Hey, amazing writer! This is another post in honor of Halloween. This past week, I became obsessed with researching creepy names, and you can use this for inspiration when naming characters.

These aren’t necessarily ugly names. In fact, many of them sound lovely. They’re just names with meanings that are scary, sad, or unflattering. Some might be good mean girl names, baby devil names, or just names for a story with a demon aesthetic. If you write badass heroes or heroines, the edgy girl names or dark names for boys might be perfect for your story, too. (You might also find goth usernames, if that’s your thing!)

I’ve known many sweet and wonderful people whose names are in this post, so these aren’t cursed names in real life! This is only for fictional inspiration. I’m separating these as feminine or masculine based on historical usage, but obviously, you can use them however you want for female, male, or non-binary characters.

Names That Mean Destroyer

You could also use one of these if you’re looking for names that mean chaos.

Abbadon (Hebrew) – destruction. Male.

Agrona (English) – the Welsh goddess of war, carnage, and slaughter. Female.

Baasha (Arabic) – one who lays waste. Male.

Buster (English) – literally, someone who breaks things. Male.

Enyo (Greek) – the Greek goddess of war and destruction. (The names of dark goddesses and gods can be great inspiration.) Female.

Gideon (Hebrew) – the great destroyer. Male.

Kelly (Gaelic) – war; aggression. Sometimes used as a masculine name. Female.

Lorelei (German) – a siren that lured sailors to crash their ships against the rocks. A modern version is Lurleen, also spelled Lurlene. Female.

Morrigan (Gaelic) – goddess of battle and death. Female.

Miles (Greek) – destroyer. Milo is a variation. In Latin, this name simply means “soldier.” Male.

Quella (English) – to kill. Female.

Sloane (Gaelic) – raider. Also used as a masculine name. Female.

Names That Mean Sadness

Acheron (Greek) – river of sorrow. Male.

Achlys (Greek) – death mist. Achlys was the personification of misery, portrayed as being covered in dirt, blood, and tears. Female.

Adaliah (Hebrew) – one that draws water; poverty; cloud; death. Female.

Adyna (Welsh) – wretched. Female.

Amos (Hebrew) – burden or burdened. Male.

Annemie (Dutch) – bitter grace. Has the bonus negative connotation of sounding like “enemy.” Female.

Azazel (Hebrew) – scapegoat. Male.

Benoni (Hebrew) – son of my sorrow. Male.

Bethany (Aramaic) – a place name that may mean “house of figs,” but may also mean “house of affliction” or “house of poverty.” Female.

Brennan (Gaelic) – sorrow; weeping. As an English name, this can also mean “to brand.” Male.

Dariga (Kazakh) – derived from an expression of surprise that means “what a pity!” or “alas!” Female.

Deirdre (Gaelic) – sorrowful. Female.

Doiriann (Gaelic) – sullen or melancholy. Doreen is a variation. Female.

Dolores (Latin) – sorrows. Lola can be a shortened version of Dolores. Female.

Drystan (Welsh) – sadness and tumult. Male.

Jabez (Hebrew) – bringing sorrow; born in pain. Male.

Mary (Hebrew) – bitter. Mara, Maria, and Molly are all variations. Female.

Megaera (Greek) – grudge; the jealous one. In mythology, Megaera punished people for breaking oaths and being unfaithful to their spouses. Female.

Nadir (Arabic) – in English, this word means the lowest point. Male.

Rue (English) – regret. Female.

Tristan (French) – sad. Tristram is a variation. In Welsh, Tristan means “noise” or “outcry.” Male.

Names That Mean Lost

Abertha (Welsh) – sacrifice. Female.

Azubah (Hebrew) – forsaken. Female.

Cochiti (Spanish) – forgotten. Female.

Ijaya (Sanskrit) – sacrifice. Female.

Fogarty (Gaelic) – banished or exiled. Male.

Gershom (Hebrew) – exiled. Male.

Hokee (Native American: Navajo) – abandoned. Male.

Letha (Greek) – forgetful, or forgotten. Female.

Vara (Greek) – stranger. Female.

Names That Mean Blood

Empusa (Greek) – Empusa was shapeshifting demon in Greek mythology who drank young men’s blood and ate their flesh while they were sleeping. Female.

Eztli (Native American: Nahuatl) – blood. Female.

Ker (Greek) – the name of a mythological spirit attracted to violent or bloody deaths. Female.

Lamia (Greek) – the name of a child-eating demon, sometimes referred to as a vampire. Female.

I couldn’t find male names meaning blood. If you come across one, let me know!

Names That Mean Shadow

Chaaya (Hindu) – shadow. Female.

Erebus (Greek) – god of shadows. Erembour may be a variation. Male.

Senka (Slavic) – shadow. Female.

Zalmon (Hebrew) – shadow; shady. Male.

Do you look at name meanings when you name your characters? Does your own name meaning fit you, or not so much? Let us know in the comments! Thanks so much for reading, and happy writing!

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