Seahorses are one of the most interesting and unique members of the animal kingdom. Steeped in mystery and intrigue they have consistently played a role in our childhood stories and have had more than their fair share of documentaries made attempting to uncover all there is to know about these funny little marine critters.
The seahorse is named after the Ancient Greek word “Hippocampus” which essentially means sea hippo or sea horse. There is even a mythical creature called the Hippocampus which is a sea horse though it is in the literal sense. It is more like a horse mermaid than the seahorses we see at the aquarium!
There are over 40 species of seahorses in the genus hippocampus making their diversity and proclivity for being unique in color and shape excellent for coming up with cool creative seahorse names with a little bit of personal flair.
If you are lucky enough to have a pet seahorse in your fish tank or aquarium at home then you are incredibly lucky! Seahorses make great pets and are incredibly interesting to watch, they interact with their environment far more than most other fish and are very sweet.
If you aren’t quite so lucky and don’t get to take your new seahorse friend home with you then don’t worry – naming your seahorse is a great way of ensuring you never forget each other.
This comprehensive seahorse naming guide will cover everything you could need from boys to girls, to famous inspirations, and offer a rich selection of mythological names linking back to their ancient greek heritage.
Here are well over 200 super cool names for a seahorse!

Best Seahorse Names
- Popper
- Coral
- Seaweed
- Stinger
- Jelly Belly
- Stormy
- Kipper –
Everybodies’Nobodies’ favorite breakfast! - Trout
- Smoko
- Nemo
- Spongebob
- Patrick
- Sandy – Sandy the Seahorse has a nice ring to it.
- Pearl
- Plankton
- Krabby
- Larry
- Puff
- Amy
- Ridley
- Moana – One of Disney’s latest and greatest original stories.
- Lana
- Brook – A river’s babbling brook is as pleasant a sound as any to fall asleep to!
- Stream
- Ariel
- Alcina
- Adrianne – Playing on the Adriatic Sea.
- Lucia
- Michelle
- Mike
- Sydney
- Harbour
- Monsoon – Monsoon refers to the rainy season and is also a clothes shop. No, they don’t sell raincoats. A missed opportunity?
- Peaches
- Cookie
- Cream
- Bluey
- Aruba
- Bali
- Nice – pronounced like the French City
- Riviera
- Marina – Marina and the diamonds?
- Diamonds – There it is!
- Malta
- Lagoona – There is nothing more beautiful than a blue lagoon.
- Palma
- Athens
- Corfu
- Brizzy
- Reef

Female Seahorse Names
- Sophia
- Sofia
- Savannah
- Serendipity
- Stella
- Sara
- Sierra
- Siena
- Samantha
- Sophie
- Sadie
- Scarlett
- Charlotte
- Camomille
- Selena
- Marybeth
- Louise
- Lucie
- Nicola
- Arya
Male Seahorse Names
- Steven
- Sheldor
- Sebastian
- Santa – Surely there must be some sort of undersea Santa?
- Samuel
- Sawyer
- Skylar
- Spencer
- Shiloh
- Swain
- Singed – Somebody has been swimming too close to the underwater volcano.
- Silas
- Sean
- Shaun – You’ve had Shaun the sheep, now it’s time for…
- Sterling
- Sasquatch
- Salami
- Solomon
- Sage
- Sloan
Unisex Names For Seahorses
- Jamie
- Horsey – Horsey doesn’t care about gender. Horsey only cares about galloping around.
- Galloper – Does a seahorse gallop? How can you be sure?
- Trot
- Sammy
- Nicky
- Matty – Short for Mathew or Matilda.
- Agua
- Sea-Sea – Could be short for Cecilia (Cece) or it could be a really lazy pun.
- Oceanic
Cute Seahorse Names
- Fluffy
- Sweetums
- Bubbles
- Flow – Flow like the ocean current.
- Flo – Flow like Florence.
- Teeny
- Gallant
- Treacle
- Darling – Every seahorse is somebody’s darling. How could they not be?
- Love
Good Names For Seahorses
- Angel
- Trifle – There is nothing better than a good trifle.
- Good Girl
- Delicacy
- Buddy – A sea buddy in need is a sea buddy indeed.
