Pisces baby names
Pisces is the two fish, ruled by generous Jupiter and dreamy Neptune, born as winter melts toward spring. These are names that hold the open sea, the dream, the kind heart and the first violets, each one checked for its real origin and meaning.
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A Pisces baby arrives between around 19 February and 20 March, the last sign of the zodiac, as winter loosens and the first spring flowers come up. This is the sign of the open sea, the dream and the heart with no hard edges. Its rulers are Jupiter, the planet of joy and generosity, and Neptune, the planet of the sea and of dreams. A Pisces name usually feels a little like water: soft to say, with more in it than first appears.
Every name below has its origin and meaning checked, and every one has a reason to be here that belongs to Pisces and not to any sign at all. Start with the ten, then read on for the threads, so you can judge any name you meet yourself.
Ten Pisces names to start with
- Moana (any). Māori and Hawaiian, “ocean, deep sea”. The open water Pisces swims in.
- Thalassa (girl). Greek, “sea”. A small moon of Neptune, Pisces’ modern ruler, carries this name.
- Kai (boy). Hawaiian, “sea”. One syllable of ocean, easy in any language.
- Jonah (boy). Hebrew, “dove”. The prophet who spent three days inside a great fish, which makes him the most Pisces of the old names.
- Felix (boy). Latin, “lucky, successful”. Jupiter, Pisces’ old ruler, is the planet of good fortune.
- Aisling (girl). Irish, “dream, vision”. Pisces is the dreamer of the zodiac.
- Maya (girl). Sanskrit, “illusion, magic”, and by a lovely chance also from a Hebrew word for “water”.
- Karuna (any). Sanskrit, “compassion, mercy”. Compassion is the heart of this sign.
- Violet (girl). The flower of February, and soft purple is a Pisces colour.
- Ronan (boy). Irish, “little seal”. A gentle creature equally at home in the water and on the shore.
What makes a name feel like Pisces
You do not need a name that means “fish”. There are very few, and none of them is a usual given name. You need a name that carries one of the threads that run through this sign. Here they are, so you can test any name against them.
The two fish and their cord
The figure of Pisces is two fish swimming in opposite directions, tied together by a cord. The star at the knot where the cords meet is called Alrescha, from the Arabic for “the cord”. One fish swims toward the world, the other toward the dream, and they never let go of each other.
That is the Pisces child: half here, half somewhere else, and kind to both places. You can read more on the Pisces child’s page. So names linked with fish, with swimming creatures and with the people who work the water all belong here, along with names of the sea itself.
Jupiter and Neptune, the rulers
Every sign has a ruling planet that sets its tone. Pisces has two. In the old tradition its ruler is Jupiter, the largest planet, the bringer of joy, luck, faith and generosity. Jupiter is the Roman name of the king of the gods, called Zeus in Greek. In modern charts Pisces is also given Neptune, named for the Roman god of the sea, the planet of dreams, music, mist and everything without edges.
Jupiter gives Pisces its big, generous heart and its faith. Neptune gives it the sea and the dream. So names of joy and good fortune, names from Zeus and Jove, and names of the sea, sea spirits and Neptune’s own moons all fit. Jupiter also rules Sagittarius, but Sagittarius is Jupiter on the road, going further. Pisces is Jupiter at sea, going deeper, and these names lean that way.
Water, the element
Astrology sorts the twelve signs into four elements. Pisces is water, with Cancer and Scorpio. Water signs feel first and think second, and they read a room before they read you. The four elements explains the idea.
Pisces is also a mutable sign, which means it comes at the end of a season and carries it into the next. Mutable water is water that moves and changes: the open sea, the wave, the river running out to the ocean. Not the shore (that is Cancer) and not the still, dark lake (that is Scorpio). Names of the wide sea, waves and islands belong here. Cardinal, fixed and mutable children says more about what mutable means in a small child.
