This article lists the various etymologies (origins) of the names of rivers around the world.

Africa

* Apies: from

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

meaning "little apes". *

Berg Berg may refer to: People *Berg (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Berg Ng (born 1960), Hong Kong actor * Berg (footballer) (born 1989), Brazilian footballer Former states *Berg (state), county and duchy of the Holy ...

: from

meaning "mountain". *

Blood Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...

: from the

Battle of Blood River The Battle of Blood River (16 December 1838) was fought on the bank of the Ncome River, in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa between 464 Voortrekkers ("Pioneers"), led by Andries Pretorius, and an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 Zulu. Est ...

, where 600 voortrekkers fought off 20,000 attacking Zulu troops. No voortrekkers were killed, but the dead Zulus (3,000 died) stained the nearby river with blood, and so the name stayed. * Breede: from

meaning "wide". * Escravos: from

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

meaning "slaves". * Forcados: from

meaning "forked". * Gamtoos: probably derived from a

Khoikhoi Khoekhoen (singular Khoekhoe) (or Khoikhoi in the former orthography; formerly also ''Hottentot (racial term), Hottentots''"Hottentot, n. and adj." ''OED Online'', Oxford University Press, March 2018, www.oed.com/view/Entry/88829. Accessed 13 ...

clan whose name was given by early

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

settlers as "Gamtousch". * Komati: from

siSwati The Swazi or siSwati language is a Bantu language of the Nguni group spoken in Eswatini and South Africa by the Swati people. The number of speakers is estimated to be in the region of 2.4 million. The language is taught in Eswatini and so ...

meaning "cow". * Liesbeek: named after a small river in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. *

Modder ''Modding'' is a slang expression derived from the English verb " to modify". The term refers to modification of hardware, software, or anything else, to perform a function not originally intended by the designer, or to achieve bespoke specifi ...

: from

meaning "mud". * Mooi River (KwaZulu-Natal) and

Mooi River (Vaal) The Mooi River ( af, Mooirivier) is a river in North West Province, South Africa. It is a tributary of the Vaal River and belongs to the Upper Vaal Water Management Area. Course The Mooi rises near Koster and flows southwards. During its course ...

: from

meaning "beautiful". *

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesTuareg The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...

phrase ''gher n gheren'' meaning "river of rivers", shortened to ''ngher''. *

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

: from Greek ''Neilos'' (Νεῖλος), sometimes derived from the Semitic Nahal "river." * Nossob: from

meaning "black river". * Ohlanga: from Zulu meaning "reed". * Olifants: from

meaning "elephants". *

Omi Osun Omi-Ọṣun, literally meaning " Ọṣun's waters", is the northernmost source tributary of the Ọṣun River in southwestern Nigeria. The Omi-Ọṣun tributary rises from the eastern sector of the Yoruba hills and flows we ...

: from

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

meaning "waters of the spirit-goddess Ọṣun". *

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

: from

"Oranje", meaning Orange, which was named after

William V, Prince of Orange William V (Willem Batavus; 8 March 1748 – 9 April 1806) was a prince of Orange and the last stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. He went into exile to London in 1795. He was furthermore ruler of the Principality of Orange-Nassau until his death in ...

. * Palala: from

Sotho Sotho may refer to: *Sotho people (or ''Basotho''), an African ethnic group principally resident in South Africa, Lesotho and southern Botswana * Sotho language (''Sesotho'' or ''Southern Sotho''), a Bantu language spoken in southern Africa, an off ...

meaning "one that inundates". *

Vaal The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. I ...

: from

meaning "dull".

Antarctica

Alph River The Alph River is a small river in Antarctica, running into Walcott Bay, Victoria Land. It is in an ice-free region at the west of the Koettlitz Glacier, Scott Coast. The Alph emerges from Trough Lake and flows through Walcott Lake, Howchin ...

: name is from the opening passage in

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poe ...

's poem,

Kubla Khan ''Kubla Khan'' () is a poem written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, completed in 1797 and published in 1816. It is sometimes given the subtitles "A Vision in a Dream" and "A Fragment." According to Coleridge's preface to ''Kubla Khan'', the poem ...

Onyx River The Onyx River is an Antarctic meltwater stream which flows westward through the Wright Valley from Wright Lower Glacier and Lake Brownworth at the foot of the glacier to Lake Vanda, during the few months of the Antarctic summer. At in length ...

: so named because of the relationship of the 15th, 14th, 25th and 24th letters of the alphabet in Onyx

Asia

Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...

