The river Laman was a stream near the mouth of the Red Sea where Lehi camped early in his family’s flight from Jerusalem. After traveling three days in the wilderness, Lehi pitched his tent in a valley beside a river of water, built an altar of stones, and made an offering to the Lord (1 Nephi 2:6-9). He named the river Laman after his eldest son; it emptied into the Red Sea, and the valley lay in the borders near the mouth of it. Seeing the waters run into the Red Sea, Lehi told Laman he wished his son might be like the river, “continually running into the fountain of all righteousness” (1 Nephi 2:9).
The family later took their tents and departed into the wilderness, crossing the river Laman as they continued their travels (1 Nephi 16:12).