An ultrasound probe has an acoustic window (10) or lens (20) through which ultrasound is transmitted and received by a transducer array (30) located behind the lens or window inside a probe enclosure. The external, patient-contacting surface (24) of the acoustic lens or window is textured. The texturing of the surface of the lens or window better retains gel spread over the lens or window for an ultrasound procedure, reduces reverberation artifacts, and diminishes the appearance of scratches on the lens or window.