: Mongolian "rest" *

Angara The Angara ( Buryat and mn, Ангар, ''Angar'', "Cleft"; russian: Ангара́, ''Angará'') is a major river in Siberia, which traces a course through Russia's Irkutsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai. It drains out of Lake Baikal and is ...

: Buryat ''angarkhai'' "the mouth of a wild beast" * Aravand-rud: Persian "fast river" *

Brahmaputra The Brahmaputra is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, northeast India, and Bangladesh. It is also known as the Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibetan, the Siang/Dihang River in Arunachali, Luit in Assamese, and Jamuna River in Bangla. It ...

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

"son of Brahma" *

Chang Jiang The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

: Chinese "long river" (長江), from ''jiang'' 江 (

Old Chinese Old Chinese, also called Archaic Chinese in older works, is the oldest attested stage of Chinese language, Chinese, and the ancestor of all modern varieties of Chinese. The earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones ...

: ''kˁrong''), argued to be from earlier

Proto-Austroasiatic Proto-Austroasiatic is the reconstructed ancestor of the Austroasiatic languages. Proto-Mon–Khmer (i.e., all Austroasiatic branches except for Munda) has been reconstructed in Harry L. Shorto's ''Mon–Khmer Comparative Dictionary'', while ...

''*krung'' "river"? *

Chao Phraya The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand. Et ...

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

เจ้าพระยา "river of kings" *

Dongjiang The Dong River is the eastern tributary of the Pearl River in Guangdong province, southern China. The other two main tributaries of Pearl River are Xi River and Bei River. The headwater is located in Mount Sanbai () in Anyuan County, Jiangxi. T ...

: Chinese "east river" (東江) *

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

''Ganga'' *

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Standard Beijing Mandarin, Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system in the world at th ...

(Huang He): Chinese "yellow river" (黄河), from ''he'' 河 (

: ''ɡˁaj''), "river" *

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

''Sindhu'' generically means "river, stream, ocean" *

Mekong The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , ...

''Mae Khong'' (แม่ โขง), "mother of all rivers" * Ob: Komi "snow, snowdrift, place of snow" *

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-all ...

: from Chinese 珠江 (

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

: ''Zhu Jiang'';

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

: ''Zyü Gong'') named after a sandy or stony island in the middle of the river called "Sea Pearl" (now reduced to a bank in the river) *

Sefid-rud The Sefid-Rud ( fa, سفیدرود, lit=white river, glk, اسپي بيه, ''Espī bīeh'') (also known as Sepid-Rud) is a river approximately long, rising in the Alborz mountain range of northwestern Iran and flowing generally northeast to ent ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

"White river" * Selenge: Mongolian "for swimming" *

Tigris River The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the P ...

: Sumerian "running water" *

Wang Thong ) , native_name = วังทอง , nickname = , settlement_type = Tambon , motto = , image_skyline = , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_flag = ...

: From

วังทอง, "Gold Palace" * Satule: Red River

Australia

Barwon River (New South Wales) Barwon River, a Perennial stream, perennial river that is part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in the North West Slopes, north-west slopes and Orana, New South Wales, Orana regions of New South Wales, Australia. The name "barwon" is ...

: Ngiyampaa ''paawan'', meaning "river" *

Burnett River The Burnett River is a river located in the Wide Bay–Burnett and Central Queensland regions of Queensland, Australia. Course and features The Burnett River rises in the Burnett Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, close to Mount Gaeta a ...

: named by James Burnett, explorer *

Campaspe River The Campaspe River, an inland intermittent river of the northcentral catchment, part of the Murray-Darling basin, is located in the lower Riverina bioregion and Central Highlands and Wimmera regions of the Australian state of Victoria. The he ...

: named for

Campaspe Campaspe (; Greek: Καμπάσπη, ''Kampaspē''), or Pancaste (; Greek: Πανκάστη, ''Pankastē''; also ''Pakate''), was a supposed mistress of Alexander the Great and a prominent citizen of Larissa in Thessaly. No Campaspe appears in ...

, a mistress of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...

Cooper Creek The Cooper Creek (formerly Cooper's Creek) is a river in the Australian states of Queensland and South Australia. It was the site of the death of the explorers Burke and Wills in 1861. It is sometimes known as the Barcoo River from one of its t ...

: named for Charles Cooper, Chief Justice of South Australia 1856–1861 *

Daintree River The Daintree River is a river that rises in the Daintree Rainforest near Cape Tribulation in Far North Queensland, Australia. The river is located about northwest of Cairns in the UNESCO World Heritagelisted Wet Tropics of Queensland. The area ...