- Kind
- Charity
- Helper Bee
- Mama
- Papa – The papa seahorse gives birth to the young, unlike almost every other animal species!
Funny Seahorse Names
- Lava – Where does a seahorse go to take a bath?
- Derby – If there was an underwater seahorse derby would you go to watch it?
- Chariot
- A-horse
- Hoarse – What do you call a seahorse who has lost his voice?
- Scallop – Like gallop but far more oceanic.
- Finney – Especially if your seahorse is particularly “Finney” looking.
- Spyro – Spyro the dragon is one thing, but what about Spyro the seahorse (seadragon?)
- Mystery – Noble steed of someone… I can’t quite remember who…
- Spongebob – Never heard this name before … maybe it would be a good name for a cartoon character?

Cool Names For Seahorses
- Brash – Like ash but better.
- Ash
- Misty – Misty like the ocean spray or misty the water pokemon trainer? Your choice.
- Rusher
- Rapide – How fast can a seahorse swim?
- Rapidash
- Foam
- Frosty – Seahorses do not enjoy ice-cold weather!
- Snow cone
- Chilly
- Salty
- Zeus
- Seuss – Like Zeus but infinitely better at poetry.
- Doctor – Doctor Who?
- Thing 1 – For your new pet “thing”.
- Thing 2 – If your thing has a thing too?
- Steed
- Noble
- Charger
- Donkey – Are sea donkeys a thing?
Unique Names For Seahorses
- Aeolus – Aeolus is the god of winds and one of Poseidon’s many many offsprings.
- Asopus – The Greek god of the river Asopos (his namesake)
- Athena – Daughter of Poseidon (some stories recount her springing from the head of Zeus fully grown).
- Halia – Sea-goddess and one-time wife of Poseidon
- Proteus – An ancient sea god who herds seals on behalf of Poseidon.
- Despoena – Daughter of Poseidon and Demeter.
- Telchines – Sea demons who were captured by Zeus (and believed to be the sons and daughters of Poseidon).
- Triton – A mermaid god, the namesake of Ariel’s father (King Triton).
- Aethusa – A nymph princess and daughter of Poseidon.
- Benthesikyme – The sea nymph queen of Ethiopia.
- Herophile – The beautiful daughter of Poseidon and Aphrodite.
- Kympopelia – A giantess daughter of Poseidon.
- Urea – Asian sea nymph and daughter of Poseidon (he has far too many kids!)
- Rhode – Named after the Island of Rhodes, which in turn is named after another one of Poseidon’s offspring!
- Atlas
- Perseus – Demigod son of Poseidon and protagonist of the Percy Jackson young adult book series.
- Arion
- Chrysomallus
- Pegasus – The mythical flying horse who was created by Poseidon!
- Polyphemus – A terrifying one-eyed giant who is, you guessed it, the child of Poseidon.
Famous Seahorse Names
- Bath – There is a famous seahorse mosaic in Bath that is believed to be over 2000 years old.
- Daniel – Daniel Hofper printed the first seahorse using paper and ink in 15th-century Germany.
- Weedy – Weedy is a famous seadragon by Richard Lydekker.
- Frederick – Frederick Stuart Church has painted some very famous seahorses being ridden by mermaids.
- Rainbow – Native Australian peoples believed in a Rainbow serpent who is believed to be related to the modern-day seahorse.
- Picts – Members of the Scottish Pict tribe carved beautiful sandstone seahorse statues.
- Lydian – in the year 700 bc (estimate) a Lydian craftsman created a gold seahorse brooch and hid it away in an ancient tomb.
- Poseidon – Poseidon rode in a chariot pulled by huge, vicious, seahorses.
- Helen – Helen Scales wrote a famous book called Poseidon’s Steed which is about seahorses and such.
- Roman – The Romans have many depictions of seahorses with various degrees of accuracy all across their fallen empire.
Disney Seahorse Names
- Mr. Baldwin – Mr. Baldwin is a teacher at Freshwater High school on the Disney show Fish Hooks.
- Cornica – Cornica is a prisoner of Captain Hook in the Disney classic Jake and the Never Land Pirates.
- Cuco – A repeat member of the cast in the show Elena of Avalor.
