750+ Goldfish Names (Unique Ideals For your Fish)

Picking a name for your pet can be challenging, and for a goldfish, even more so. It’s hard to get to know your pet’s personality over the first few days of having them, but understanding a fish’s personality might take years! So, how can you pick the right name for your goldfish when they’re a complete stranger?

Here are some of the most popular goldfish names that could be perfect for your fish, along with some other ideas that might be completely unique to your fish.

Goldfish Personality

If you’re new to goldfish keeping, you might not be aware that every fish has its own unique personality. This personality results from the given species and the fish’s environment, meaning tank conditions, tank mates, and even diet. In addition to all that, there are parts of a fish’s personality that are completely unique to that one fish. No two goldfish are created equal.

Goldfish have a lot of personality, though sadly, they’re seen as some of the less intelligent fish available. Check out our goldfish facts to learn more about them! These fish from the carp family have a fascinating history that’s discussed in this post.

How To Tell Female From A Male

Like other pets (e.g. betta fish), whether your goldfish is a male or female will probably have a lot of influence on its name. While goldfish aren’t the easiest fish to tell apart, you can see the difference in a few ways.

The easiest time to tell your male and female goldfish apart is during spawning times. This is because both fish undergo both physical and behavioral changes.

Goldfish spawning time is naturally during the spring and summer when waters start to warm. With the power of an aquarium heater and water changes, this water temperature difference can be replicated in the home aquarium or small pond.

During spawning periods, male goldfish develop tubercles on the sides of their gills. These are small, white bumps that rise under the skin and scales. It is unknown how tubercles aid the fish in reproduction, but a greater abundance of them seems to result in more successful responses and matings from female goldfish. Tubercles may also be present on the pectoral fins.

Goldfish tubercles¹ can greatly resemble an aquarium parasite, like white spot disease also known as ich. Diagnosing illnesses can be difficult in the home aquarium and even more challenging in a larger pond with more outside factors.

In comparison to tubercles, ich is much less uniform and causes the goldfish to behave differently. Ich covers the entire body of the fish while tubercles stick to the gills and pectoral fins. Ich also causes the fish to appear sick by discoloration and flashing; ich causes the goldfish to have irritated and itchy skin, which results in sudden movements and scratching called flashing.

If your male goldfish presents with bumpy gills and bright coloration, then he is showing that he is ready to mate. If those signs weren’t enough, then your pet fish will also likely chase other fish around the aquarium almost to the point of harassment.

At the same time, female goldfish will also change in appearance, though not as drastically. The major difference is the enlargement of the vent. This is an opening behind the anal fins, which will become much more pronounced when the goldfish is ready to mate. The female goldfish will also deepen in color and produce a more rounded belly as she fills up with eggs.

Otherwise, knowing if your pet goldfish is male or female can be almost impossible. Good thing that there are plenty of gold fish names that are suitable for both!

How To Choose

Naming any pet can be hard, but naming a pet goldfish might seem like an impossible task. How can you name something that you can’t even interact with?

Believe it or not, you will interact with and get to know your pet fish just as much as with any other pet.

Goldfish have personality! And your goldfish’s name should reflect that. Many goldfish names could perfectly encapsulate your goldfish.

Goldfish can be funny, playful, cute, smart, or all of the above. They can also be mysterious, troublesome, lazy, or maybe not as smart as their comrades. Goldfish are unique, which means that they all need unique names.

Some hobbyists like funny goldfish names that play at pop culture references or historical figures. Others opt for more common goldfish names, like the equivalent of a dog being called Max. Some hobbyists change their goldfish’s name every week, while others never get around to giving their fish a name.

Keep in mind that it might be difficult to tell your goldfish apart from one another, which might just lead to every fish having the same name!

How Do You Know If Its The Right One?

It’s pretty easy to look at a list of the most popular names for goldfish and give one to your fish, but how do you know it’s right forever? Goldfish have surprisingly long lives, sometimes surpassing two decades (longer than a family cat or dog), so you definitely need a name that will last as they become long-standing family members in your household.

Something strange happens when naming any pet, including goldfish. You’ll often find that a name comes to the pet all by itself. This could be due to noticing a particular habit in the fish or another moment in life that just seems to perfectly apply to your goldfish.

The best way to see if the goldfish names you’re considering for your fish are good is by trying them on for size. Simply start calling your fish by the name and see if it feels right and if it sticks. If it doesn’t fit, then try another.