Late winter into spring: the season and the months
In the northern hemisphere Pisces is the last stretch of winter, when snow melts into water and the first violets and primroses open. It ends at the spring equinox, when Aries begins. Late winter names and early spring names both fit, and so do names that mean “spring” itself.
In the southern hemisphere the year is flipped, and a Pisces baby is born at the end of summer, as it turns to autumn. If you live there, lean on the sea, dream and kindness names rather than the spring flowers.
Colours, stones and flowers
The colours astrology most often gives Pisces are sea green, soft violet and lilac, and the pale blue-green of aquamarine. The metal is tin, the metal of Jupiter. The stones most often given are amethyst and aquamarine, which are also the traditional birthstones of February and March. The flowers most often named for Pisces are the water lily and the lotus, and the birth flowers of its months are the violet and primrose for February, and the daffodil and jonquil for March.
The heart of the sign
Underneath all of it, Pisces is gentle, compassionate, imaginative and full of faith. It feels other people’s feelings as its own. It lives half in a story. It gives without counting. A name that means “mercy”, “compassion”, “grace”, “soul” or “dream” carries the sign’s heart even with no sea in it at all.
Pisces baby names, in themed groups
Each group has a short note and a table. The gender mark shows how the name is mostly used, and “any” means it is used for both.
Fish and swimmer names
Names linked with fish and with the creatures and people of the water.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits a Pisces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jonah (boy) | Hebrew | “dove” | The prophet swallowed by a great fish and carried safely to shore. A soft name with a sea story inside. |
| Tobias (boy) | Hebrew, through Greek | from Tobiah, “God is good” | In the Book of Tobit, the young Tobias catches a great fish in a river, and it becomes the key to his whole journey. |
| Fisher (boy) | English surname | “fisherman” | The one who knows the water and what lives in it. |
| Ronan (boy) | Irish | from Rónán, “little seal” | A swimmer that lives between the sea and the land, as Pisces lives between the world and the dream. |
| Coral (girl) | English, Spanish | the reef that forms under the sea | The living garden the fish swim through. |
Jupiter names: joy, luck and Jove
Pisces’ old ruler is the planet of joy and good fortune. These names come from Jupiter, from his Greek name Zeus, from his moons, or carry his gifts.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits a Pisces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Felix (boy) | Latin | “lucky, successful” | Jupiter is the planet of good fortune, and Felix is good fortune as a name. |
| Felicity (girl) | English, from Latin | “happiness”, from felicitas, “good luck” | Jupiter’s joy and luck together. |
| Hilary (any) | English, from Latin | from Hilarius, “cheerful” | Jupiter’s cheer. Used for both, more often for girls today. |
| Joy (girl) | English | joy | Jupiter’s gift in one warm word. “Jovial” itself comes from Jove, another name for Jupiter. |
| Gioia (girl) | Italian | “joy” | The same joy in Italian, said JOY-a. |
| Jovita (girl) | Spanish, Portuguese | from Iovita, from the name of Jove | Jupiter’s own name, made soft and pretty. |
| Zeno (boy) | Greek | from the name of Zeus | Jupiter’s Greek name, in a short modern-sounding form. |
| Zenobia (girl) | Greek | “life of Zeus” | A grand, rare name with Pisces’ old ruler at its root. |
| Callisto (girl) | Greek | from Kallisto, “most beautiful” | One of the great moons of Jupiter carries this name. |
| Beatrix (girl) | Latin | probably from Viatrix, “voyager”, later linked with beatus, “blessed, happy” | A traveller and a blessing, which suits the last sign, the one that has journeyed through all the others. |
| Beatrice (girl) | Italian | the Italian form of Beatrix | The same voyage and blessing, softer. |
| Karim (boy) | Arabic | “generous, noble” | Jupiter is the most generous planet, and Pisces gives without counting. |
Neptune names: sea spirits and Neptune’s moons
