Ferdinand Magellan, James Cook, Amerigo Vespucci, Hernán Cortés, John Cabot, Marco Polo, and Vitus Bering are some of the most popular explorers who are known for their voyages on ships across the Pacific Ocean, North and South Pole, and the New World.
The Age of Exploration took place between the 15th and 17th centuries when explorers like Ferdinand Magellan, James Cook, Amerigo Vespucci, Vitus Bering, and Hernán Cortés set out from the west to search for a new world where the territories of their countries could be expanded. These inspired explorers led expeditions across the globe on their ships.
There are many explorers in the world as well as in the fantasy world. Their dedication and stories are inspiring. Whether their search was for new land, treasure or trade. They opened a whole new world for us to explore. It would be cool to have a name belonging to these pioneers. Check out the list and find out a perfect name for your little explorer.
Jorge Alvares (SpanishOrigin), meaning ‘gorgeous’, first European to land in China.
Freya Stark (Scandinavian Origin), meaning ‘noble’, had a strong desire to pursue maps and explore the remote deserts of the Middle East.
Samuel De Champlain (Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘God has heard’, is created for exploring and founding the city of Quebec.
John Cabot (English Origin), meaning ‘grace of God’, explored and colonized modern Canada.
Isabella Bird (Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘God is my oath’, was a famous European voyager who traveled from England to North America.
Laika the space dog (Arabic Origin), meaning ‘most beautiful', made history by being the first dog to explore the outer universe.
Sir Humphery Gilbert (German Origin), meaning ‘peace’, established St. Johns Newfoundland.
Gussie (Latin Origin), meaning ‘grand’, is the nickname of explorer Augusta Van Buren.
Davy Jones (Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘son of David’, Captain Davy Jones from the 'Pirates of The Caribbean'.
Juan Ponce de Leon (Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘gift of God’, was the first European to arrive in Florida.
Nemo(Latin Origin), meaning ‘nobody’, Captain Nemo is a sea voyager written by a French novelist.
Haddock (English Origin), meaning ‘fish seller’, Captain Haddock created by Herge is a cool name.
Frodo Baggins (English Origin), meaning ‘wise by experience’, is a character from 'The Hobbit'.
Hernando, Meaning: adventurer, explorer Origin: Spanish ~ View Detail
Newton Scamander (English Origin), meaning ‘settlement’, a popular character from' Harry Potter' makes a cool name.
Valentina Tereshkova (Latin Origin), meaning ‘healthy’, was the first female to travel in space.
Ferdinand Magellan(German Origin), meaning ‘courageous’. Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer is known for the first circumnavigation around the world. The voyage by Ferdinand Magellan was called ‘the greatest sea voyage’. This made the name Magellan extremely popular in the age of exploration.
Pedro Alvares Cabral(Latin Origin), meaning ‘stone’, was the first one to discover Brazil.
Guion Bluford (German Origin ), meaning ‘root’, was the first African American traveled to space.
Mathew Hansen (Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘gift of God’ is known for exploring the North Pole.
Jeanne Barret (Frean Origin), meaning ‘God is gracious’, became the first woman who went on a circumnavigation of the world.
Jacques Marquette (French Origin), meaning ‘supplanter’, discovered the Mississippi River with Louis Joliet, Canadian Explorer.
Sarat Chandra Das (Indian Origin), meaning ‘sage’, explored Tibet. If you are looking for explorer names, this name is really popular.
Addie (German Origin), meaning ‘sweet’, is the nickname of explorer Adeline.
Gulliver (French Origin), meaning ‘glutton’, explored a remote and unknown island and encounters different species on his journey.
Peter Minuit (Greek Origin), meaning ‘rock’, is credited with the exploration of the New World.
Sylvia Earle (Latin Origin), meaning ‘spirit of the wood’, is known for her expedition to the Indian Ocean. She is a sea explorer.
Joseph Rock (Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘to increase’, was a botanist who traveled in west China.
Nellie Bly (English Origin), meaning ‘light’, a journalist, traveled around the world in just 72 days at the age of 25.
Howard Carter (German Origin), meaning ‘high defender’, discovered Tutankhamun and an untouched pharaoh with a treasure in Egypt, Africa.
Colonel Percy Fawcett (French Origin), meaning ‘column of soldiers', was an explorer of ancient civilization in South America.
Eliza Scidmore(Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘pledge to god’, is known for exploring Glacier Bay and penning down Alaska's first guidebook.
Susie Carson Rijnhart (Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘lily’, is known for exploring Asia.
James Cook(Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘supplanter’. James Cook was a British explorer, navigator, and cartographer. James Cook is credited for the discovery of the Hawaiian island.
Smollet (English Origin), meaning ‘small head’, is from R.L. Stevenson's fictional treasure island.
Ahab (Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘brother of father’, Captain Ahab from Moby Dick is such a cool name for an explorer. He explored the sea in search of that specific whale.
Amerigo Vespucci(Italian Origin), meaning ‘home ruler’. Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian merchant and explorer. It is said America was named after him.
Emma Gatewood (German Origin), meaning ‘whole’, was the first woman to hike the 2050 mi (3300 km) Appalachian Trail at the age of 67.
Vasco Da Gama(Spanish Origin), meaning ‘crow’. Vasco Da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who is known for the discovery of an ocean route from Portugal to the east.
Gertrude Bell (German Origin), meaning ‘spear’, an Englishwoman who explored the Middle East, Persia, and Syria. She also helped in drawing the map/borders of Iraq.
Egeria (Greek Origin), meaning ‘water nymph’, was a fourth-century woman who traveled from the Mediterranean to the holy land and wrote her first travel memoir.
