How it works
This ocean name generator makes up a sea for a map or a story: a describing word, a real kind of salt water such as Gulf, Bight or Kyle, and one thing sailors say of it.
Read the full guide
Name one sea or a whole chart
Press New ocean name. Tap a part to lock it, then press again for the rest. Lock the kind on Strait to name every narrow water of one coast. Lock the saying and press until the name fits it.
What the water words mean
A bight lies between two promontories and is larger than a bay. A sound is a long narrow inlet, or a strait between the mainland and an island. A kyle is the Scottish word for a narrow channel of the sea. The list under the tool explains every kind.
Tips
- Lock the kind on Sea and it is a sea name generator; Gulf and Bay work the same way.
- For fantasy ocean names, keep the open-water kinds: Ocean, Sea, Deep and Main.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between an ocean and a sea?
An ocean is one of the large bodies of water that separate the continents. A sea is a large body of salt water. A gulf is a part of an ocean or sea that extends into the land.
What are other words for a sea?
The deep and the main are old literary words for the open sea. Bight, sound, firth, kyle, voe and gat name smaller pieces of it. Each one is in the list under the tool with its dictionary meaning.
Is this a body of water name generator for lakes and rivers too?
No. Every kind here is a word used of the sea, from an ocean down to a voe. A few, such as reach and narrows, are also used of rivers. No lake word is in the list.
Can I use it as a fantasy sea name generator for a game map?
Yes. Lock a kind for each coast and print a sheet of names. The sayings give each water one odd habit a crew would talk about.
Are these real seas?
No. Each name was checked against Wikipedia page titles and its lists of seas, gulfs and straits, and the hits were cut. The sayings are invented too. Only the kinds of water and their meanings are real.