Pisces’ modern ruler is named for the god of the sea. Several of Neptune’s moons are named after sea spirits and sea figures, and these make beautiful, rare names.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits a Pisces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thalassa (girl) | Greek | “sea” | The Greek word for the sea, and the name of one of Neptune’s moons. |
| Despina (girl) | Greek | from Despoina, “mistress, lady” | In Greek tradition Despoina was a daughter of Poseidon, the Greek Neptune. A moon of Neptune carries her name. |
| Galatea (girl) | Greek | probably from gala, “milk” | A sea nymph, daughter of the old sea god Nereus. Neptune has a moon called Galatea too. |
| Larissa (girl) | Greek, through Russian | possibly from Larisa, an ancient city, “citadel” | In 1991 one of Neptune’s moons was named Larissa. A familiar name with a hidden sea link. |
| Nerissa (girl) | English | created by Shakespeare, possibly from Greek Nereis, “sea sprite” | A sea spirit name that already sounds like an ordinary one. |
| Nereida (girl) | Spanish | from Greek Nereides, “sea sprites” | The sea sprites of Greek tradition, in a Spanish name. |
| Nerina (girl) | Italian | probably from Greek Nereides, “sea sprites” | The same sea sprites, shorter and lighter. |
Open sea names
Pisces’ water is the wide, moving sea. These names hold the ocean, waves and islands.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits a Pisces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moana (any) | Māori, Hawaiian, Polynesian | “ocean, wide expanse of water, deep sea” | The whole open sea in three soft sounds. |
| Kai (boy) | Hawaiian | “sea” | Short and easy. (Kai is also a Frisian and a Chinese name with other meanings, so this one is the Hawaiian sea.) |
| Kailani (girl) | Hawaiian | “sea” and “sky, heaven” | Where the sea meets the sky, which is where Pisces’ two worlds meet. |
| Meri (girl) | Finnish | “sea” | Simple and bright. |
| Pelagia (girl) | Greek | feminine of Pelagius, from pelagos, “the sea” | The open sea, far from any shore. |
| Murphy (any) | Irish surname | from Murchadh, “sea battle” | Pisces swims with the storm as well as the calm. |
| Isla (girl) | Scottish | from Islay, a Scottish island; also Spanish for “island” | A small island in a big sea. |
| Undine (girl) | Latin | from unda, “wave” | The word was coined by the 16th-century writer Paracelsus for spirits of the water. |
| River (any) | English | the river | The river running out to the sea, the way Pisces carries one season into the next. |
Dream and soul names
Neptune is the planet of dreams, and Pisces is the dreamer of the zodiac. These names hold the dream, the imagination and the soul.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits a Pisces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maya (girl) | Sanskrit, also Hebrew | “illusion, magic” in Sanskrit; from a word for “water” in Hebrew | Neptune’s magic and Pisces’ water, in one name with two roots. |
| Lila (girl) | Sanskrit | “play, amusement” | For the child who can be a cat for a fortnight. (Lila in English can also come from Leila.) |
| Aisling (girl) | Irish | “dream, vision” | Said ASH-ling. The dream itself. |
| Yume (girl) | Japanese | “dream, vision” when written 夢 | A short dream name. Other characters give other meanings, so choose this one on purpose. |
| Psyche (girl) | Greek | “the soul”, from a word meaning “to breathe” | Pisces lives close to the soul of things. Said SY-kee. |
Compassion, faith and grace names
These carry the heart of the sign: mercy, compassion, faith, love and grace.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits a Pisces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Karuna (any) | Sanskrit | “compassion, mercy” | Compassion is the deepest Pisces gift. |
| Rahma (girl) | Arabic | “mercy, compassion” | The same kindness, warm and short. |
| Rahim (boy) | Arabic | “merciful, kind, compassionate” | Gentle strength for a boy. |
| Mercy (girl) | English | the word mercy | For the child who goes to sit with whoever is crying. |
| Grace (girl) | English, from Latin gratia | grace | The soft, giving side of Pisces, in one syllable. |
| Faith (girl) | English, from Latin fido, “to trust” | faith | Jupiter is the planet of faith, and Pisces holds it deeply. |
| Charity (girl) | English, from Latin caritas | “dearness, love” | Love that gives freely. |
| Amadeus (boy) | Latin | “love of God” | Faith and love together, with music in it, which Neptune rules. |
Late winter and spring flower names
For Pisces’ season, its stones and its flowers.
