Fish & Aquariums

200+ Great Name Ideas for Your Pet Fish

Every fish deserves a name that suits its personality

Pet Fish Name Ideas

The Spruce / Catherine Song

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). Whether it's a betta, clownfish, or a guppy, you'll be sure to find a unique, funny, cute, or plain fish name for your scaled, aquatic friend in this list. 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.

Pet Fish - Great Names and Fun Facts

Popular Names for Pet Fish

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

  1. Finneaus
  2. Fishy McFish
  3. Swimster
  4. Chips
  5. Caspian
  6. Ripley
  7. Bob
  8. Bubbles
  9. Bigmouth
  10. Swimzell
  11. Swim Shady
  12. Bigmouth Billy
  13. Squirtle
  14. Long John Silver
  15. Mr. Ray
  16. Captain Morgan
  17. Betta White
  18. Small Fry
  19. Tuna Piano
  20. 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!

  1. Blinky: The three-eyed fish in The Simpsons.
  2. Cleo: Geppetto's goldfish in the Disney movie Pinnochio
  3. Larry: A Shark from the movie Shark Tales
  4. Bruce: A "friendly" shark from the movie Finding Nemo
  5. Don Lino: A not-so-friendly shark from the movie Shark Tales
  6. Dory: A little blue fish played by Ellen DeGeneres in the movie Finding Nemo and Finding Dory
  7. Nemo: A little clownfish from the movie Finding Nemo
  8. Marlin: Nemo's clownfish dad
  9. Mr. Limpet: A man-turned-fish, played by Don Knotts in The Incredible Mr. Limpet
  10. Mrs. Puff: Sponge Bob's hapless driving teacher
  11. Otto: A goldfish that grows to tremendous size in the Dr. Seuss book A Fish Out of Water
  12. Swimmy: The protagonist in the children's book of the same name
  13. Rainbow Fish: The fish who gives away all her rainbow scales in the children's book The Rainbow Fish
  14. Flounder: Ariel the Mermaid's close fish friend from the movie Little Mermaid
  15. Jaws: The terrifying shark from the movie Jaws
  16. Wanda: The luckless fish from the movie A Fish Called Wanda
  17. One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, or Blue Fish: From the Dr. Seuss book of the same name
  18. Undertow: A shark in the movie Little Mermaid II
  19. Gail: A goldfish given as a gift in the TV show The West Wing
  20. Klaus Heisler: A goldfish in TV show American Dad!
  21. 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:

  1. Leviathan: a gigantic mythical sea creature
  2. Flipper: everyone's favorite dolphin (which is technically a mammal)
  3. Sponge Bob: he's a sponge, but he lives under the sea
  4. Squidward: Sponge Bob's best frenemy
  5. Sebastian: a crab, from the movie Little Mermaid
  6. Ariel: The Little Mermaid
  7. Poseidon: Ariel's father the King
  8. Willie: a famous whale (another mammal) from the movie Free Willie
  9. Monstro: A whale in the 1940 animated Disney film Pinocchio
  10. Cetus: A sea monster from ancient Greek mythology
  11. 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.

  1. Ahi
  2. Albus
  3. Algae
  4. Algae B Eater
  5. Alpha
  6. Angel
  7. Aquafinna
  8. Atlantic
  9. Atlantis
  10. Bait
  11. Baywatch
  12. Beluga
  13. Bermuda
  14. Big Boy
  15. Big Fish
  16. Bubba
  17. Bubbles
  18. Bubbly
  19. Buffy
  20. Buster
  21. Calypso
  22. Captain Hook
  23. Cat
  24. Caviar
  25. Charlie
  26. Cheeto
  27. Chowder
  28. Chum
  29. Cici
  30. Crash
  31. Cuddles
  32. Daphne
  33. Dexter
  34. Diver
  35. Dorito
  36. Dobby
  37. Edison
  38. Einstein
  39. Elvira
  40. Elvis
  41. Ember
  42. Erie
  43. Fabian
  44. Fido
  45. Filet
  46. Fin
  47. Finley
  48. Finnigan
  49. Finster
  50. Fish Bones
  51. Fish Face
  52. Fish N' Chips
  53. Fishy
  54. Flash
  55. Flip
  56. Floater
  57. Flotsam
  58. Frank
  59. Frito
  60. Gefilte
  61. General Finn
  62. Gidget
  63. Gilligan
  64. Ginger
  65. Goldie
  66. Godzilla
  67. Great White
  68. Grenade
  69. Guido
  70. Harry
  71. High Tide
  72. Hobnail
  73. Hulk
  74. Hydra
  75. Jaques Cousteau
  76. Jetsam
  77. Jonah
  78. Juliet
  79. Kai
  80. Kermit
  81. Kraken
  82. Lake
  83. Lefty
  84. Lenny
  85. Low Tide
  86. Louie
  87. Lucky
  88. Mahi Mahi
  89. Maki
  90. Marina
  91. Marlin
  92. Mary Ann
  93. McGyver
  94. Mr. Bubbles
  95. Mr. Nibbles
  96. Mrs. Paulie
  97. Neptune
  98. Nessie
  99. Nigiri
  100. Orca
  101. Pacific
  102. PeeWee
  103. Pesce
  104. Pez
  105. Phelps
  106. Pisces
  107. Professor
  108. Riptide
  109. River
  110. Rocky
  111. Romeo
  112. Roxy
  113. Salty
  114. Sandy
  115. Sashimi
  116. Scooby
  117. Seaweed
  118. Sharknado
  119. Silver
  120. Skipper
  121. Skipjack
  122. Slim
  123. Slipper
  124. Snape
  125. Spike
  126. Splash
  127. Splish
  128. Stinky
  129. Stream
  130. Suds
  131. Surfs Up
  132. Sushi
  133. Swimsalot
  134. Tabitha
  135. Tank
  136. Tartar Sauce
  137. Tesla
  138. Tetra
  139. Tictac
  140. Triton
  141. Twister
  142. Tsunami
  143. Tuna Roll
  144. Walker
  145. Wallace
  146. Walleye
  147. Wave
  148. Whale
  149. Xena
  150. Zeke

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.