Fish can be a great addition to any home as a decoration given how colorful and unique they are. A fish tank with the right combination of species and tank décor can make a wonderful addition to any room.
Fish can be more than just a conversation piece, however, and if you want your fish to become beloved pets then a good first step is naming them. There are many different ways to name your fish based on what they are and what you want their names to mean.
Names can be cool, unique or based on the appearance or species of your fish. Others are funny names based on puns, in-jokes or pop culture references, which is what this list is made of.
Funny Fish Names
For the sake of pure irony you could just name your pet fish, Fish. This can make for a funny little joke every time you pass your fish tank but the joke isn’t hysterical or very original.
You could name your pet fish after the sound it makes while breathing, Glub-Glub. The joke is mildly funny and the word itself is just fun to say.
Floaty is another name that is funny because it just describes what a fish is. Fish float, so it makes the name kind of funny.
Flotsam is a form of floating debris found in the ocean or along beaches. It can also be a funny name for a pet fish, especially if it likes to float near the top of the tank.
Of all the food puns on this list Sushi feels like the most obvious and the least entertaining. Still it is a solid pun and a good choice for a Japanese breed of fish like koi.
Flushy is a name for a pet fish owner with a darker sense of humor. It can be funny but don’t expect everyone to get the joke or laugh along.
Shelly can be a fun play on seashells or shelled sea animals such as turtles or crabs. Or it can just be a cute nickname for your pet fish.
Swimmy is a fun sounding name for a pet fish of any breed. It can work on a fast moving and graceful specimen or on a more slow and steady bottom feeder.
For a fish with stripes or other lined scale patterns Pinstripe would be a funny name for them. The name works best on a species that has a recognizable and steady stripe pattern, like clownfish.
Freckles works well if you have a spotted, speckled or otherwise multi-colored fish since they already look like they have freckles. Alternatively you could give the name to a single-color fish and be ironic.
Goober is a very funny term for a silly person or a mistake. It can also be a funny name for a particularly goofy looking pet fish.
Snorkel is both a funny word on its own and the name for a device used to breathe underwater. This can be a funny ironic name for a pet fish since they don’t need snorkels.
Gillbert is a funny play on a common name and how fish breathe. Not much to analyze here but it can be a cute joke.
Finnegan is a slightly less obvious name pun based on what fish use to swim. Like Gillbert the name does not have much to analyze.
Aquaman is a good name for a pet fish if you are a fan of DC Comics. Marvel fans can instead choose the name Sub-Mariner.
Anyone who loves Disney-Pixar movies will recognize the name Nemo from the movie ‘Finding Nemo’. This can make it a good, funny name for a clownfish.
Dory is another recognizable name from ‘Finding Nemo’ that works well for a pet fish. Especially since the character in the film is so funny.
Out of all the names in ‘Finding Nemo’ Marlin may be the funniest. This is because a Marlin is a form of massive, majestic swordfish making it the perfect name for a small, goofy-looking pet fish.
Magikarp is a funny video game references for any fans of the Pokemon series. Even without this context Magikarp is already a solid pun on the word ‘magical’.
The name Small Fry can refer to a small creature, like a pet fish. It can also be a slightly dark pun on fried fish if you enjoy that kind of humor.
Sir-Fin can be a fun name all on its own as it refers back to knightly titles. But it works even better as a sneaky play on the world surfin’.
Bubbles can be a fun name for a pet fish for a few different reasons. It can refer to the bubbles they make, a fish’s round shape or their large, bulging eyes.
Fans of classic movies will appreciate Red October as a fish name. If the fish is red the name will be more accurate but if the fish is any other color it will be more ironically funny.
Sticks is another fish name that takes a bit of thinking to understand the joke. If someone is having trouble point out that the pet is a fish, named sticks.
Caviar is a slightly obscure but still funny name for a pet fish. The name refers to a rare and expensive meal based on fish eggs.
Popsicle is a good nickname for any brightly colored, long-bodied or cold-water species of pet fish. The word itself is also just fun to say.
Sharkbait is yet another reference to Disney-Pixar’s ‘Finding Nemo’. Unlike the other names on this list Sharkbait is much funnier and can be funny without the context of the movie.
