The names of Atolls, islands and coral reefs of the Maldives have a curios mixture of spellings, resulting in many simplifications to make names more readable. In some cases, original meanings of words have also been changed. For instance, the word "Atoll" is the only word in the English Language of Dhivehi origin, coming from the word "Atholhu. The Oxford definition of an "Atoll" is a "ring-shaped coral reef enclosing a lagoon". However, an Atholhu is an administrative district, sometimes covering more, or less, than one "Atoll".

Different maps of the Maldives rarely have the same spellings. On some, Ihavandhippolhu Atoll, at the very north of the Maldives, is sometimes named Ihavandiffulhu Atoll. The original meaning of "polhu" is portion, and refers to the upper portion of islands in the Maldives; whereas "fulhu" is the name of a person. Felidhe-Atholhu is the old name of the Atoll now called Felidhoo Atoll. It is sometimes abbreviated to Felidhu Atoll. Likewise Nilandhe-Atholhu is an old Atoll name which is also called Nilandhoo Atoll. Huvadhoo Atoll in the south is sometimes named on maps as Suvadiva Atoll, which is another more recent name and Goidhoo Atoll is also called Horsburgh Atoll.

Island names can often be traced to a particular characteristic of an island. For instance, Thundufushi is an island in Ari Atoll. "Thundu" means edge, or point, and this island lays on the eastern point of the reef. Other island names refer to an incident that may have occurred there. "Dhehasanu Lonu Bui Huraa", is an island in Ari Atoll and is an old name meaning "two (men named Hasan) drink salt water island". Other islands and reefs are old words of Sinhalese origin. Names like Lankafinolhu, Vihamanaafushi and Furanafushi are examples.

Reef names, too, can have interesting origins. Himmiyafaru, in north west Male' Atoll, can tell fishermen much about the reef. "Himmi" means the gap between two objects and in this case the reef is divided into two parts by water.. Another reef with a story is Koonimasfaru, in the north of Male' Atoll. "Koonimasfaru means spoiled fish reef. It is widely believed that a whale was caught inside the lagoon and became stranded and died when the tide receded. The resultant smell is said to have drifted across to the island of Gaafaru, thus giving the reef its name.

Many islands, like Vihamanaafushi, Velassaru, and Medhu Finolhu, have adopted new names since the arrival of tourism. They are now called Kurumba Village, Laguna Beach Resort and Reethi Rah Resort respectively, but many locals still call them by their traditional names.

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