: named for Richard Daintree, geologist * Daly River: named for Sir Dominick Daly, Governor of South Australia 1862–1868 * Darling River: named for Sir

Ralph Darling General Sir Ralph Darling, GCH (1772 – 2 April 1858) was a British Army officer who served as Governor of New South Wales from 1825 to 1831. He is popularly described as a tyrant, accused of torturing prisoners and banning theatrical entertain ...

, Governor of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

1825–1831 *

Diamantina River The Diamantina River is a major river located in Central West Queensland and the far north of South Australia. The river was named by William Landsborough in 1866 for Lady Diamantina Bowen (née Roma), wife of Sir George Bowen, the first Govern ...

: named for Lady Diamantina Bowen, wife of the first Governor of

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

* Flinders River: named for Captain

Matthew Flinders Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of mainland Australia, then called New Holland. He is also credited as being the first person to u ...

, explorer * Franklin River: named for Sir John Franklin, Governor of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

1836–1843 * Gascoyne River: named for Captain J. Gascoyne, friend of explorer Lieutenant

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

Goulburn River (New South Wales) Goulburn River, a perennial stream, perennial river of the Hunter River (New South Wales), Hunter River catchment, is located in the Hunter Region, Upper Hunter region of New South Wales, Australia. Course and features Goulburn River rises at th ...

: named for Henry Goulburn, English statesman * Hawkesbury River: named for Charles Jenkinson, 1st Earl of Liverpool (titled Baron Hawkesbury in 1789) * Lachlan River: named for Major-General

Lachlan Macquarie Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Lachlan Macquarie, Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (; gd, Lachann MacGuaire; 31 January 1762 – 1 July 1824) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie se ...

, Governor of

1810–1821 * Macquarie River: named for Major-General

, Governor of

1810–1821 * Murray River: named for Sir George Murray, then British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies * Murrumbidgee River: from Wiradjuri, meaning "big water" * Ord River: named for

Harry Ord Sir Harry St. George Ord (17 June 1819 – 20 August 1885) was a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of Bermuda between 1861 and 1864, Governor of the Straits Settlements between 1867 and 1873, and Governor of Western Australi ...

, Governor of Western Australia 1877–1880 * River Torrens: named for Colonel Robert Torrens, chairman of South Australia's colonising commission *

Rufus River Rufus River, a watercourse of the Murray catchment and part of the Murray–Darling basin, is located in south western New South Wales, Australia. The river leaves Lake Victoria, flowing generally west and then south-west, before reaching its ...

: named by explorer Charles Sturt for the nickname of his travelling companion (Rufus), the red-haired George Macleay * Todd River: named for Charles Todd, Postmaster-General of South Australia 1870–1901 * Waikato River: from

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

, meaning "flowing water" *

Yarra River The Yarra River or historically, the Yarra Yarra River, (Kulin languages: ''Berrern'', ''Birr-arrung'', ''Bay-ray-rung'', ''Birarang'', ''Birrarung'', and ''Wongete'') is a perennial river in south-central Victoria, Australia. The lower stre ...

: mistranslation from

Wurundjeri The Wurundjeri people are an Australian Aboriginal people of the Woiwurrung language group, in the Kulin nation. They are the Traditional Owners of the Birrarung (Yarra River) Valley, covering much of the present location of Narrm (Melbourne ...

term ''yarra yarra''

Europe

* Aboño. From Celtic ''*abon-'' 'river': OIr. ''ab, aub'', MW ''afon'', MBret ''auon'', (PIE: *h₂ep-h₃on- 'river'). * Argeş: from Greek or maybe

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

''arges'' = "bright" * Avon. From Celtic ''*abon-'' 'river': OIr. ''ab, aub'', MW ''afon'', MBret ''auon'', (PIE: *h₂ep-h₃on- 'river'). * Avonbeg: Irish meaning "small river" * Avonmore: Irish meaning "big river" * Awbeg: Irish meaning "small river" * Bistriţa: Slavic "''bistra''" = "fast, quick" * Bosna: likely from the Illyrian ''Bosona'' = "flowing water". Eponymous of

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

. * Boyne: Irish river goddess Boann, "white cow" * Cam: from Celtic ''kambo'' 'bend, coocked', Brythonic ''cam'' "crooked" * Caraş:

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

"kara" = "black", "dark" * Clanrye: Irish meaning "harbour of the king" *

Clwyd Clwyd () is a preserved county of Wales, situated in the north-east corner of the country; it is named after the River Clwyd, which runs through the area. To the north lies the Irish Sea, with the English ceremonial counties of Cheshire to th ...

