Aigialeia: "shore".
- Halia: "of the sea".
- Salacia: Roman sea goddess; real, if you want a Latin touch.
- Nerea: "of the sea" from Nereus.
Names for a darker siren
- Aglaia: "splendour", one of the Graces; works as a deceptively pretty name.
- Ker (Κήρ): a spirit of fated death in Greek myth.
- Keres: the plural form.
- Nyx: "night".
- Akhlys: "mist" or "misery", a primal figure.
- Echidna: "she-viper", the monster mother in Hesiod; use with care, since she is a different creature.
- Melinoe: a ghostly chthonic figure from the Orphic hymns.
- Hecate: a goddess of crossroads and the night.
Invented siren names
These are mine, built from Greek roots:
- Seirene: simply the singular of the word, with a modern ring.
- Thelxia: from thelxis, "enchantment".
- Ligyra: from ligys, "clear-voiced".
- Molpera: from molpe, "song".
- Parthea: a short echo of Parthenope.
- Peisia: from peithō, "persuasion".
- Aoidea: from aoide.
- Thalassine: "of the sea".
- Pelagara: from pelagos, the open sea.
- Melisandra: a non-Greek blend; invented.
Names from the world of song, in other languages
If you want a name that sounds like a siren without being Greek, other languages have song words that fit. These are real words and real names, borrowed outside the Greek tradition, so I mark them as borrowings:
- Lorelei: the German river siren of the Rhine, a rock in the river that gave its name to a legendary singing woman. A 19th-century poem by Heinrich Heine made her famous. She is the German answer to the siren.
- Melusine: a French water spirit, a woman with a serpent or fish tail below the waist in medieval romance. Not a siren but a close cousin in feeling.
- Rusalka: the Slavic water spirit, a drowned woman who lures men.
- Undine: the water-spirit of Paracelsus and later romance.
- Nixie and Nixe: Germanic water spirits.
- Selkie: a seal-woman of Scottish and Irish folklore.
- Lorelai and Lorelei are spellings of the same name.
- Ondine: the French form of Undine.
- Marina, Pelagia, Maris, Thalassa: plain sea names in Latin and Greek.
When you borrow from other cultures, label it. A "siren" who is really a Lorelei or a rusalka has a different history, and a reader or listener who knows folklore will appreciate that you did not blend them silently.
How the siren name changes the character
The name sets expectations more than people realise. A siren called Parthenope has the weight of a founding myth behind her and sounds regal. Thelxiope is a mouthful, so it sounds scholarly and strange. Ligeia is light and bright, a name for a singer who is playing with you. Molpe, with only two syllables, is easy to whisper and has no history to carry. Lorelei brings a rock, a river and a tragic poem. Choose the sound before the meaning: say each name in the voice you plan to use and pick the one that feels like her.
Short names for a whisper
Ligeia, Molpe, Thalia, Cymo, Galene, Nyx, Ode, Eione, Aoide, Peitho. Short names with open vowels carry beautifully in a whisper, which is why I favour them.
How to choose
- Decide the tradition. Bird-woman siren: use the ancient names. Mermaid siren: a sea name such as Pelagia.
- Use a real name for weight. Parthenope and Ligeia have genuine history.
- Mark invented names as invented.
- Say it aloud. Greek names with long clusters can be a mouthful.
- Keep her an adult. The sirens are ancient beings.
Where to go next
For the siren in audio, Sink: Held Under the Siren's Moonlit Tide is the one built around her song. For comparisons, succubus vs siren and banshee vs siren put her in company. For more name lists, see monster girl names, gorgon names and dryad names, and if you are new to all of it, Start Here is the gentlest route. The monster girl bestiary places the siren in the full family.
Frequently asked questions
What were the names of the sirens in Greek myth?
Different writers give different lists. Parthenope, Leucosia and Ligeia are the best-known trio; Hesiod's list has Thelxiope, Molpe and Aglaophonos. Hyginus gives Teles, Raidne, Molpe and Thelxiope. Authors give between two and five sirens.
What does Ligeia mean?
Ligeia means "clear-voiced" or "shrill" in Greek, from a word for a clear, piercing sound. It is one of the sirens in the Parthenope-Leucosia-Ligeia list and a natural name for a singer.
Are sirens mermaids?
Not originally. Ancient Greek art shows sirens as bird-women with feathers and talons. The fish-tailed siren is a later development, and the two are often mixed up today. See siren vs mermaid for the full story.
What are good names for a siren character?
Parthenope, Ligeia, Thelxiope, Molpe and Aglaophonos come from the ancient lists. Aoide, Peitho and Kalliope are Greek words for song and persuasion. Marking invented names as invented keeps your sources clear.
Who were the parents of the sirens?
Accounts vary. The river god Achelous is often named as father, with a muse such as Terpsichore, Melpomene or Calliope as mother. Some lists differ, which is why you can pick from several traditions.
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