Coral Reef Name Generator

Reefs, shoals, passes and dive sites to name

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Generate coral reef names for maps, dive stories, games and reef tanks: chart names like Crescent Reef and Keelbreaker Shoal, dive sites like The Cathedral and Moray Alley, coral names like Staghorn Thicket, fantasy reefs like Siren's Teeth and tank names like Frag Rock.

About coral reef names

A reef name is two parts, and the second part tells a map reader what to expect. A fringing reef hugs the shore, a barrier reef stands off it behind a lagoon, and an atoll is a ring of reef around one. Shoals and banks are shallows, a pass is the channel a boat takes through the reef, a wall is a near-vertical face and a drop-off is where the bottom falls away. A bommie, the Australian word, is a lone coral head.

The first part comes from a few old habits. Sailors named reefs for their shape (Crescent Reef, Wishbone Reef), for the ship or the mistake that found them (Keelbreaker Shoal, Pilot's Mistake), or for a chart note, as in Position Doubtful Reef. Divers name sites for what they see: Moray Alley, Turtle Ledge, The Cathedral, The Washing Machine. Coral itself gives Staghorn Thicket and Sea Fan Wall, and protected waters add a title, as in Tern Shoals Marine Reserve.

The list covers all of those, then turns to fantasy reefs (Siren's Teeth, Leviathan's Ribs) and to names for a home reef tank (Frag Rock, Little Barrier Reef). A small share are real reefs and dive sites kept as style examples, among them Ribbon Reef, Molasses Reef and Cod Hole. The rest are invented.

How to choose coral reef names

  • Choose the generic before the name. Reef, Shoal, Bank, Pass, Wall, Garden and Bommie each describe a different feature, and the right one makes a map or a dive briefing believable.
  • Name it the way a ship's master would: for its shape, for the vessel that struck it, or for the day it was sighted. Tuesday Breakers and Lost Anchor Shoal each carry a small story.
  • For a dive site, use what a diver remembers afterward. A resident animal (Grouper Hole), a rock formation (The Chimney) or the current (The Conveyor Belt) all work better than a compass direction.
  • Give a fantasy reef a legend in two or three words. The Drowned Bells and Reef of Lost Anchors tell players that something happened here before they arrived.
  • For a reef tank, name it after where it sits or what grows in it: Bookshelf Reef, Zoa Garden or Forty Breeder Reef. A joke that fits on the stand label is a bonus.

Frequently asked questions

What are good names for a coral reef?

For a map, pair a shape or a story with a generic: Crescent Reef, Hourglass Reef, Keelbreaker Shoal or Trade Wind Pass. For a dive story, use a site nickname such as The Cathedral, Moray Alley or Thousand Foot Wall. For a game world, try Siren's Teeth, The Drowned Crown or Moonpearl Shoals.

Are the reefs in this list real?

Around thirty are, including Ribbon Reef, Molasses Reef, Ningaloo Reef, Cod Hole and Blue Corner. They are in the list as style examples. The rest were made up for this list, though plain names such as The Aquarium, The Cathedral, Coral Gardens or Black Rock Reef are bound to match a real site somewhere.

What is the difference between a reef, a shoal, a bank and a bommie?

A reef is a ridge of coral or rock at or near the surface. A shoal is any shallow place that is a hazard to boats, and a bank is a broad raised area of seabed that may lie well below the keel. A bommie is a single coral head or column that rises from the bottom, a word divers picked up from Australia.

What should I name my reef tank?

Hobby names usually joke about scale or stock. Little Barrier Reef and Twenty Gallon Atoll play on size, Frag Rock and Zoa Garden on coral fragments and zoanthids, and Clown Town or Goby Gulch on the fish. If the tank has a fixed spot in the house, The Living Room Reef or Kitchen Counter Reef is hard to beat.

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All 500 coral reef names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 12 names

  • Abyssgate
  • Acan Alley
  • Acro Heights
  • Acropora Alley
  • Algal Crest
  • Alligator Reef
  • Anemone Row
  • Angelfish Arch
  • Antler Reef
  • Anvil Reef
  • Apo Reef
  • Arrowhead Reef

B: 42 names

  • Ballast Reef
  • Bare Sand Reef
  • Barquentine Spit
  • Barracuda Bank
  • Barracuda Point
  • Barrel Sponge Bommie
  • Basement Barrier Reef
  • Batfish Bend
  • Beacon Reef
  • Beacon Rocks Marine Park
  • Becalmed Ground
  • Bedroom Bommie
  • Beginner's Luck
  • Bell Buoy Patch
  • Birdsnest Thicket
  • Black Coral Wall
  • Black Rock Reef
  • Blacktip Bank
  • Blenny Rock
  • Bloody Bay Wall
  • Blue Coral Bank

B, continued

  • Blue Corner
  • Blue Edge Reef
  • Blue Room
  • Blue Staghorn Shallows
  • Boiling Pot Reef
  • Bommie Field
  • Bookshelf Reef
  • Boomerang Reef
  • Bosun's Bank
  • Brain Coral Bommie
  • Breakwater Reef Underwater Park
  • Brinewitch Breakers
  • Broken Back Reef
  • Broken Ring Reef
  • Broken Rudder Reef
  • Bubble Coral Bommie
  • Bubble Tip Bommie
  • Bumphead Bank
  • Buoy Three Wall
  • Butterflyfish Bommie
  • Buttress Reef

C: 31 names

  • Captain Hale's Reef
  • Carnation Coral Wall
  • Carysfort Reef
  • Cathedral Arches
  • Cauliflower Coral Flats
  • Chalice Shelf
  • Channel Mouth
  • Checkerboard Reef
  • Cleaner Shrimp Station
  • Clipper Reef
  • Clown Town
  • Clownfish Commons
  • Clownfish Corner
  • Cod Hole
  • Comb Reef
  • Conch Flats
  • Copra Pass
  • Coral Crescent Marine Park
  • Coral Gardens
  • Coral Tower
  • Coral Trout Channel
  • Coralline Ridge
  • Corsair Pass
  • Cowrie Shelf
  • Coxswain Reef
  • Crescent Reef
  • Crimson Fan Ridge
  • Crooked Reef
  • Cup Coral Cavern
  • Cuttlefish Corner
  • Cyclone Reef

D: 14 names

  • Damselfish Drop
  • Dawn Patrol Wall
  • Dead Reckoning Reef
  • Deep Blue Drop-off
  • Deliverance Shoal
  • Devil Ray Deep
  • Divemaster's Secret
  • Doldrums Reef
  • Doubloon Reef
  • Drift Alley
  • Drift-Singer's Pass
  • Dugong Channel
  • Dugong Meadow Reserve
  • Duncan's Corner

E: 11 names

  • Eagle Ray Pass
  • East Breaker Reef
  • Easy Street
  • Echo Canyon
  • Elbow Reef
  • Elephant Ear Reef
  • Elkhorn Crest
  • Elkhorn Flats
  • Emerald Lagoon Marine Sanctuary
  • Euphyllia Gardens
  • Existence Doubtful Shoal

F: 17 names

  • Falmouth Pass
  • False Entrance
  • Far Reef
  • Far Shoals Marine Reserve
  • Fathomless Garden
  • Favia Flats
  • Feather Star Ledge
  • Figure Eight Reef
  • Finger Coral Flats
  • Fire Coral Ledge
  • Flat Top Reef
  • Flower Garden Banks
  • Forty Breeder Reef
  • Frag Rock
  • Frigatebird Rocks
  • Frogfish Rubble
  • Full Moon Spawning Reserve

G: 19 names

  • Galleon Bank
  • Garden Eel Plain
  • Garland Reef
  • Ghostlight Shoal
  • Giant Clam Sanctuary
  • Glass Bottom Reef Park
  • Goby Flats
  • Goby Gulch
  • Golden Staircase Reef
  • Golden Wall
  • Goniopora Grove
  • Gorgonian Gardens
  • Green Finger Flats
  • Green Star Polyp Lawn
  • Green Turtle Garden
  • Green Water Reef
  • Grey Shark Ridge
  • Grouper Hole
  • Guitarfish Flats

H: 19 names

  • Half Tide Reef
  • Halimeda Bank
  • Halo Reef
  • Hammer Coral Heights
  • Hammerhead Point
  • Hard Aground Bar
  • Hawksbill Bank Marine Reserve
  • Hawksbill Reef
  • Heart Reef
  • Heritage Reef Marine Park
  • Hidden Lagoon Reef
  • High and Dry Reef
  • Honeycomb Reef
  • Hopscotch Reefs
  • Horsecollar Reef
  • Horseshoe Reef
  • Hourglass Reef
  • House Reef
  • Hurricane Hole

I: 3 names

  • Inner Fringe Reef
  • Inner Gardens
  • Ivory Branch Bank

J: 3 names

  • Jackfish Junction
  • Japanese Gardens
  • Jollyboat Pass

K: 7 names

  • Kaleidoscope Reef
  • Keelbreaker Shoal
  • King Tide Lagoon Reserve
  • Kingman Reef
  • Kitchen Counter Reef
  • Knife Edge Reef
  • Kraken's Cradle

L: 29 names

  • Lace Reef
  • Ladder Reef
  • Lantern Reef
  • Lanternfish Hollow
  • Last Dive
  • Lavender Fan Wall
  • Leadline Bank
  • Leather Coral Ledge
  • Leatherback Bank
  • Lee Shore Breakers
  • Leeward Reefs Sanctuary
  • Leopard Shark Ledge
  • Lettuce Coral Slope
  • Lettuce Leaf Reef
  • Leviathan's Ribs
  • Lighthouse Reef
  • Lightship Bank
  • Lionfish Ledge
  • Little Barrier Reef
  • Live Rock Ridge
  • Lobster Ledge
  • Loggerhead Ledge
  • Lone Bommie
  • Long Finger Reef
  • Long Reach Pass
  • Long Reef Marine National Park
  • Lookout Breakers
  • Lost Anchor Shoal
  • LPS Lagoon

M: 27 names

  • Mailboat Pass
  • Main Street
  • Mangrove Gate Marine Reserve
  • Manta Cleaning Station
  • Manta Pass Protected Area
  • Manta Point
  • Mariner's Lament
  • Marlin Drop-off
  • Mermaid's Garden
  • Middle Ground Reef
  • Midshipman Pass
  • Minerva Reef
  • Mistaken Pass
  • Mixed Reef Manor
  • Mobula Pass
  • Molasses Reef
  • Monsoon Bar
  • Montipora Mesa
  • Moon-Drowned Reef
  • Moonpearl Shoals
  • Mooring Seven
  • Moray Alley
  • Morning Star Shoals
  • Mosaic Reef
  • Mother-of-Pearl Lagoon
  • Mushroom Meadow
  • Mushroom Rocks

N: 13 names

  • Naiad's Veil
  • Napoleon Wall
  • Narrow Escape Pass
  • Navigator Rocks
  • Necklace Reef
  • Nereid's Staircase
  • Night Dive Ledge
  • Nine Mile Reef
  • Ningaloo Reef
  • Noddy Shoal
  • North Wall
  • Nudibranch Nook
  • Nurse Shark Ledge

O: 10 names

  • Observatory Reef
  • Octopus Garden
  • Old Man Barnacle's Reef
  • Oracle's Reef
  • Orange Cup Arch
  • Organ Pipe Reef
  • Osprey Reef
  • Outer Barrier Reef
  • Outer Wall
  • Overfall Shoals

P: 21 names

  • Palancar Reef
  • Pandora Bank
  • Parrotfish Patch
  • Parrotfish Reef No-Take Zone
  • Patchwork Reef
  • Pearl Diver Bank
  • Pearl String Reef
  • Pearler's Pass
  • Pearlmother Reef
  • Peninsula Reef
  • Petrel Bank
  • Pico Atoll
  • Pillar Coral Point
  • Pilot's Mistake
  • Pink Wall
  • Pipefish Meadow
  • Plate Coral Gardens
  • Porites Bommie
  • Position Doubtful Reef
  • Potato Cod Patch
  • Purser's Patch

Q: 1 name

  • Quartermaster Bank

R: 16 names

  • Rainbow Gardens
  • Rainbow Reef
  • Rangers' Reef
  • Reef of Lost Anchors
  • Reef of the Ninth Wave
  • Reef of Whispering Shells
  • Reported Breakers
  • Research Reef
  • Restoration Reef
  • Ribbon Reef
  • Ricordea Row
  • Ring of Reefs Marine Monument
  • Rip Current Cut
  • Rose Garden Reef
  • Rowley Shoals
  • Rush Hour

S: 67 names

  • Saddleback Reef
  • Sailfish Shelf
  • Saltspire Reef
  • Sand Cay Reef Reserve
  • Sand Chute
  • Sandfall Gully
  • Sapphire Lagoon Reserve
  • Sawtooth Reef
  • Schooner Bank
  • Sea Fan Wall
  • Sea Lark Reef
  • Sea Serpent's Coil
  • Sea Snake Spit
  • Sea Star Shallows
  • Sea Whip Ridge
  • Seagrass Lagoon Conservation Area
  • Seahorse Meadow
  • Second Chance Channel
  • Selkie's Ledge
  • Seven Fathom Bank
  • Seven Reefs Marine Sanctuary
  • Shadowfin Reef
  • Shallow Bommies
  • Shark Alley
  • Shark Nursery Lagoon
  • Sickle Reef
  • Silent Wall
  • Silvertip Seamount
  • Siren's Teeth
  • Skipper's Choice
  • Slack Water Pass
  • Smuggler's Cut
  • Snapper Shoal

S, continued

  • Snorkel Trail Marine Park
  • Soft Coral Canyon
  • Softie Shallows
  • Sombrero Reef
  • Sorrow's Shoal
  • Sounding Ground
  • South Spit Reef
  • Spanish Dancer Slope
  • Spare Room Reef
  • Spice Trader Heads
  • Split Rock
  • Sponge Alley
  • SPS Summit
  • Spur and Groove Reef
  • Squall Line Rocks
  • Squid Row
  • Staghorn Flats Conservation Area
  • Staghorn Reef
  • Staghorn Thicket
  • Stained Glass Reef
  • Star Coral Shelf
  • Starfall Reef
  • Stingray City
  • Stingray Flats
  • Stormglass Reef
  • Sun Coral Arch
  • Sunken Gardens Marine Park
  • Sunken Ring Reef
  • Sunrise Pinnacle
  • Sunset Wall
  • Surgeon's Reef
  • Surgeonfish Spur
  • Sweetlips Shelf
  • Swim-Through City

T: 111 names

  • Table Bommie
  • Table Coral Terrace
  • Tabletop Reef
  • Tang Gang Lagoon
  • Tarpon Tunnel
  • Ten Gallon Lagoon
  • Tender Reef
  • Tern Shoals Marine Reserve
  • Terraced Gardens
  • Thalassa's Crown
  • The Abyss
  • The Amphitheater
  • The Anemone Court
  • The Aquarium
  • The Azure Labyrinth
  • The Big Bommie
  • The Blue Cathedral
  • The Blue Hole
  • The Bone Gardens
  • The Bookends
  • The Cabbage Patch
  • The Canyons
  • The Cathedral
  • The Chimney
  • The Cleaning Station
  • The Conveyor Belt
  • The Coral Court
  • The Coral Nursery
  • The Coral Spires
  • The Coral Throne
  • The Corridor
  • The Deep End
  • The Dragon's Comb
  • The Drop-off
  • The Drowned Bells
  • The Drowned Crown
  • The Elevator

T, continued

  • The Emerald Maw
  • The Express
  • The Fish Bowl
  • The Fish Market
  • The Fissure
  • The Gate
  • The Glasswater Reef
  • The Keyhole
  • The Labyrinth
  • The Living Room Reef
  • The Maze
  • The Mermaid's Comb
  • The Needle
  • The Ninety Gallon Garden
  • The Office Atoll
  • The Opaline Shallows
  • The Overhang
  • The Pinnacle
  • The Plateau
  • The Playground
  • The Reef of Echoes
  • The Reef of Seven Bells
  • The Reef That Walks
  • The Refugium
  • The Roundabout
  • The Saddle
  • The Salt Box
  • The Salt King's Wall
  • The Sea Hag's Garden
  • The Shell Queen's Garden
  • The Singing Shoals
  • The Sleeping Tide
  • The Stepping Stones
  • The Sunken Choir
  • The Sunken Stair
  • The Thousand Lantern Reef
  • The Turtle God's Back

T, continued

  • The Undertow Gardens
  • The Washing Machine
  • The Weeping Wall
  • The Window
  • Thermocline Shelf
  • Thousand Bommies Marine Park
  • Thousand Foot Wall
  • Three Atolls Biosphere Reserve
  • Three Pinnacles
  • Three Sisters Reef
  • Thumb Reef
  • Tidecaller's Reef
  • Titan's Knuckles
  • Torch Garden
  • Trade Wind Pass
  • Trepang Bank
  • Trevally Run
  • Triggerfish Terrace
  • Triton's Gate
  • Tropic Bird Bank
  • Tubbataha Reef
  • Tube Sponge Terrace
  • Tuesday Breakers
  • Tuna Alley
  • Turquoise Lagoon
  • Turtle Grass Flats
  • Turtle Lagoon Sanctuary
  • Turtle Ledge
  • Turtler's Reef
  • Twelve Fathom Reef
  • Twenty Gallon Atoll
  • Twin Arches
  • Twin Bommies
  • Twin Crown Reef
  • Twin Passes Marine Park
  • Twin Pinnacles
  • Two Part Harmony Reef

U: 4 names

  • Uncharted Bank
  • Underwater Trail Reserve
  • Unicornfish Point
  • Urchin Alley

V: 2 names

  • Vase Sponge Wall
  • Vigia Bank

W: 19 names

  • Wahoo Wall
  • Wayfarer Pass
  • Whale Shark Reach
  • Whalebone Shoals
  • Whaler's Reef
  • Whispering Reef Nature Reserve
  • White Lace Reef
  • White Sand Reef
  • Whitetip Wall
  • Whitewater Breakers
  • Widow's Necklace
  • Windward Lagoon Marine Park
  • Windward Patch Reef
  • Wire Coral Wall
  • Wishbone Reef
  • Wobbegong Hole
  • Wrasse Wall
  • Wreckers' Shoal
  • Wyrmspine Reef

Z: 2 names

  • Zoa Garden
  • Zoanthid Alley