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

meaning "hurdle" *

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''Danuvius'', Dacian: ''Donaris'', from

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

( Scythian or Sarmatian) ''dānu-'' 'river', of

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...

origin * Dobra: from Celtic ''*dubro'' 'dark': MIr. ''dobur'' 'black, unclean', MW ''dwfr'' 'water', MBret. ''dour'' (PIE *deub^h-). *

Drave The Drava or Drave''Utrata Fachwörterbuch ...

: in Latin "Dravus", of Thracian or Illyrian origin, probably from PIE *dhreu = "to flow, to fall". *

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

(

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, Scotland): from

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

''Devona'' 'goddess' ** Ialomiţa: Slavic "''jalov''" = "infertile" ** Prahova: Slavic "''prag''"="waterfall" or "prah"="dust" ** Siret: ancient Thracian "Seretos", probably from PIE *sreu = "to flow" *

Emajõgi Emajõgi (; meaning ''"Mother River"'') is a river in Estonia which flows from Lake Võrtsjärv through Tartu County into Lake Peipsi, crossing the city of Tartu for 10 km. It has a length of 100 km. The Emajõgi is sometimes called t ...

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

meaning "mother river" *

Erne An erne is a sea eagle, or an eagle more broadly. Erne may refer to: People * Adam Erne (born 1995), American ice hockey player * Philippe Erne (born 1986), Liechtenstein footballer * Young Erne (1884–1944), American boxer Ships * HMS '' ...

: Irish after the name of the mythical princess, ''Éirne'' * Foyle: Irish meaning "estuary of the lip" * Guadalquivir: from the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

''wadi al-kabir'', or "great river" *

Hayle Hayle ( kw, Heyl, "estuary") is a port town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River (which discharges into St Ives Bay) and is approximately seven miles (11 km) northeast of Penzance. ...

: from Cornish ''Heyl'' "estuary" * Kymijoki: Old Finnish for ''kymi'', "huge river" * Lagan: Irish meaning "river of the low-lying district" * Llobregat: from

''Rubricatus'' "red river" * Mersey:

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

meaning "boundary river" *

Narva Narva, russian: Нарва is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru County, Ida-Viru county, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which ...

: Veps after "rapid" or "falls" * Quoile: Irish meaning "the narrow" *

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

: from the archaic German ''Rhine'', which in turn comes from

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; german: Mittelhochdeutsch (Mhd.)) is the term for the form of German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High German and into Early New High German. High ...

: ''Rin'', from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...

root *''reie-'' ("to flow, run"). **The

Reno River The Reno () is a river of Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is the tenth longest river in Italy (the sixth longest of those that flow directly into the sea) and the most important of the region apart from the Po. It has a drainage basin of about ...

in Italy shares the same etymology. * Severn: Latin "Sabrina" from an Old British river goddess of that name, becoming "Hafren" in modern Welsh * Shannon: Irish ''Sionann'', name of a river goddess, Old Irish ''Sinann'', from ''sen'' 'old, ancient' *

Slaney Slaney is a surname. Notable people with this surname include: * Geoffrey Slaney (1922–2016), British surgeon and academic * Ivor Slaney (1921–1998), England musical composer and conductor * John Slaney (born 1972), Canadian ice hockey player ...

: Irish meaning "river of health" *

River Tay The River Tay ( gd, Tatha, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing') is the longest river in Scotland and the seventh-longest in Great Britain. The Tay originates ...

river goddess ''Tawa'' (Tava, Tatha, "the silent one") *

Tambre (river) The Tambre is a coastal river that crosses Galicia, in northwestern Spain. Its basin covers . The river flows through the province of A Coruña; the municipalities along its course are Sobrado, Curtis, Vilasantar, Boimorto, Mesía, Frades, Ar ...

. From ''Tamaris'' with the same root that ''Tamar''. *

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

: Latin "Tamesis" from Brythonic meaning "dark river" **The

River Thame The River Thame is a river in Southern England. A tributary of the River Thames, the river runs generally south-westward for about from its source above the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury to the Thames in south-east Oxfordshire. Course Thr ...

and River Tamar, and probably the three rivers called River Tame, have a similar etymological root * Tyne: Brythonic meaning "river" *

Torne älv The Torne, also known as the Tornio ( fi, Tornionjoki, sv, Torne älv, , se, Duortneseatnu, fit, Tornionväylä), is a river in northern Sweden and Finland. For approximately half of its length, it defines the border between these two countr ...