| Name | Origin | Meaning | Why it fits a Pisces |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violet (girl) | English, from Latin viola | the purple flower | The birth flower of February, in Pisces’ soft purple. |
| Viola (girl) | Latin | “violet” | The violet in Latin. In Twelfth Night, Viola comes ashore from a shipwreck. |
| Ianthe (girl) | Greek | “violet flower” | A rare Greek violet name, said eye-AN-thee. It was also the name of an ocean nymph. |
| Iolanthe (girl) | Various | probably from Yolanda, shaped by Greek words for “violet” and “flower” | A long, musical violet name. |
| Primrose (girl) | English, from Latin | “first rose” | February’s other birth flower, one of the first of the year. |
| Amethyst (girl) | English, from Greek | the purple stone | The traditional birthstone of February, and a stone most often given to Pisces. |
| Bahar (girl) | Persian, Turkish, Azerbaijani | “spring” | Pisces is the doorway to spring. |
| Kamala (girl) | Sanskrit | “lotus” or “pale red” | The lotus is one of the flowers most often given to Pisces. |
| Padma (any) | Sanskrit | “lotus” | The lotus again, used for boys and girls. |
| Lotus (girl) | English, from Greek | the flower | The lotus grows from the water and opens above it, like a Pisces dream made real. |
Choosing well
Test it out loud
A name is said thousands of times before it is ever written. Try these tests before you decide.
- Say it with the surname. Say the full name five times, fast and slow. Watch for names that run into the surname: Kai Moran is clear, Isla Lawson blurs. Many Pisces names end in a soft vowel, so a surname that starts with a firm consonant gives them a good edge.
- Find the nickname. Felicity becomes Fliss, Zenobia becomes Zen, Callisto becomes Callie, Beatrix becomes Bea or Trixie. If you dislike the obvious nickname, think again.
- Check the initials. Write out all the initials and make sure they spell nothing unkind.
- Call it across a park. Kai and Jonah carry well. Aisling and Psyche are often misread by people who have only seen them written, so be ready to spell them.
- The Pisces test: water with a shore. Pisces children float easily. A name that is soft but clear, with one firm sound to hold on to, gives a dreamy child something to hold. Felix, Karuna and Violet all have that edge. If you love a very soft first name, give it a firm middle name, and the other way round.
First and middle pairs for a Pisces
A good pair often puts one thread in each name: the sea with the dream, Jupiter’s joy with Neptune’s water.
| First and middle | The threads |
|---|---|
| Thalassa Joy | Neptune’s sea and Jupiter’s joy |
| Aisling Moana | the dream and the open sea |
| Violet Kailani | the February flower and the sea meeting the sky |
| Maya Grace | magic, water and grace |
| Isla Amethyst | the island and the February stone |
| Jonah Felix | the great fish and good fortune |
| Ronan Kai | the little seal and the sea |
| Felix Amadeus | Jupiter’s luck and music |
| Tobias Rahim | the fish’s journey and kindness |
| Karuna River | compassion and running water, for any gender |
For a middle name alone, short Pisces words do the most work: Joy, Grace, Faith, Isla, Meri and Violet for girls; Kai, Felix, Jonah and Zeno for boys.
Brother and sister names across the zodiac
If the family already has a name, look for a thread that links the two signs.
- A Virgo sibling. Virgo sits opposite Pisces, the careful hands beside the open heart. A Pisces Aisling beside a Virgo sibling with a harvest or wheat name balances very well. See Virgo baby names.
