Lake Names From Around The World To Inspire Your World Building

Georgia Stone
Feb 16, 2024 By Georgia Stone
Originally Published on Nov 25, 2020
Beautiful view from lakeside.
Age: 0-99
Read time: 6.8 Min

Word bBA fictional world can be as complex and intricate as creating a real-life world.

It should have its own unique places, societies, animals, religions, government and, importantly, lakes. To name those lakes, we are here to help!

How does a lake get its name? There are no official rules but a lake often gets its name depending on its features. For example, a lake with sand around its shore may be called ‘Sandy Lake’. This practice is so common that the most common lake name around the world is ‘Mud Lake'.

There are so many great lakes to learn about, Lake Victoria in Africa, for example, covers an area of somewhere around 68,800 sq km and is named after Queen Victoria herself. Whilst Carter Lake is the deepest lake in the US. According to a conducted study, Canada has the highest number of lakes out of all the countries in the world and, did you know that there are 11 types of lakes that have been officially recognised all over the world?

Now that you are clued up on your lake facts, let's commence our list of lake names, including the largest lake in the world and maybe even some funny lake names.

For more world building inspiration, check out these Russian city names and for more water-themed names have a look at these names that mean water for your baby.

Beautiful Lakes In Europe

Below are some of the most popular lakes in Europe.

1) Lake Albano, it’s a small volcanic crater lake.

2) Lake Balaton, is a freshwater lake in Hungary.

3) Lake Bracciano, is a volcanic origin lake in the Lazio region of Italy.

4) Lake Constance, is a large lake spreading across a region of 63 km.

5) Lake Geneva, is a deep lake on the northern side of the Alps.

6) Lake Inari, is the third largest lake in Finland. A truly beautiful lake.

7) Lake Ohrid, this lake is one of the deepest and one of the oldest lakes of Europe.

8) Lake Peipus, this lake is the largest trans-boundary lake in entire Europe.

9) Lake Pielinen, is the fourth largest lake in Finland.

10) Lake Prespa, there are two lakes called The Prespa Lakes, one is bigger while the other is comparatively smaller.

11) Lake Saimaa, is the largest lake in Finland. A cool lake name.

12) Lake Scutari, is the largest lake in Southern Europe. A great lakes name.

13) Lake Sevan, is the biggest freshwater body in Armenia and the Caucasus region.

14) Neusiedler Lake, is named after the town Neusiedl.

15) Tegernsee, is a freshwater lake in the Bavarian Alps in South Germany.

Wide view from lakeside.

Beautiful Lakes From North America And Canada

Below are some of the most popular lakes in North America and Canada

16) Lake Alamor, is a large man-made reservoir in the North-Western country of Plumas.

17) Beltzville Lake, to make way for this lake the village of Big Creek Valley was vacated in 1966. A cool lake name.

18) Chilko Lake, is a huge freshwater lake covering an area of 180 sq km.

19) Donner Lake, is a freshwater lake in the North-Eastern region of California.

20) Great Bear Lake, is the largest lake in the country of Canada.

21) Great Slave Lake, is the second-largest lake in North Western Canada.

22) Lake Havasu, is a large man-made reservoir having a maximum depth of 90 ft (ca. 27 m).

23) Lake Huron, is one of the five great lakes of the US.

24) Lake Michigan, is the second largest lake in America by volume.

25) Lake Moraine, is a glacier made and fed lake in the Banff National Park.

26) New Melons Lake, is a man-made reservoir on the Stanislaus River.

27) Nitinat Lake, is a large saltwater lake. A great lake name.

28) Lake Superior, is the largest lake of the Great Lakes of Northern America.

29) Lake Tahoe, is a huge freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

30) Lake Winnipeg, is a very large but relatively shallow lake.

Beautiful Lakes From South America

Below are some of the most popular lakes in South America.

31) Cabra Corral Reservoir, is one of the largest freshwater reservoirs in Northern Argentina.

32) Guatapé Reservoir, is a huge man-made reservoir that helps generate electricity in the region.

33) Lago Argentino, it is a lake in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz.

34) Laguna Colorado, is a shallow saltwater lake. A cool lake name.

