List of river name etymologies

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

Contents

Asia

See also Old European hydronymy.

Avon: Brythonic meaning "river"
Cam: Brythonic meaning "crooked"
Clwyd: Welsh meaning "hurdle"
Danube: Latin Danuvius, from Iranian (Scythian or Sarmatian) dānu- 'river', of Indo-European origin
* Argeş: from Greek or maybe Thracian "arges" = "bright"
* Bistriţa: Slavic "bistrica" = "fast flowing"
* Caraş: Turkish "kara" = "black", "dark"
* Drave: in Latin "Dravus", of Thracian or Illyrian origin, probably from PIE *dhreu = "to flow, to fall"
* Ialomiţa: Slavic "jalov" = "barren"
* Mureş;: Dacian "mur" = "murky"
* Prahova: Slavic "prah"="waterfall" or "prah"="dust"
* Siret: ancient Thracian "Seretos", probably from PIE *sreu = "to flow"
Don: Celtic goddess Devona
Guadalquivir: from the Arabic wadi al-kabir, or "great river"
Mersey: Anglo Saxon meaning "boundary river"
Ness: Old Norse meaning "isthmus"
Thames: Latin "Tamesis" from Brythonic meaning "dark river"
*The River Thame has a similar etymological root
River Severn: Latin "Sabrina" from an Old British river goddess of that name, becoming "Hafren" in modern Welsh
Tyne: Brythonic meaning "river"
Wear: Brythonic meaning "water"

Brazos: Spanish "Los Brazos de Dios" (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.
Colorado: Spanish for "coloured".
Hudson: Named for Henry Hudson, an Englishman sailing for the Netherlands, who explored it in 1609.
Mississippi: Ojibwe misi-ziibi, "big river"
Missouri:
Potomac: Variation on greek word Potomus, lit. meaning "river".
Río Grande: Spanish for "big river".
Saint-Laurent: French for Saint Lawrence.