Jason North, 42, of Macclesfield, Cheshire, was on holiday on Gower with his wife and two children when he drowned on Saturday.
South Wales Police said he entered the water at Three Cliffs Bay because he feared his children were in difficulty.
His death is not being treated as suspicious.
Mr North was taken to Swansea's Morriston Hospital, where he later died. His death is being investigated on behalf of the coroner.
A number of people who were on the beach helped to get his children, a boy and a girl, out of the water.
A man who died after getting into difficulty off the Swansea coast entered the water because he thought his children were in danger.