Trying to come up with a name for your baby? Here are some names with dark meanings that you might want to steer clear of.
What you can read in this article?
- Names with dark meanings for baby girls
- Names with dark meanings for baby boys
Photo by Heiner from Pexels
There is a lot to consider when it comes to choosing the right name for your baby. It’s not just the name, but the meaning behind it as well.
Trying to find the balance between too popular and too unique is not easy for parents. Not all popular and unique names have a significant story behind them. A lot of them have beautiful meanings, yet there are also some that mean negative things.
Some names might sound pleasant or cute, but when you find out what they mean, will make you shiver and disregard it as a potential moniker for your little one. And not to sound ominous or anything, but why would you want to name your child after something that has a negative connotation?
In this article, we dug out some names with dark meanings and the reason why you should avoid them.
Baby names with dark meanings for girls
Finding your baby girl’s name is hard, as you want it to sound feminine and unique. Through searching, you may stumble upon these names listed here. And while they have a good ring to the ear, their dark meanings might make you reconsider before giving your daughter that name.
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Achlys
Achlys is a Greek name that means death mist or mist over the eyes at death. Achlys was a figure in Greek mythology who is said to be the personification of misery.
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Claudia
You might want to avoid this feminine of Claudius in Latin as it means “lame” or “disabled”.
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Deirdre
This Celtic name often has “of the sorrows” attached to it because of the tragic character in Irish legend.
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Dolores
This Spanish name means “lady of sorrows”
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Emily
Emily is an English version of the Latin Aemilila, which comes from the word for “rival.”
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Hala
Hala is a weather demon who drives hail and high winds into fields of crops, consuming them.
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Hecate
Hecate is an ancient Greek figure. She is the goddess of witchcraft and magic and is often considered as an evil figure.
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Jezebel
Used as a word to shame women, this Hebrew name actually means “an impure follower of idols”.
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Leah
The name Leah has several different meanings in many languages, but in American or Hebrew-speaking families, this name means “tired or weary,”
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Lilin
Lilin is a Hebrew name and means night spirits. In ancient Mesopotamian religion, Lilin was an evil demon of the night.
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Lilith
It’s close to the pretty flower name Lily but it turns out that this Hebrew name means “night monster” or “ghost”.
Photo by Isabella and Zsa Fischer on Unsplash
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Loralei
A German name with another pretty-sounding name, but deriving from Lurlei which means “ambush cliff.” Loralei actually means “she whose singing lures men to destruction.”
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Mallory
It is a French name which means “unfortunate” or “ill-fated.”
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Malvolia
It is a feminine version of Shakespeare’s Malvolio that means “ill will.”
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Mara
The name Mara is connected to the Biblical moniker “Naomi,” which means “pleasant.” However, Mara is a divine figure of destruction in Hinduism and Buddhism.
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Molly
It means bitter.
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Narcissa
The Narcissa flower is more commonly known as a daffodil but it also links to the word narcissistic, which means being obsessed with yourself.
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Nerezza
This Italian name means “darkness.”
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Pandora
In Greek mythology, Pandora is given a box containing all of the evils of the world and was forbidden to open it. Unfortunately, she was curious so she lifted the lid and unleashed evil on humans.
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Persephone
Persephone comes from the Greek words that mean to destroy and murder. Ironically, Persephone is also the Goddess of Spring in Greek mythology.
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Rebecca
Rebecca is a biblical figure that is normally looked up to. While Rebecca is one of the main characters in the bible, the name actually means “to bind”, “to tie” or “snare.”
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Samara
After The Ring movies, the vengeful female spirit was named Samara.
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Sloane
It has Irish origins and unfortunately means “raider.”
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Thana
In Arabic, Thana means death.
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Usha
Usha is a Hindu name that means dawn. In Hindi mythology, Usha is a demon princess.
READ MORE:
101 most popular names for boys and girls in the Philippines
Baby names with dark meanings for boys
For baby boys, a manly and strong name is what most parents aim for. However, these strong names may also have a bad meaning behind it. Check out this list below:
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Brennan
When used as a first name, this Gaelic name means “sorrow” or “sadness.”
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Byron
Byron came from the Old English word “byre”, which means “cowshed.”
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Cain
The name Cain is a boy’s name of Hebrew origin that means”spear; possessed.”
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Cameron
A Scottish name that means “crooked nose.”
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Cessair
In Irish legend, Cessair was the granddaughter of Noah and died in the flood. It means “sorrow” or “affliction.”
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Cole
The name Cole is a unique name that comes from Middle English origins. It is trendy among Americans and has the meaning of being dusky or dark.
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Dagon
Dagon is of unknown meaning but may mean fish or cloudy. In Philistine mythology, Dagon was a sea devil. There is some evidence that suggests Dagon may have been seen as part man, part fish, essentially a merman.
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Damien
Damien is a name that’s Greek in origin and means to tame or subdue.
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Delaney
The name comes from an Old French culture and holds the meaning of being black defiance or dark defiance.
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Eligor
Eligor is a variant of Abigor, a Hebrew name that means unwilling.
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Forneus
Forneus came from the Latin word fornus, which means oven. In Forneus’ most frequent form, he is seen as a sea monster. However, he is a demon who imparts the knowledge of understanding and language and can sometimes take the form of a man.
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Jolon
A Native American name that translates to “valley of the dead oaks.”
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Kennedy
This unisex name means “deformed head.”
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Leviathan
Leviathan is a Hebrew name that means twisted in folds. Leviathan is said to be one of the Seven Princes of Hell and associated with the word envy.
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Lucifer
Lucifer means bringing light in Latin and was initially used to refer to Venus, the morning star. The star’s movement was Satan’s fall from heaven so Lucifer became the devil. One of the worst baby names with dark meanings.
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Morry
This name is a shortened version of the name Maurice. It comes from the Latin name Mauritius and the word Maurus. It means dusky.
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Mort
Although it might be short term for Mortimer, this name means “dead” in Old French.
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Nali
Náli is an Old Norse name that means dead person. Obviously, one of the names with very dark meanings.
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Narfi
The name Narfi is Icelandic, and it means narrow. Some believe that the Na element of a name is from the Old Norse nár, which means corpse.
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Phobus
This name means “fear,” similar to the word phobia.
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Samael
A Hebrew name that means “venom of God” or “blindness of God.”
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Seth
Seth is Greek for dazzle and Hebrew for appointed. Seth was the Greek form of Set that means the god of storms, violence, and disorder.
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Sullivan
Originated from the Gaelic culture and comes from the name O’Súilleabháin. The name Sullivan has the meaning of being dark-eyed.
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Teivel
This name is the Yiddish word for “devil”
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Tristan
This Celtic name has several meanings, one of them is “sorrowful” or “sad.”
Although these names may have bad or dark meanings, at the end of the day it’s still the parents’ choice and perspective that counts. After all, if you bring up the baby to be good and lighthearted, no darkness can put him or her down!