Fintastic Fish Names: 300 Creative Ideas for Your Aquatic Friends

Naming your pet fish can be a lot of fun but also a little tricky (especially if you have a tank full of similar looking fish)—thankfully, there are many fish names to choose from. How about Aquaman, Poseidon, Skipper, or Sheldon? Or perhaps Captain Sparrow, Ahab, or Goldie? Of course, you can't go wrong with Fishy. Now you'll just need to be able to tell who is who in that school of fish.

Whether it's for a betta, clownfish, or guppy, you'll be sure to find a unique, funny, cute, or plain fish name for your scaled, aquatic friend in the following list, which has 300 names.

Popular Names for Pet Fish

Here are some popular fish names to get you started. Your perfect choice is on the list.

• Finneaus
• Fishy McFish
• Swimster
• Chips
• Caspian
• Ripley
• Bob
• Bubbles
• Bigmouth
• Swimzell
• Swim Shady
• Bigmouth Billy
• Squirtle
• Long John Silver
• Mr. Ray
• Captain Morgan
• Betta White
• Betta Midler
• Small Fry
• Tuna Piano
• Harvey

Fictional Fish Names

Want to name your fish in honor of a make-believe fish from film, literature, or television? There are plenty of options!

• Blinky: The three-eyed fish in The Simpsons.
• Cleo: Geppetto's goldfish in the Disney movie Pinnochio
• Larry: A Shark from the movie Shark Tales
• Bruce: A "friendly" shark from the movie Finding Nemo
• Don Lino: A not-so-friendly shark from the movie Shark Tales
• Dory: A little blue fish played by Ellen DeGeneres in the movie Finding Nemo and Finding Dory
• Nemo: A little clownfish from the movie Finding Nemo
• Marlin: Nemo's clownfish dad
• Mr. Limpet: A man-turned-fish, played by Don Knotts in The Incredible Mr. Limpet
• Mrs. Puff: Sponge Bob's hapless driving teacher
• Otto: A goldfish that grows to tremendous size in the Dr. Seuss book A Fish Out of Water
• Swimmy: The protagonist in the children's book of the same name
• Rainbow Fish: The fish who gives away all her rainbow scales in the children's book The Rainbow Fish
• Flounder: Ariel the Mermaid's close fish friend from the movie Little Mermaid
• Jaws: The terrifying shark from the movie Jaws
• Wanda: The luckless fish from the movie A Fish Called Wanda
• One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, or Blue Fish: From the Dr. Seuss book of the same name
• Undertow: A shark in the movie Little Mermaid II
• Gail: A goldfish given as a gift in the TV show The West Wing
• Klaus Heisler: A goldfish in TV show American Dad!
• Magikarp: From the Pokemon video game

Not Technically Fish But Close Enough for Fun

While a purist may feel that fish should only get fish names, these other ocean-going creatures have some pretty great names too:

• Leviathan: a gigantic mythical sea creature
• Flipper: everyone's favorite dolphin (which is technically a mammal)
• Sponge Bob: he's a sponge, but he lives under the sea
• Squidward: Sponge Bob's best frenemy
• Sebastian: a crab, from the movie Little Mermaid
• Ariel: The Little Mermaid
• Poseidon: god of the sea in Greek mythology
• Willie: a famous whale (another mammal) from the movie Free Willie
• Monstro: A whale in the 1940 animated Disney film Pinocchio
• Cetus: A sea monster from ancient Greek mythology
• Patrick Star: Sponge Bob's best sea-star friend

Fun and Silly Fish Names

If you're looking for a giggle, these fish names may be perfect for your pet.