: Likely of Finnish origin, meaning "spear" *

Volga River The Volga (; russian: Во́лга, a=Ru-Волга.ogg, p=ˈvoɫɡə) is the List of rivers of Europe#Rivers of Europe by length, longest river in Europe. Situated in Russia, it flows through Central Russia to Southern Russia and into the Cas ...

: Slavic влага "vlaga", волога "vologa" meaning "wetness", "humidity"; Volga river#Nomenclature alternatively,

Proto-Uralic Proto-Uralic is the unattested reconstructed language ancestral to the modern Uralic language family. The hypothetical language is believed to have been originally spoken in a small area in about 7000–2000 BCE, and expanded to give differentia ...

*valki- "white"; alternatively, Russian velikij "great" *

Wear Wear is the damaging, gradual removal or deformation of material at solid surfaces. Causes of wear can be mechanical (e.g., erosion) or chemical (e.g., corrosion). The study of wear and related processes is referred to as tribology. Wear in m ...

: Brythonic meaning "water"

North America

Athabasca Athabasca (also Athabaska) is an anglicized version of the Cree name for Lake Athabasca in Canada, āthap-āsk-ā-w (pronounced ), meaning "grass or reeds here and there". Most places named Athabasca are found in Alberta, Canada. Athabasca may a ...

: From the Woods Cree word ''aðapaskāw'', "

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

there are plants one after another". * Bow: After the reeds growing along its banks, which were used by the local Indians to make bows. * Brazos: From the Spanish ''Los Brazos de Dios'', or "the arms of God". There are several different explanations for the name, all involving it being the first water to be found by desperately thirsty parties. * Canadian River: The etymology is unclear. The name may have come from French-Canadian traders and hunters who traveled along the river, or early explorers may have thought that the river flowed into Canada. *

Chattahoochee The Chattahoochee River forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida - Georgia border. It is a tributary of the Apalachicola River, a relatively short river formed by the con ...

: from

Creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

''cato hocce'' () "marked rock". *

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

: Spanish for "red-colored; reddish." * Columbia: Named for Captain Robert Gray's ship '' Columbia Rediviva'', the first to travel up the river. *

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

: Named for

Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (15 April 1721 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">N.S..html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki> N.S.">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html"_;"title="/nowiki>Old_Style_and_New_St ...

. *

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

: After the Bay, named for Thomas West, Baron De la Warre, first English colonial governor of Virginia. * Fraser: Named for Simon Fraser, who confirmed it was a separate river from the Columbia. * Hackensack: probably from Unami Delaware ''ahkinkèshaki'', "place of sharp ground". * Hiwassee: from the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

meaning "stone wall", or from an

Eastern Algonquian language The Eastern Algonquian languages constitute a subgroup of the Algonquian languages. Prior to European contact, Eastern Algonquian consisted of at least 17 languages, whose speakers collectively occupied the Atlantic coast of North America and adj ...

meaning "beyond the hill" (e.g.,

Abenaki The Abenaki (Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predom ...

''awasadenek''). *

Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...

: named for Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Netherlands, who explored it in 1609. * Loup: French for "wolf", after the Pawnee "wolf people" (Skidi band). * Mackenzie: After Alexander MacKenzie, the Scots-Canadian explorer. * Mississagi:

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

''misi-zaagi'', "river with a wide mouth". *

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

''misi-ziibi'', "big river". *

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

: Named for the Missouri Indians, who lived along the banks. Their name comes from the

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

''mihsoori'', meaning "dugout canoe". * Nelson: Named for Robert Nelson, a ship's master who died at the mouth of the river in 1612. *

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

: Named for the Ottawa people, a community of the Algonquian nation, who lived along the river until 1685. *

Peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

: After Peace Point, the location of the ratification of the Treaty of the Peace. * Platte: French ''Rivière Plate'' ("Flat River"), a

calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...

of the Chiwere name ''ñįbraske'' ("flattened water"). * Potomac: From the Patowamek tribe noted by Captain John Smith. * Republican: Named for the Pawnee band known as "the Republicans". *

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

: Spanish for "big river". * Saint-Laurent: French for

Saint Lawrence Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. "Laurel wreath, laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the Persecution of Christians, perse ...

. *

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

: From the Cree term Cree ''kisiskāciwani-sīpiy'', meaning "swift flowing river". * Schuylkill: from the Dutch ''schuil'' and ''kil'', meaning "hidden river". *

Snake River The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...

