Revisiting the Terminology of Offshore Groundwater: From “Freshened” Process Implications to the “Relatively Fresh” State

Vast sub‐seafloor groundwater reserves are increasingly viewed as strategic resources for a water‐scarce world. However, the emerging standard terminology—“Offshore Freshened Groundwater” (OFG)—presents a semantic challenge for the hydrogeological community. By employing the term “freshened,” this descriptor may be interpreted by non‐specialists or policymakers as implying ongoing desalination or renewability, even when the system is stagnant or salinizing. This Commentary argues that accurate nomenclature is a prerequisite for sound resource assessment. Because the exploitation of most offshore reserves constitutes the mining of a finite legacy resource, terminology must reflect their true physical state rather than an assumed trajectory. The process‐neutral term Offshore Relatively Fresh Groundwater (ORFG) is proposed to align scientific classification with the physical state of these reserves, ensuring they are managed through strategies appropriate for their specific geological contexts. ORFG encompasses groundwater with salinity below seawater (∼35 g/L), including both brackish (1–10 g/L) and fresh (<1 g/L) endmembers, while remaining agnostic about emplacement mechanism.