Santa (Italian Origin), meaning ‘holy’, Santa Claus adventures to the North Pole are popular among the kids.
Dora (Greek Origin), meaning ‘gift’, is the name of a famous child explorer, Dora the Explorer.
Yuri Gagarin (Russian Origin), meaning ‘farmer’, was the first man to travel to space.
Abel Tasman (Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘breath’, explored the region of Tasmania.
Vasco Nunez De Balboa (Spanish Origin), meaning ‘crow’, was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from its eastern shore.
Isaac Netero(Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘one who laughs’, is a character from 'Hunter X Hunter' manga, who travels around the world doing odd jobs while exploring treasures.
Francisco Vasquez de Cornado (Latin Origin), meaning ‘free man’, was the first European to explore the southwest of North America in Arizona and New Mexico.
Hernan Cortés( Latin Origin), meaning ‘gentle traveler’. Hernan Cortes was a Spanish explorer, who found Mexico and claimed it on the behalf of Spain in the 16th century on the expedition he led on his ship around the globe.
Henry Hudson(German Origin), meaning ‘home rule’, is credited with the discovery of the Hudson River.
Sir Ernest Shakleton (English Origin), meaning ‘serious’, set sail in the ship named ‘Endurance’ to explore the Antarctic, passing through the South Pole.
Christa McAuliffe(Greek Origin), meaning ‘chosen one’, was a space explorer.
Christopher Columbus(Greek Origin), meaning ‘Bearer Of Christ’, Christopher Columbus was a famous Italian explorer and navigator who 'discovered' the ‘New Land’, which is known as ‘America’.
Estevanico (English Origin), meaning ‘Stephan’, was the first black man to visit North America.
Kishen Singh(Indian Origin), meaning ‘Lord of Kisan’, was a native Indian explorer employed by England.
Boris Yegorov(Slavic Origin), meaning ‘battle’, was the first doctor to travel in space.
Adeline Van Buren (French Origin), meaning ‘noble’, sister to explorer Augusta Van Buren, accompanied her sister throughout the journey.
Bilbo Baggins (Spanish Origin), meaning ‘sword’, is a famous hobbit from Middle Earth.
Indiana Jones (American Origin), meaning ‘from the land of India', created by George Lucas, is a professor who is exploring the world for treasure.
Mani Singh Rawat (Indian Origin), meaning ‘gemstone’, helped in the exploration of Central India.
Bessie Coleman (English Origin), meaning ‘oath of God’, an African-American woman pilot, traveled to the US and performed aerial stunts for five years.
Louis Boyd (English Origin), meaning ‘famous warrior’, was the first woman to fly an airplane over the North Pole. She was a famous arctic explorer.
Hernando de Soto(Spanish Origin), meaning ‘to be courageous’, explored Florida and southeast America.
Augusta Van Buren (Latin Origin), meaning ‘great’, traveled across the continent of America on a motorcycle and was a woman pilot.
Alan Shephard(Irish Origin), meaning ‘handsome’, was the first American man to explore space.
Sir Martin Frobisher (Latin Origin), meaning ‘mars’, is known for his voyages to Greenland and Labrador.
Leif Ericson (Scandinavian Origin), meaning ‘hier’, was a famous Icelandic explorer who settled in the north of Canada.
Harriet Chalmers Adams (German Origin), meaning ‘home ruler’, explored South America and became the inaugural president of the Women's Society of Geographers.
Sebastian Cabot(Latin Origin), meaning ‘revered’, is known for making expeditions to Russia while searching for northwest passage across North America.
Bartolomeu Dias(Jewish origin), meaning ‘son of talmai’, is known for his explorations in Africa.
Fa Xian (Chinese Origin), meaning ‘send’, explored China, Nepal, and India.
Sir John Hawkins (Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘grace by God’, is known for his voyages to West Africa and South America.
Fridtjof Nansen (Scandinavian Origin), meaning ‘thief of peace’, is known for exploring Greenland.
David Livingstone (Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘beloved’, explored Africa.
Mary Seacole (Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘beloved’, was a British Jamaican nurse from England who traveled a lot.
Francis Drake(Latin Origin), meaning ‘free man’. Sir Francis Drake was a navigator known for his circumnavigation of the world.
Chandan Biswas, (Indian Origin), meaning ‘sandalwood’, is known for solo cycling expeditions in the Himalayas.
Ham(Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘hot’, was a chimp who made history by traveling to space.
Marco Polo(Italian Origin), meaning ‘warlike’. Marco Polo is known for his exploration of China and Asia. Marco Polo was also a known writer.
Cabeza De Vaca (Spanish Origin), meaning ‘big head’, Vaca was the first European to explore Texas and the Southwest.
Sally Ride (Hebrew Origin), meaning ‘princess’, is known for exploring space.
Tardis(Fictional Origin), meaning ‘time and dimension’, Tardis is the name of the time-traveling machine. Name your little one 'Tardis' inspired by Dr. Who.
Ranulph Fiennes (Scottish Origin), meaning ‘shield-wolf’, is a famous explorer of the North and South Pole.
Violet Cressy Marcks(Latin Origin), meaning ‘purple’, explored Africa and South America.
Tintin (Swedish Origin), meaning ‘giant iron’, from the ‘Adventures of the Tintin’, created by the Belgian Cartoonist Herge is a reporter who travels the world.
Amelia Earhart (Latin Origin), meaning ‘work’, first woman to fly solo over the Atlantic.
Jack (English Origin), meaning ‘God is gracious’, Captain Jack Sparrow is a legendary fictional sea voyager.
Edwin Aldrin (English Origin), meaning ‘rich friend’, traveled to the moon with Neil Armstrong.