- The Seahorse Herald – Anyone who has seen either of the Little Mermaid movies will recognize him instantly.
- The Seahorses – A group of infant seahorses who require a calming melody in Jack and the Never Land Pirates.
- Sheldon – Sheldon the Seahorse is a friend of Nemo in Finding Nemo.
- Bob – Bob is Sheldon’s father in Finding Nemo (Bob does not appear in Finding Nemo 2).
- Stormy – Stormy the seahorse is found in the royal corral in the Little Mermaid and befriended by Ariel.
- Sven – Sven is a lessor known seahorse as he is a new member of the Disney Junior show Sofia the first.
- Harold – Harold is a seahorse friend of Ariel in the Little Mermaid.
Cartoon Seahorse Names
- Seabiscuit – Alistar’s seahorse mount in the show Snorks.
- Sandy – Sandy the seahorse features on the kid’s show Zoomix.
- Sonny – A guest appearance on the aquatic show Octonauts features a seahorse called Sonny.
- Janis – A guest appearance on the aquatic show Octonauts features a seahorse called Janis.
- Horsea – A seahorse pokemon (obviously a water type).
- Seadra – Another pokemon who is the evolved form of Horsea.
- Kingdra – Seadra’s evolved form and the final evolution of Horsea.
- Seahorse Steed – The noble steed of Aquaman!
- Trigger – Main character in the movie Seahorses.
- Big D – Antagonist in the kid’s movie A Turtle’s Tale 2.

Name Inspiration
As you can see the names on this list are attempting to personify and embody the spirit of the sea and that of the seahorse.
These incredible creatures have such an interesting biological backstory and tie so well into ancient greek and roman mythology that there is no way around including links to the ancient gods and beasts of the sea.
Who knows, if there truly is an Ancient god of the sea somewhere out there, he or she may look favorably on a seahorse named in their honor. So really, maybe it’s the safest choice?
Help Choosing The Perfect Name
It is never an easy task naming a pet, especially one as unique and interesting as a seahorse.
That’s why many people find it incredibly useful to use a list such as this to help start the wheels turning. Even if you don’t choose a name from this list it should, hopefully, point you in the right direction.
Many people like to name their pets after a favorite character from their childhood. For most of us, that puts a big red circle around Spongebob and his friends as the perfect source of wacky and wonderful names!
You can also consider their personality or appearance when coming up with a name.
If your seahorse is particularly feisty you may want to consider something like “Poseidon” or “Typhoon”.
If they are on the small side you might prefer a name like “Dopey” or “Thumbelina”.
Alternatively, if you just can’t seem to find the perfect name, you can always just go with the classic “Nemo”!
As a seahorse’s head and neck represent a horse in appearance, many people like to name their seahorses after famous racehorses.
Some notable examples include “Seabiscuit”, “Sandy”, and “Sonny”. There are also great cartoon names to choose from including “Harold” from The Little Mermaid.
Lastly, why not consider their type when coming up with a name?
If you have a short-snouted seahorse (hippocampus) then Miss Piggy might be a good fit.
If you have a dwarf seahorse then maybe a name from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would be a good choice like “Dopey” or “Bashful”.
“Coral” would also be a good fit for a pygmy seahorse as the name matches its appearance.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article has made the naming process that much easier for you. There are over 200 great choices on this list but there could have easily been hundreds more!
If you are looking for other sources of inspiration try checking out some of our other naming suggestions from other marine life such as 451 of the best Jellyfish names.
Good luck on your quest to name your seahorse. Make sure you do Poseidon proud!
FAQs
What Is Spongebob’s Seahorse Name?
Spongebob has very famously been the proud owner of a sweet little snail named Gary.
However, many people seem to forget that he once cared for a seahorse whom he rode to work on with the name of “mystery“.
Why was she called mystery? Well, isn’t it obvious?
What Is The Seahorses Name In Finding Nemo?
Nemo has very few friends at the beginning of his story. His fin that’s just a little too small has made him the subject of a fair amount of worry for his dad and thus has made Nemo very insecure.
He does however hang around with a young seahorse called Sheldon who is H2O intolerant and later becomes a good friend of Nemo’s.