• Ahi
• Albus
• Algae
• Algae B Eater
• Alpha
• Angel
• Aquafinna
• Atlantic
• Atlantis
• Bait
• Baywatch
• Beluga
• Bermuda
• Big Boy
• Big Fish
• Bubba
• Bubbles
• Bubbly
• Buffy
• Buster
• Calypso
• Captain Hook
• Captain Jack Sparrow
• Cat
• Caviar
• Charlie
• Cheeto
• Chowder
• Chum
• Cici
• Crash
• Cuddles
• Daphne
• Dexter
• Diver
• Dorito
• Dobby
• Edison
• Einstein
• Elvira
• Elvis
• Ember
• Erie
• Fabian
• Fido
• Filet
• Fin
• Finley
• Finnigan
• Finster
• Fish Bones
• Fish Face
• Fish N' Chips
• Fishy
• Flash
• Flip
• Floater
• Flotsam
• Frank
• Frito
• Gefilte
• General Finn
• Gidget
• Gilligan
• Ginger
• Goldie
• Godzilla
• Great White
• Grenade
• Guido
• Harry
• High Tide
• Hobnail
• Hulk
• Hydra
• Jaques Cousteau
• Jetsam
• Jonah
• Juliet
• Kai
• Kermit
• Kraken
• Lake
• Lefty
• Lenny
• Low Tide
• Louie
• Lucky
• Mahi Mahi
• Maki
• Marina
• Marlin
• Mary Ann
• McGyver
• Mr. Bubbles
• Mr. Nibbles
• Mrs. Paulie
• Neptune
• Nessie
• Nigiri
• Orca
• Pacific
• PeeWee
• Pesce
• Pez
• Phelps
• Pisces
• Professor
• Riptide
• River
• Rocky
• Romeo
• Roxy
• Salty
• Sandy
• Sashimi
• Scooby
• Seaweed
• Sharknado
• Silver
• Skipper
• Skipjack
• Slim
• Slipper
• Snape
• Spike
• Splash
• Splish
• Stinky
• Stream
• Suds
• Surfs Up
• Sushi
• Swimsalot
• Tabitha
• Tank
• Tartar Sauce
• Tesla
• Tetra
• Tictac
• Triton
• Twister
• Tsunami
• Tuna Roll
• Walker
• Wallace
• Walleye
• Wave
• Whale
• Xena
• Zeke

Fish Names for Pairs

If you have fish in pairs, you can give them names that go perfectly together, such as the following:

• Apple and Orange
• Harmony and Melody
• Lucy and Ricky
• Milk and Sugar
• Romeo and Juliet
• Salt and Pepper
• Surf and Turf
• Sweet and Spicy
• Thelma and Louise

Fish Names Based on Type

As you try to come up with the perfect name for your fish, consider their species, as it might inspire the right name for your little pet. 

Names for Betta Fish

• Captain
• Comet
• Diva
• Fancy
• Jewel
• Magic
• Midnight
  

Names for Goldfish

• Amarillo/Amarilla
• Amber
• Arancia
• Cantaloupe
• Cheddar
• Clementine
• D’Oro
• Giallo/Gialla
• Gold
• Honey
• Jaune
• Mango
• Marmalade
• Naranja
• Orange
• Oro/Ora
• Pumpkin
• Sunny
• Sunset
• Sunshine
• Tangerine
• Yellow
  

Names for Clownfish

• Beauty
• Citrene
• Citrus
• Coral
• Pearl
  

Names for Molly Fish

• Ella
• Hydro
• Misty
• Molly/Mollie
• Sydney
  

Names for Oscar Fish

• Bay
• Marble
• Oscar
• Tiger
• Velvet
  

Blue Fish Names

• Aqua
• Azure
• Baby Blue
• Berry
• Blue
• Cerulean
• Cobalt
• Cornflower
• Crayola
• Cyan
• Indigo
• Iris
• Navy
• Sapphire
• Sky
• Teal
• Turquoise
  

Cute Fish Names

• Crystal
• Independence
• Indy
• Liberty
• Patriot
• Robin
• Shelly
• Squirt
• Star
• Squish
  

Girl Fish Names

• Caroline
• Celeste
• Delilah
• Gem
• Joy
• Lavender
• Mya
• Violet
  

Boy Fish Names

• Duke
• Handsome
• Harvard
• Jack
• Johnny
• Maverick
• Moby
• Zenith
  

More About Fish Names

While the names above are great for any fish, you'll want to know much more about the specific species of fish living in your aquarium. Not only will you want to choose an appropriate name, but you'll also want to find out more about how to care for your fish. Each species needs something a little different to live a long, healthy life.