Fish That Start With S

44 fish Animals and nature Checked 9 Oct 2026

Here are 44 fish that start with S, each with a one-line description so you can tell what it is. The best-known ones come first, then the full list in A to Z order.

S is the biggest fish letter, with 44 names. Salmon, shark, sardine and sole are easy for anyone, and the seahorse, with its horse-like head and curled tail, delights younger readers.

Fast swimmers stand out: the swordfish and sailfish both have long, pointed upper jaws. The stingray carries barbed spines near its tail. Sharks appear under several names, such as sand tiger and sand shark. The sturgeon is a large, ancient-looking fish prized for its roe, and the swordtail is an aquarium fish whose male has a sword-shaped tail.

Fish starting with S: 44
Best known: sole, shark
Longest name: sergeant major

Best-known fish that start with S

The ones most people will recognise, good for school lists, quizzes and games.

sole
shark
salmon
sturgeon
snapper
stingray
swordfish
sardine
seahorse
sailfish
swordtail

All fish that start with S

#	Name	What it is
1	sailfish	large pelagic game fish having an elongated upper jaw and long dorsal fin that resembles a sail
2	salmon	any of various large food and game fishes of northern waters; usually migrate from salt to fresh water to spawn
3	sand dab	small food fishes of the Pacific coast of North America
4	sand eel	very small silvery eellike schooling fishes that burrow into sandy beaches
5	sand lance	very small silvery eellike schooling fishes that burrow into sandy beaches
6	sand shark	shallow-water shark with sharp jagged teeth found on both sides of Atlantic; sometimes dangerous to swimmers
7	sand tiger	shallow-water shark with sharp jagged teeth found on both sides of Atlantic; sometimes dangerous to swimmers
8	sardine	any of various small edible herring or related food fishes frequently canned
9	sawfish	primitive ray with sharp teeth on each edge of a long flattened snout
10	scad	any of a number of fishes of the family Carangidae
11	scorpion fish	marine fishes having a tapering body with an armored head and venomous spines
12	sculpin	any of numerous spiny large-headed usually scaleless scorpaenoid fishes with broad mouths
13	sea bass	any of various food and sport fishes of the Atlantic coast of the United States having an elongated body and long spiny...
14	sea robin	American gurnard; mostly found in bays and estuaries
15	sea trout	any of several sciaenid fishes of North American coastal waters
16	seahorse	small fish with horse-like heads bent sharply downward and curled tails; swim in upright position
17	sergeant major	large blue-grey black-striped damselfish; nearly worldwide
18	shad	herring-like food fishes that migrate from the sea to fresh water to spawn
19	shark	any of numerous elongate mostly marine carnivorous fishes with heterocercal caudal fins and tough skin covered with...
20	sheepshead	large (up to 20 lbs) food fish of the eastern coast of the United States and Mexico
21	shiner	important food fish of the northern Atlantic and Mediterranean
22	silver salmon	small salmon of northern Pacific coasts and the Great Lakes
23	skate	large edible rays having a long snout and thick tail with pectoral fins continuous with the head
24	skipjack	medium-sized tuna-like food fish of warm Atlantic and Pacific waters; less valued than tuna
25	smallmouth	a variety of black bass; the angle of the jaw falls below the eye
26	smelt	small trout-like silvery marine or freshwater food fishes of cold northern waters
27	snapper	any of several large sharp-toothed marine food and sport fishes of the family Lutjanidae of mainly tropical coastal...
28	snook	large tropical American food and game fishes of coastal and brackish waters; resemble pike
29	sockeye	small salmon with red flesh
30	soldier-fish	the larger squirrelfishes
31	sole	right-eyed flatfish; many are valued as food; most common in warm seas especially European
32	spearfish	any of several large vigorous pelagic fishes resembling sailfishes but with first dorsal fin much reduced
33	sprat	small herring processed like a sardine
34	stargazer	heavy-bodied marine bottom-lurkers with eyes on flattened top of the head
35	stickleback	small (2-4 inches) pugnacious mostly scaleless spiny-backed fishes of northern fresh and littoral waters having...
36	stingray	large venomous ray with large barbed spines near the base of a thin whiplike tail capable of inflicting severe wounds
37	striped bass	marine food and game fish with dark longitudinal stripes
38	striped marlin	Pacific food and game fish marked with dark blue vertical stripes
39	striped mullet	most important commercial mullet in eastern United States
40	sturgeon	large primitive fishes valued for their flesh and roe; widely distributed in the North Temperate Zone
41	sucker	mostly North American freshwater fishes with a thick-lipped mouth for feeding by suction; related to carps
42	sunfish	small carnivorous freshwater percoid fishes of North America usually having a laterally compressed body and metallic...
43	swordfish	large toothless marine food fish with a long swordlike upper jaw
44	swordtail	aquarium fish whose male has a sword-shaped tail

Short fish with S

sole
shark
skate
smelt
shad
snook
scad
sprat

Filter all 44 fish that start with S

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Questions people ask

How many fish start with S?

This list has 44 fish starting with S, from well-known ones like sole, shark, salmon to rarer kinds.

What fish start with S?

Well-known examples are sole, shark, salmon, sturgeon, snapper, stingray, swordfish, sardine.

Source: Princeton WordNet, a public dictionary database, reviewed by our editors to keep only clear, real members of the list. Meanings are short dictionary glosses.

See every letter on one page: fish A to Z