35) Lago da Conceição, it is a huge lake surrounded by huge forested hills.

36) Lago Gutiérrez, is a glacial origin and glacier-fed lake.

37) Lake Parón, is the largest lake in the Peruvian Andes.

38) Lake Pehoé, it is located in the Torres Del Paine National Park.

39) Lago Roca, is located in the southern part of the Los Glaciares National Park.

40) Laguna Tebinquiche, is a salty lagoon lake with some flat salts in between.

41) Lake Tota, is the largest lake in Colombia. A cool lake name.

42) Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America & the highest lake in the world.

43) Lake Villarrica, is a major tourist attraction having all kinds of water sports.

44) Nahuel Huapi Lake, is a huge fresh water lake and also a major tourist attraction.

45) Quilotoa Lake, is a volcanic crater lake and covers a three km wide region.

Lakeside view of clean lake.

Beautiful Lakes From Oceania

Below are the most popular water lakes in Oceania.

46) Lake Alexandrina, this lake adjoins to a smaller lake called Lake Albert.

47) Lake Amadeus, is a large saltwater lake, it lies in the Northern Territory of Australia.

48) Lake Benmore, is New Zealand’s largest man-made lake.

49) Lake Bellfield, it is located near Halls Gap.

50) Lake Frome, is a large Endorheic Lake.

51) Lake Hawea, is New Zealand’s ninth largest lake.

52) Lake Letas, is the largest lake in Vanuatu.

53) Lake Manapouri, is located in the Southern Island of New Zealand.

54) Lake Pukaki, is the largest lake amongst the three roughly parallel Alpine Lakes.

55) Lake Rotorua, is the second largest lake in the Northern Island of New Zealand.

56) Lake Tarawera, is the largest lake amongst a series of lakes in the Northern Island of New Zealand.

57) Lake Taupo, is located in the caldera of the Taupo Volcano.

58) Lake Wakatipu, is an inland lake in the Southern Island of New Zealand.

59) Lake Wairarapa, is located in the south end of the Northern Island of New Zealand.

60) Lake Wanaka, is New Zealand’s fourth largest lake. One of the best lake names.

Beautiful Lakes From Asia

Below are some of the most popular lakes in Asia.

61) Attabad Lake, got created as a result of the Attabad disaster.

62) Baikal Lake, is a large lake present in the mountainous region of Siberia. It is the deepest lake in the world. It is also the largest freshwater lake in the world.

63) Batur Lake, a volcanic crater lake in Bali.

64) Dal Lake, is located in Srinagar.

65) Dead Sea, is the saltiest lake in the entire world, it is located in the Jordan Rift Valley. despite having sea in its name this is technically a lake.

66) Khuvsgul Lake, is the largest freshwater lake in the whole of Mongolia by volume.

67) Lar Lake, is an artificial lake or reservoir created as a result of Lar Dam.

68) Lake Phewa, is a freshwater lake in Nepal.

69) Namtso Lake, is a large mountain lake covering an area of 1,920 sq km.

70) Pangong Tso Lake, is an endorheic lake, it is situated at an elevation of 4,225 m.

71) Phoksundo Lake, is a freshwater ‘alpine oligotrophic lake’.

72) Tilicho Lake, is located in the Manang district of Nepal.

73) Tso Moriri Lake, is also called a mountain lake.

74) Satpara Lake, is a natural and beautiful freshwater lake.

75) Song Kol Lake, is an alpine lake located in the North of Naryn Province.

Kidadl has lots of great names articles to inspire you. If you liked our suggestions for lake names then why not take a look at these medieval last names for your world building, or for something different take a look at these geographical baby names.

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Written by Georgia Stone

Bachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art

Georgia Stone picture

Georgia StoneBachelor of Arts specializing in French with Film Studies, Bachelor of Arts (Year Abroad) specializing in Literature, History, Language, Media, and Art

Georgia is an experienced Content Manager with a degree in French and Film Studies from King's College London and Bachelors degree from Université Paris-Sorbonne. Her passion for exploring the world and experiencing different cultures was sparked during her childhood in Switzerland and her year abroad in Paris. In her spare time, Georgia enjoys using London's excellent travel connections to explore further afield.

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