160+ Creepy Surnames to Give You Chills

Whether you're looking for a new spooky last name for yourself or a fictional villain you're creating, look no further—we've assembled a list of the creepiest, darkest, most horrific surnames to choose from, along with their meanings. Keep scrolling to find truly spine-tingling mysterious surnames, gothic surnames, surnames taken from famous historical and fictional figures, and more. And if you find you're still in need of creepy first and last name ideas, be sure to check out our creepy name generators!

Truly Spooky Last Names

Agramonte – means "grim"
Blackthorne – means "thorny plant"
Calderwood – means "chilled"
Danvers – means "grim"
Nightfire – means "dark flame"
Wraithwood – means "ghost forest"

Section 1 of 8:

Dark & Creepy Last Names

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These surnames are purely dreadful. For the ultimate creepy persona, consider a name that evokes dark and spooky imagery: ghosts, witchcraft, blood, and death—like these:
- Abaddon – means "destruction"
- Abernathy – means "eerie"^{[1]
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- Abhartach – means "haunting"
- Agramonte – means "grim"
- Alaric – means "ruler of all"; a historic Gothic king
- Alastor – means "vengeful"
- Amsel – means "shadowy"
- Aragon – means "noble"
- Arkwright – means "builder of chests or coffins"
- Ashworth – means "ash tree enclosure"
- Asquith – means "eerie"
- Bainbridge – means "cold"
- Bellerose – means ""beautiful rose"
- Blackcastle -– means "dark fortress"
- Bloodworth – means "blood value"
- Calderwood – means "chilled"
- Mordecai – means "little man"
- Ravencrest – means "raven's peak"
- Shade – means "shadow, darkness"
- Solomon -– means "peaceful"
- Thorne – means "thorn"

Section 2 of 8:

Creepy & Mysterious Last Names

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These names are unsettling and secretive. If you want a surname that will evoke fear, suspicion, and intrigue in others, go for one of these. They either carry a meaning related to secrets and mystery, or they sound mysterious and creepy—as if they're draped in a sort of gothic fog:
- Acheron – means "river of woe"
- Bellamy – means "handsome friend"
- Caine – means "acquired"; the infamous Biblical figure
- Circe – means "bird"; a Greek sorceress
- Danvers – means "grim"
- Darkwater – means "murky"
- Darkwood – means "haunted"
- Darnell – means "shadowed"
- Grayson – means "son of the grey-haired one"
- Harker – means "shepherd"
- Lockwood – means "enclosed forest"
- Pemberton – means "hill settlement"
- Whitmore – means "white moor"
- Hades – means "unseen"; Greek underworld ruler
- Knox – means "round hill"
- Lilith – means "night monster"
- Morgana – means "sea-born"
- Nyx – means "night"; a Greek primordial goddess
- Onyx – means "black gem"
- Phoenix – means "reborn from ash"
- Ravana – means "roaring cry"; a demon king in Hindu mythology
- Thornton – means "thorny town"
- Vayne – means "vain" or "vanity"

Section 3 of 8:

Gothic Last Names

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Consider these goth surnames fit for the king of the underworld. Whether you're a goth looking for a new last name or want a name for a gothic fictional character, we've got you covered. These names drip with darkness and dread—and a hint of Victorian charm:
- Blackthorne – means "thorny plant"
- Daegon – means "shadow"
- Darkmore – means "shadowy moor"
- Deathrider – means "bringer of death"
- Dragonbane – means "dragon slayer"
- Draven – means "hunter"
- Dunmore – means "dark hill fortress"
- Eldritch – means "otherworldly"
- Fairfax – means "beautiful hair"
- Garnet – means "dark red gem"
- Gauntmore – means "great glove"
- Godwin – means "God's friend"
- Ironclad – means "covered in iron"
- Nightwatch – means "night guard"
- Kerrigan – means "dark and dusky"
- Mortensen – means "son of death"
- Nightfall – means "evening darkness"
- Ravencroft – means "raven’s field"
- Shadowbane – means "shadow destroyer"
- Shadowmere – means "shadowy lake"
- Tombstone – means "grave marker"

Section 4 of 8:

Nature-Inspired Creepy Last Names

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Consider a name that reflects the beauty and terror of the natural world. Mother Earth is inspiring and breathtaking, but she's also merciless. For a truly creepy name, think about a timeless and unsettling surname with roots (get it?) in the natural world.
- Ashbourne – means "stream of ash trees"
- Ashford – means "ford by ash trees"
- Ashthorn – means "thorny ash tree"
- Blackwell – means "black spring"
- Blackwood – means "dark forest"
- Bloodmoon – means "red moon"
- Cypress – means "evergreen tree"
- Darkmoor – means "dark marshland"
- Darkwater – means "black water"
- Dunsley – means "hill meadow"
- Evermore – means "eternal continuation"
- Graves – means "dwelling of the departed"
- Greystone – means "grey stone"
- Grimsley – means "fierce meadow"
- Harwood – means "hare wood"
- Haverford – means "goat crossing"
- Holloway – means "sunken road"
- Ironwolf – means "iron wolf"
- Morwood – means "dark forest"
- Nightingale – means "night songbird"
- Nightshade – means "poisonous plant"
- Ravenhill – means "raven's hill"
- Ravenscroft – means "croft of ravens"
- Ravenshollow – means "raven's valley"
- Ravenwood – means "raven's forest"
- Rosethorne – means "rose thorn"
- Sherwood – means "bright forest"
- Stormcrow – means "storm crow"
- Tombs – means "burial chambers"
- Whitlock – means "white enclosure"
- Winter – means "cold season"
- Winterbourne – means "winter stream"
- Wolfsbane – means "wolf slayer"
- Zephyrine – means "west wind"