: Derived from an S-shaped gesture the

Shoshone The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ) are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions: * Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming * Northern Shoshone: southern Idaho * Western Shoshone: Nevada, northern Utah * Goshute: western Utah, easter ...

made with their hands to represent swimming salmon. Explorers misinterpreted it to represent a snake, giving the river its present-day name. *

Stanislaus Stanislav and variants may refer to: People *Stanislav (given name), a Slavic given name with many spelling variations (Stanislaus, Stanislas, Stanisław, etc.) Places * Stanislav, a coastal village in Kherson, Ukraine * Stanislaus County, Cali ...

: named after

Estanislao Cucunuchi ( – 1838), baptized as Estanislao, was an indigenous ''alcalde'' of Mission San José and a member and leader of the Lakisamni tribe of the Yokuts people of northern California. He is famous for leading bands of armed Native America ...

* Susquehanna: Named after the

Susquehannock The Susquehannock people, also called the Conestoga by some English settlers or Andastes were Iroquoian Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, ranging from its upper reaches in the southern p ...

Indians, whose name derives from an Algonquian word meaning "people at the falls", "roily water people", or "muddy current". *

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

: Named for the

town of Tanasi, whose etymology is unknown. * Wabash: English spelling of French ''Ouabache'', from

Miami-Illinois Miami-Illinois (endonym: , ) also known as Irenwa, or Irenwe is an indigenous Algonquian language spoken in the United States, primarily in Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, western Ohio and adjacent areas along the Mississippi River by the Miami a ...

''waapaahšiiki'', "it shines white". *

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

: from an

Athabaskan language Athabaskan (also spelled ''Athabascan'', ''Athapaskan'' or ''Athapascan'', and also known as Dene) is a large family of indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous languages of North America, located in western North America in three areal ...

(e.g.,

Koyukon The Koyukon (russian: Коюконы) are an Alaska Native Athabascan people of the Athabascan-speaking ethnolinguistic group. Their traditional territory is along the Koyukuk and Yukon rivers where they subsisted for thousands of years by ...

''yookkene'',

Lower Tanana Lower Tanana (also Tanana and/or Middle Tanana) is an endangered language spoken in Interior Alaska in the lower Tanana River villages of Minto and Nenana. Of about 380 Tanana people in the two villages, about 30 still speak the language. As of ...

''yookuna'').

South America

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

: Greek (after the

Amazons In Greek mythology, the Amazons (Ancient Greek: Ἀμαζόνες ''Amazónes'', singular Ἀμαζών ''Amazōn'', via Latin ''Amāzon, -ŏnis'') are portrayed in a number of ancient epic poems and legends, such as the Labours of Hercules, ...

) alt. Indian (from Amassona 'boat destroyer') * Río Calle-Calle:

Mapudungun Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...

for "lot of

Iridaceae Iridaceae is a family of plants in order Asparagales, taking its name from the irises, meaning rainbow, referring to its many colours. There are 66 accepted genera with a total of c. 2244 species worldwide (Christenhusz & Byng 2016). It include ...

s" * Río Cochrane: after Lord Cochrane who served in the Chilean Navy *

Río Futaleufú Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

for "big river" * Río Ibañez: after Carlos Ibáñez del Campo former president of Chile * Río Imperial: after the old city of

Carahue Carahue () is a city and commune in southern Chile. It is located 56 km west of Temuco, on the northern bank of the Imperial River. The city was founded as La Imperial on April 16, 1552 by Pedro de Valdivia. La Imperial or Antigua ldImper ...

, formerly known as Imperial. *

Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...

: Guarani "Copious River"Places to visit in Paraguay when visiting Iguassu Falls
* Río de la Plata: Spanish for "Silver River" * Rio Roosevelt (sometimes Rio Teodoro): after

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

* Río Valdivia: after the Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

of Chile

Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, whe ...

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em

Bibliography

*Bright, William (2004). ''Native American Place Names of the United States''. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press * Blažek, Václav, and Ondřej Šefčík. "Oronyms Derived from Water? ''Mons Abnobae'' and ''Haraitī''". ''Historische Sprachforschung'' istorical Linguistics124 (2011): 239–49. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41553574. * Hamp, Eric P. ""Water" in Italic and Keltic". In: ''Etudes Celtiques'', vol. 12, fascicule 2, 1970. pp. 547–550. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/ecelt.1970.1436 ; www.persee.fr/doc/ecelt_0373-1928_1970_num_12_2_1436 *Name River names Hydronymy pt:Hidrônimo