The National Aquarium has announced the winners of its Baltimore neighborhood sea turtle naming contest.
The aquarium expressed gratitude to the Baltimore community for the nearly 500 submissions it received since it announced the contest in November. They helped Aquarium Animal Rescue staff name the more than three-dozen sea turtles that arrived from New England in December 2025.
The top five winning neighborhoods in the contest, in order, were:
- Canton
- Hamilton
- Hampden
- Patterson Park
- Fell’s Point
In addition to the five turtles now bearing the names of these beloved neighborhoods, there are little shelled, flippered friends recuperating at the aquarium with names like Mount Vernon, Jonestown, Little Italy, Brooklyn, Curtis Bay, and Cherry Hill.
Nearly 100 distinct neighborhoods received votes during the contest, which ended on Dec. 1, 2025, right before the turtles arrived. Earlier in the year, seals that had been rescued and rehabilitated were named for the Waverly, Evergreen, Guilford, Arcadia, Montebello, Woodberry, and Remington neighborhoods, in keeping with the year’s theme.
The sea turtles needed care after being cold-stunned in the waters up north, when water temperature plummets quickly in the fall. The condition is like hypothermia in mammals and causes confusion and respiratory ailments for the turtles. They can get disoriented and knocked off their course, resulting in injuries from boat strikes and predators. In total, 40 arrived at the National Aquarium’s rehabilitation space in December, and 39 survived the transition. One died from injuries it sustained before its rescue in New England.
Tiny “Little Italy,” one of this season’s smallest turtles, lost a sizeable chunk of its carapace from injury. Meanwhile, tenacious “Mount Vernon” and “Patterson Park” each have a missing flipper due to injury or infection. The sea turtles are recuperating off-exhibit in an expansive rehab pool within Pier 4 at the National Aquarium, and staff say they embody the spunk and grit of the diverse, unique Baltimore neighborhoods after which they are named.
“These ‘Baltimore’ turtles are certainly keeping us busy,” said Margot Madden, Animal Rescue manager, in a statement. “We’re grateful to our Baltimore community for their enthusiasm and support for the work we do here on behalf of these endangered species.”
Every year, hundreds of mostly juvenile sea turtles are rescued from the shores of Cape Cod, Massachusetts by volunteers with Massachusetts Audubon Society. The turtles are triaged and distributed to places like the National Aquarium, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN). Sea turtles are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act, but money to support rescue and rehabilitation is limited. There is bipartisan legislation to better support such work in Congress, called the Sea Turtle Rescue Assistance and Rehabilitation Act.
The 39 turtles – 20 green sea turtles and 19 Kemp’s ridley turtles – get round-the-clock care and attention from the National Aquarium’s Animal Health and Animal Rescue teams. The goal is to return them to their ocean homes as quickly, but as safely as possible. The healthiest turtles are currently scheduled for release as soon as mid-February.
