Name River Origin, meaning, pronunciation & popularity of the name River

River is a ♀ girl’s name and a ♂ boy’s name. River thus belongs to the gender-neutral unisex names.

What is the origin of the name River?

The name River derived from the English word for a flowing body of water.

What does the name River mean?

River means “river”.

River as a beautiful first name

Since the name River derives from the English word for “river”, it is gender-neutral. In the USA, however, it is more often used as a male name. River has a beautiful sound and evokes associations with a smooth flowing river - making it a nice first name for your child. Possible middle names for a son named River are River Ben, River Steven, River Jaron, or River Timothy.

People named River

• River Phoenix (1970 - 1993) was an aspiring young actor who died from a drug overdose. He is the older brother of Hollywood star Joaquin Phoenix. He became known, among other things, for his role as a young Indiana Jones in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. He died during the filming of the movie “Interview with a Vampire”, his role was then recast with Christian Slater, who donated his salary as a tribute to River to an animal welfare organization very supported by him. Both Joaquin and one of the sisters named their sons after River to honor his memory.
• Actress Megan Fox’s son, born in 2016, is named Journey River Green. Together with her ex Brian Austin Green, Fox has three sons together.

River in pop culture

• Virgin River is a Netflix produced series centered around main character Melinda Monroe. Melinda, played by Alexandra Breckenridge, moves to the small town of Virgin River to escape her past. In the series, the nurse and midwife must settle into life in the small town.
• River Flows in You is a piano piece by South Korean pianist Yiruma. He released the song in 2001 and it became a commercial mega success. This was mainly related to the modification of the piece for the “Twilight Saga”, which also made the original popular. The melody of the track has since been reused by other artists and performers for their songs.
• Mystic River was released in 2003 and is a literary adaptation of the novel of the same name by Dennis Lehane. It was directed by Clint Eastwood. The story revolves around three childhood friends who meet again as adults and are confronted with their violent pasts through tragic events.
• Another movie is Wind River, a thriller by Taylor Sheridan. It was released in 2017 and tells the story of a white man who is employed as a ranger in a Native American Reservoir. The movie deals with the great violence that is exercised onto the Native American inhabitants and was well reviewed by the audience.

Pronunciation of River

Variants of the name River

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