- A Sagittarius sibling. Sagittarius shares Pisces’ old ruler, Jupiter. A Pisces Felix and a Sagittarius sibling with a traveller’s name share a lucky planet. See Sagittarius baby names.
- An Aquarius or Aries sibling. These are the signs on either side of Pisces. The water bearer pours the water the fish swim in, and Aries begins the spring Pisces opens. See Aquarius baby names and Aries baby names.
- Another water sign. Cancer names lean to the Moon and the shore, Scorpio names to night and deep lakes. A Pisces Moana with a Cancer or Scorpio sibling keeps the water in the family, each in its own kind. See Cancer baby names and Scorpio baby names.
The chart is bigger than the Sun
Your baby’s Sun sign is only the start. A birth chart also has a Moon sign and a rising sign, and either can be Pisces even when the Sun is somewhere else. Sun, Moon and rising explains the three together.
A Pisces Moon
A Pisces Moon has no hard edges. This is the child who soaks up every mood in the room and needs a soft, calm place to let it all wash away. The compassion and dream names suit this Moon best of all: Karuna, Rahma, Aisling and Grace would honour it even for a child whose Sun is in a bold fire sign. Read more on the Pisces Moon child page.
Pisces rising
The rising sign is the face a child shows the world first. With Pisces rising, that face is soft, dreamy and a little far away, as if the child is listening to music nobody else can hear. The open sea names suit it: Isla, Moana, Meri and Undine all carry that gentle, drifting first look. The rising sign in children explains how to find it.
Due near a cusp, or early, or late
Babies keep their own calendar. If your due date falls around 17 to 20 February or 19 to 22 March, your baby may arrive as an Aquarius or an Aries instead. The exact moment the Sun changes sign moves by about a day from year to year, so born on the cusp is worth reading once the baby is here.
The simple answer is a shortlist that works either way.
- Due around 17 to 20 February (Aquarius or Pisces). Amethyst is the February stone for both signs. Violet and Primrose are February’s flowers. River suits both too, because Aquarius is the water bearer and Pisces the water.
- Due around 19 to 22 March (Pisces or Aries). Bahar means “spring”, and the equinox is the exact point where Pisces hands over to Aries. Kamala, the lotus that also means “pale red”, holds a little of Aries’ fire inside a Pisces flower.
- Keeping the water. If you want a water name whatever the date, Moana and Kai sit happily in any chart, because the sea belongs to everyone.
If you want to see the whole chart before you name, how to read a child’s birth chart walks through it step by step.
A name to swim in
A Pisces child may well make a story out of their own name. They may decide what colour it is and what it sounds like underwater. Give them one with room in it, a sea or a dream or a kindness they can grow into, and a sound you love to say softly. That is the name they will come back to, like a tide.
When the name is chosen, the Pisces child, double Pisces and Pisces baby gifts are good next pages, and the Pisces parent is there if the sign runs in the family.
Sources and references
- Behind the Name: Jonah, Tobias, Tobiah and Rónán, for the fish and swimmer names
- Behind the Name: Felix, Hilarius, Jovita, Zenobia, Kallisto, Beatrix and Karim, for the Jupiter names
- Behind the Name: Thalassa, Despoina, Galatea, Larissa and Nerissa, for the Neptune names
- Moons of Neptune, for the moons named Thalassa, Despina, Galatea and Larissa
- Behind the Name: Moana, Kai (3), Kailani, Pelagius, Murchadh and Undine, for the sea names
- Behind the Name: Maya (1), Maya (3), Lila (1), Aisling and Yume, for the dream names
- Behind the Name: Karuna, Rahma, Rahim and Amadeus, for the compassion names
- Behind the Name: Ianthe, Primrose, Amethyst, Bahar and Kamala, for the season, stone and flower names
- Alpha Piscium (Alrescha), the star at the knot of the fishes’ cord
- The Old Farmer’s Almanac: birth month flowers, for the February and March flowers