Taco is yet another pun on a fish-based food, in this case fish tacos. Consider this for any fish from the waters around Central and South America.
While Swedish fish aren’t made of real fish the name Swedish can still make a good pun. It is especially funny if you have a bright red fish.
Nugget can be a pun on how small and round a pet fish is. Or it can be yet another joke based on a fish-based food.
Chips might be the most direct fish pun on this list and the second funniest overall. After all fish and chips are a classic meal.
At first glance Meg might not seem like a funny name for a pet fish. But if you make it short for Megalodon, an extinct species of 40 foot long sharks, the name can become hilarious on a small aquarium fish.
On its own Squirt is already a funny way to call something small. On a pet that lives in water the name becomes even more hysterical as a pun.
If you are a fan of mythical creatures and cryptids then Nessie is a funny fish name for you. This is the nickname of Scotland’s legendary Loch Ness Monster.
Cuddles is an especially ironic nickname for a fish considering its one of the few pets you can’t cuddle. This makes it a hysterical name for a pet fish.
Fluffy is another in the long line of ironically funny names for a fish on this list. Although it can be funnier on a fish with large fins or spines that make it look fluffy.
Kitty is perhaps the most ironic nickname any pet fish could get considering cats a famous for eating fish. The name also works hilariously well as a name for a pet catfish.
Despite the controversies around Sea World Shamoo is still a funny name for a pet fish. If you have a fish with a black and white color scheme the name works even better.
If you’ve ever seen or heard of the movie Free Willy then the name Willy on a fish will be a good in-joke. Just make sure your pet fish doesn’t try leaping out of its tank afterwards.
Most aquarium fish are freshwater species which makes the name Salty even funnier. If you have a fish that needs saltwater or can survive in both the name becomes hilarious.
Scuba can be a funny ironic nickname for fish since most species do not breathe oxygen from air. Some species do need to surface for air and so the name will fit one of them better.
Captain Hook works on many levels as a reference to naval rank, the name of a famous fictional pirate and a nod to how fish are caught in the wild. In any of these cases the name is very entertaining.
Groupie plays on both the name of the grouper fish and the name for a rabid musician’s fan. If you have another fish named after a famous musician the name gets even funnier.
Most fish always look like they are puckering their faces so you could name them Puckerface. Their bug-eyed expression is funny enough but with the name it can become hysterical.
Even if you haven’t seen the classic gangster movies Codfather is a side-splitting pun. The name is best for any large or aggressive fish that dominates its tank.
If you have a particularly aggressive pet fish or just love irony then consider the name Man-Eater. For extra comedy try posting warning signs on the tank or dropping a water-proof Halloween decoration like a skull into the tank.
Fishcious has all the same potential irony as Man-Eater but with the added bonus that it’s a fish pun. This name can work for either an aggressive pet like a betta or a docile one like a tetra.
Carp A. Diem is a play on the Latin phrase ‘carpe diem’ meaning ‘seize the day’ made famous by the movie ‘Dead Poets Society’. This works both as a great pun and a reference to a great movie.
If you are politically active and enjoy fish puns then Sturgeon General is the name for you. As a gag you can post fake health warnings and guidelines on your fish tank, signed by the Sturgeon General themselves.
Chicken of the Tank is the most sophisticated and hysterical food pun on this list. The name refers to the classic brand of canned tuna, Chicken of the Sea. The name can also be changed t Chicken of the Aquarium and Chicken of the Bowl depending on where you keep your fish.
The Holy Mackerel is perhaps the crowning jewel of fish puns as it plays off the classic, surprised phrase. For extra humor keep the article at from front of the name and make sure people know this isn’t just any holy mackerel, it is ‘The’ Holy Mackerel.
Conclusion
This list provides several suggestions for pet fish names ranked by funniness from least to most hysterical. Each of these would be a humorous addition to any fish tank or aquarium population.
There are still many, many more joking names you could give to your pet fish which did not make this subjective list. If you are looking for or trying to come up with a name for your fish think about puns, pop culture references and ironic terms for your finned friends.