Section 5 of 8:

Contemporary Creepy Last Names

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These spooky surnames are a bit more modern. If you're trying to come up with a name for a fictional character living in the present moment, or you'd like a more contemporary-sounding name for yourself, consider these edgier, more unique last names:
- Blackheart – means "dark heart"
- Blackmoon – means "dark moon"
- Bloodgood – means "noble blood"^{[2]
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- Crowhaven – means "dark"
- Darkspell – means "dark magic"
- Darkstorm – means "black tempest"
- Ghostwood – means "spirit forest"
- Grimhaven – means "fierce harbor"
- Hexwood – means "cursed forest"
- Moonfall – means "lunar descent"
- Moonwhisper – means "lunar murmur"
- Nightcaster – means "night spell-weave"r
- Nightfire – means "dark flame"
- Ravenstone – means "raven's stone"
- Shadowfall – means "falling shadow"
- Shadowheart – means "dark heart"; "soul of mystery"
- Spellbound – means "under enchantment"
- Stormraven – means "tempest bird"
- Thornwick – means "thorn dwelling"
- Voidheart – means "empty heart"
- Wraithwood – means "ghost forest"

Section 6 of 8:

Historical Creepy Last Names

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Consider the name of a celebrated spooky historical figure. From Alfred Hitchcock to Bela Lugosi, there are dozens of famous (and infamous) real-life personas to steal a creepy last name from:
- Blavatsky – after Helena Blavatsky, Russian-born American mystic, writer, and co-founder of the Theosophical Society
- Brontë – after celebrated gothic novelists Charlotte (Jane Eyre), Emily (Wuthering Heights), and Anne (The Tenant of Wildfell Hall) Brontë
- Burton – after Tim Burton, director of gothic fantasy and horror movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, and Beetlejuice
- Crowley – after Aleister Crowley, English occultist, magician, and writer
- De Sade – after Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade, a French writer, libertine, and nobleman best known for his licentious novels and imprisonment for sex crimes, blasphemy, and pornography
- Grimm – after the Brothers Grimm, collectors and publishers of German folktales
- Hawthorne – after Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of The Scarlet Letter; also refers to the hawthorn tree
- Hitchcock – after Alfred Hitchcock, director of thrillers including Vertigo, Psycho, and Rear Window
- Jackson – after Shirley Jackson, writer of horror novels The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle and the short story "The Lottery"
- Lovecraft – after horror novelist H. P. Lovecraft, author of The Call of Cthulhu, The Cats of Ulthar, and At the Mountains of Madness
- Lugosi – after Bela Lugosi, actor known for portraying Count Dracula
- Poe – after Edgar Allan Poe, author of horror short stories and poems including "The Raven," "The Masque of the Red Death," and "The Fall of the House of Usher"
- Price – after Vincent Price, actor known for starring in horror films such as House on Haunted Hill, The Fly, and House of Wax
- Radcliffe – after Ann Radcliffe, author of gothic novels including The Mysteries of Udolpho and The Romance of the Forest
- Rice – after Anne Rice, author of The Vampire Chronicles
- Stoker – after Bram Stoker, author of Dracula

Section 7 of 8:

Creepy Last Names from Fiction

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Spooky names abound in gothic literature, movies, and TV. If you're a lover of all things dark and spooky, you can't go wrong with a surname stolen from Lestat de Lioncourt or Victor Frankenstein. Consider these other famous surnames inspired by creepy books, TV shows, and films:
- Addams – after the Addams Family
- Bateman – after Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, played by Christian Bale
- Bates – after Norman Bates, the villain in Psycho, played by Anthony Perkins
- Bickle – after Travis Bickle, the protagonist from Taxi Driver, played by Robert De Niro
- Bluebeard – after the villain in the classic fairytale "Bluebeard"
- Bly – after Bly Manor, the haunted estate in William James' The Turn of the Screw; means "care" or "shelter"
- Carfax – after the estate of Count Dracula in Bram Stoker's novel; means "crossroads"
- Crane – after Ichabod Crane, protagonist of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving
- Cthulhu – after the monster invented by horror and science fiction novelist H. P. Lovecraft
- Cullen – after Edward Cullen, the male vampire protagonist from Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books
- Deetz – after Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice, played by Winona Ryder
- Earnshaw – after Cathy Earnshaw, the female protagonist of Emily Brontë's 1847 gothic novel Wuthering Heights
- Eyre – after Jane Eyre, the protagonist of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 gothic novel
- Frankenstein – after Victor Frankenstein, the protagonist (and villain? 👀) of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein
- Grendel – after the beast from the epic poem Beowulf
- Heathcliff – after the male protagonist from Emily Brontë's 1847 gothic novel Wuthering Heights
- Lestat – after the vampire from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles
- Lioncourt – after the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles
- Morbius – after the Marvel vampire; means "deathly";
- Hyde – after the character from Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- Jekyll – after the character from Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
- Thornfield – Rochester's iconic estate from Charlotte Brontë's 1847 gothic novel Jane Eyre
- Rochester – after Jane Eyre's brooding love interest; means "red fortress"
- Usher – after the estate in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher"
- Van Helsing – after Abraham Van Helsing, professor and vampire hunter from Stoker's Dracula

Section 8 of 8:

Creepy Name Generators

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Still looking for a perfectly creepy name? Try a first or last name generator! Whether you're still looking for juuuust the right first name, last name, or both for your spooky fictional character or yourself, we've got your back. Check out these creepy first and last name generators: