Kayak Name Generator

Kayaks get named the way small boats always have, just with more puns. The word itself is the main source: Sir Yaks-a-Lot, Yak to the Future, Yakety Yak and Big Yak Energy show up on hulls at every launch ramp, along with paddle and oar jokes (Paddle Me Crazy, Oar Inspiring, Rowmeo). Tandem kayaks have their own tradition of names like The Divorce Boat and Marriage Counselor, and bright rotomolded plastic boats are often named after their colour or food they resemble: Big Orange, Banana Boat, Lemon Drop, The Tupperware.

The other half of kayak names is quieter and comes from the water. Sea kayakers and touring paddlers like birds and weather (Kingfisher, Loon, Osprey, Zephyr, First Light), river words (Eddy, Riffle, Drift) and Inuit and Greenlandic words that honour the boat's origins, such as Qajaq, Nanuq and Siku. Whitewater boaters use the slang of the sport (Boof, Eddy Hopper, Drop Zone, Roll Model), while fishing kayaks borrow from bass-boat culture: Bass Assassin, Reel Yakker, Crate Expectations.

Keep a kayak name short. It usually goes on a small vinyl decal near the cockpit or bow, it may need to fit on a registration sticker, and you will say it every time someone at the put-in asks what you paddle.