If all else fails, let your fish choose its own name. You can do this by writing a couple of goldfish names on a piece of paper, holding them next to the fish tank, and seeing where your goldfish swims. In this way, your goldfish names itself!

For Males

For Females

Gender Neutral

By Color

Goldfish come in a lot of colors. This list has names for major color variants of goldfish.

By Tail Type

A goldfish name based on their tail makes a lot of sense with the types of fancy goldfish and long-finned varieties available in the hobby. Here are several that might help.

1. Flow
2. Silky
3. Wisp
4. Flutter
5. Plume
6. Velvet
7. Fuzzy
8. Majesty

Pop Culture References

Who doesn’t like a pet with a Pop Culture reference? Below are names with references and where they come from.

1. Tinkerbell – a fairy-like character from J. M. Barrie’s novel, “Peter Pan”
2. Phelps – after the United States Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps
3. Lochte – another US Olympic swimmer, Ryan Lochte
4. Forrest Gump – a 1994 film starring Tom Hanks
5. Hulk – a large green fictional superhero
6. Romeo – of “Romeo and Juliet” by William Shakespeare
7. Juliet – of “Romeo and Juliet”
8. Elon – named after Elon Musk, an entrepreneur and inventor
9. Britney – named after pop singer, Britney Spears
10. Ziggy Stardust – named after British performer, David Bowie
11. Gilligan – inspired by the TV show, “Gilligan’s Island”
12. Prince – named after American performer, Prince
13. Beyoncé – named after American singer, Beyoncé
14. Gaga – named after American singer and performer, Lady Gaga
15. Taylor – after American singer and songwriter, Taylor Swift
16. Kanye – named after American rapper, Kanye West
17. Jaws – after the 1975 film about a killer shark
18. Nemo – inspired by Pixar’s “Finding Nemo”
19. Dory – after the hippo tang in “Finding Nemo”
20. Marlin – after the father clownfish in “Finding Nemo”
21. Squirt – after the young sea turtle in “Finding Nemo”
22. Gil – after the Moorish idol in “Finding Nemo”
23. Bruce – after the main shark in “Finding Nemo”
24. Captain Morgan – a popular alcoholic rum brand
25. Flounder – after the yellow and blue striped fish in Disney’s “Little Mermaid”
26. Sebastian – after the crab in “Little Mermaid”
27. Ariel – after the mermaid in “Little Mermaid”
28. Cleo – after the goldfish in Disney’s “Pinocchio”
29. Batman – inspired by the superhero in DC Comics
30. Zorro – after a masked fictional character created by Johnston McCulley
31. Darth Vader – after a fictional villain in George Lucas’ “Star Wars”
32. Willy – inspired by the film, “Free Willy”
33. Captain Jack Sparrow – after the pirate character in “Pirates of the Caribbean”
34. Captain Barbossa – after the villain in “Pirates of the Caribbean”
35. Captain Hook – after the villain in “Peter Pan”
36. Cap’n Crunch – inspired by the cereal character
37. Chewbacca – a furry character in “Star Wars”
38. Aquaman – a superhero in the DC Comics
39. Flipper – after the 1964 TV series, “Flipper”
40. Moby Dick – inspired by Herman Melville’s novel
41. Jacques Cousteau – after the famous French oceanographer
42. Long John Silver – inspired by the American fast food chain restaurant
43. Rambo – named after the “Rambo” franchise
44. Simba – inspired by Disney’s “The Lion King”
45. Nala – from “The Lion King”
46. Mufasa – from “The Lion King”
47. Zazu – from “The Lion King”
48. Spongebob – after the main character in the famous TV series
49. Dumbledore – named after the great wizard in the “Harry Potter” series
50. Harry – from “Harry Potter”
51. Hermoine – from “Harry Potter”
52. Ron – from “Harry Potter”
53. Dobby – from “Harry Potter”
54. Frodo – from J. R. R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” franchise
55. Bilbo – from “Lord of the Rings”
56. Gandalf – from “Lord of the Rings”
57. Gollum – from “Lord of the Rings”
58. Aragorn – from “Lord of the Rings”
59. Jon Snow – after the character in George R. R. Martin’s “Games of Thrones”
60. Khaleesi – from “Game of Thrones”
61. Cersei – from “Game of Thrones”
62. Drogo – from “Game of Thrones”
63. Tyrion – from “Game of Thrones”
64. Spock – after Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek” franchise
65. Kirk – from “Star Trek”
66. Picard – from “Star Trek”
67. Worf – from “Star Trek”
68. Sherlock – named after Arthur Conan Doyle’s fictional detective
69. Goldie Hawn – based on the famous actor

By Gemstones

Japanese Origins

1. Kingyo – “Goldfish”
2. Samurai – “Warrior”
3. Yoshe – “Beauty”
4. Kaida – “Little dragon”
5. Runa – “Moon”
6. Kenzo – “Healthy”/”Wise”
7. Sakura – “Cherry blossoms”
8. Maru – “Round”
9. Umi – “Sea”
10. Nori – “Seaweed”
11. Taiyo – “Sun”
12. Hoshi – “Star”
13. Tora – “Tiger”
14. Kiku – “Chrysanthemum”
15. Koi – “Love”/”Carp”
16. Yuki – “Snow”

Chinese Origins

Goldfish originate from China. Here are several names with good meanings behind them.

1. Bao – “Treasure”
2. Ginkgo – after the Gingko tree
3. Sying – “Star”
4. Longwei – “Dragon greatness”
5. Dai – “Respect”
6. Huang – “Bright”
7. Yang – “Light”/”Sun”
8. Tao – “Path”/”Virtue”
9. Hongse – “Red”
10. Yue – “Moon”
11. Lin – “Gem”

Asian Origins

China, Japan, and Thailand are the best three countries for goldfish breeders. We have several Asian name ideas that could fit the bill for your fish!

1. Dalkong (Korean) – “Sweetie”
2. Dae (Korean) – “Greatness”
3. Hwan (Korean) – “Bright”
4. Taeyang (Korean) – “Sun”
5. Jia (Korean) – “Good”/”Wisdom”
6. Satang (Korean) – “Candy”
7. Yejin (Korean) – “Rare”
8. Bada (Korean) – “Sea”
9. Dal (Korean) – “Moon”
10. Cho (Korean) – “Handsome”
11. Mali (Thai) – “Jasmine flower”
12. Singha (Thai) – “Lion”
13. Lukchup (Thai) – “Sweet”/”Candy”
14. Suriya (Thai) – “Sun”
15. Sawasdee (Thai) – A greeting
16. Kao (Thai) – “White”
17. Oun (Thai) – “Chubby”
18. Som (Thai) – “Sour”/”Orange”
19. Lek (Thai) – “Tiny”
20. Naka (Thai) – “Dragon”
21. Manis (Indonesian) – “Sweet”
22. Putih (Indonesian) – “White”
23. Raja (Indonesian) – “King”
24. Cinta (Indonesian) – “Love”
25. Bimo (Indonesian) – “Brave”
26. Biru (Indonesian) – “Blue”
27. Pelangi (Indonesian) – “Rainbow”
28. Bulan (Indonesian) – “Moon”
29. Ratu (Indonesian) – “Ratu”
30. Jelita (Indonesian) – “Beautiful”

Nature Based

Mythology Based

Historic Based

Famous Goldfish

Goldfish have been featured in several movies. Here are a few you may be familiar with:

1. Cleo – Pinocchio
2. Dennis – Stanley – A talking pet goldfish
3. Klaus Heisler – American Dad! The pet goldfish of the Smiths
4. Chuckles – The goldfish from Find Nemo
5. Dorthy – The goldfish that appears on Sesame Street
6. Cosmo – From Fairy odd parents
7. Wanda – From Fairy odd parents

Food Based

By Personality

Funny

Edgy

FAQ

Final Thoughts

What’s in a fish name? That’s to be decided by you and your aquarium fish!

Goldfish names can be exciting and unique or plain and ordinary. It can be initially difficult to tell male goldfish apart from females, but looking at the male’s tubercles and coloration along with the female’s vent during spawning times can help you spot the differences. Also, don’t feel bad if you mix up one fish with another! These orange fish can start to look very similar after a while.

What names have you called your goldfish? Let us know in the comments below.

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Mark Valderrama

I’m thrilled that you found Aquarium Store Depot! Here you’ll find information on fish, aquariums, and all things aquatics related. I’m a hobbyist (being doing this since I was 11) and here to help other hobbyists thrive with their aquariums! I adhere to a high quality Editorial Process and Review products with real life field usage and practical analysis.

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