According to Genesis, Noah had three sons when the Ark story begins: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
Genesis 6:10 names these three sons before describing the divine instructions for building the ark. Later, Genesis 7:13 says Noah entered the ark with his wife, his sons, and his sons’ wives. Thus the account presents Noah’s household as eight people in total: Noah, his wife, their three sons, and three daughters-in-law.
The three names are important because the post-flood chapters trace nations and genealogies through them. Genesis 9–10 continues with their family lines after the waters recede. The text does not describe Noah’s sons as children during the flood; they are presented as adults with wives.
Readers sometimes remember only the sons’ names or confuse them with later descendants. The number asked for in the opening Ark narrative is three, and the named sons are Shem, Ham, and Japheth.