200+ Baby Names That Mean Death & Darkness for Boys & Girls

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Your guide to death-related names throughout world cultures & folklore

Co-authored by Jason Zuk and Glenn Carreau

Last Updated: October 3, 2025 Fact Checked

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Girl Names

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Boy Names

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Unisex Names

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Gods & Goddesses

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Angel Names

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Names Meaning Darkness

Are you looking for a baby name with power, gravity, and a connection to the concept of death or darkness? While some people may think a name that means death is too bleak or sinister, that’s not entirely true; it can also be a way to celebrate life or pay tribute to the world's cycle of life and death. In this article, we’ve compiled an extensive collection of names that mean death, including traditionally feminine and masculine names as well as gender-neutral options, and names of gods and goddesses of death and darkness from cultures around the world!

Names Meaning Death: Quick Suggestions

Name expert Sonya Prior says there are a surprising number of names that mean or relate to death. While Mort literally means "death," you can also consider names with related associations (like the tragic Shakespearean name Ophelia, or Lily, since the flower is linked to grief and mourning). Here are a few more:

Celtic and English: Bronach, Balor, Delaney, Ernaline, and Tristan
Greek: Achlys, Chione, Cypress, Deianira, Desdemona, Daimon, and Thanatos
Japanese: Amaya, Asaka, Ahma, Kuragari, and Shinigami
Hebrew: Adaliah, Aeron, Azrael, Bela, Lilith, Mara, Maveth, and Gedeon
Indian and Hindu: Dahak, Ernesh, Omisha, Shivani, and Prantika

Section 1 of 6:

Girl Names that Mean Death

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Many girls’ names that mean death can be connected to spirituality, sadness, misfortune, and folktales from different cultures worldwide—but that doesn’t mean they aren’t pretty (and cool-sounding) names. Whether you want a feminine name that literally means “death” or one with a theme traditionally associated with death, check out the following list:
- Abiba - An African name meaning “blessed one” and “born after the death of a grandmother.”
- Achlys - A Greek name that means “mist,” believed to be the mist that fogs mortals’ eyes in death according to Greek mythology.
- Adaliah - A Hebrew name meaning “God is my refuge,” though it’s also a biblical name that means “one who draws water” and “death.”
- Agrona - An Old English name meaning “queen of strife” and “goddess of slaughter and carnage.”
- Amaia - A Basque name meaning “the end” and “resolution.”
- Amaya - A Japanese name meaning “the end” or “night rain.”
- Angerona - A Latin name meaning “goddess of anguish.” It’s also associated with the Latin word “ango,” which means “to choke or strangle.”
- Asaka - A Japanese name meaning “beautiful death.”
- Bacia - A Ugandan name that means “devastating deaths in the family.”
- Bronach - An Irish name meaning “sadness.” In the sixth century, a woman named Bronach was known for ringing a bell to indicate dangerous waters and helping shipwrecked sailors.
- Cessair - An Irish name meaning “sorrow” and “sadness.” In the Bible, an Irish woman named Cessair died during Noah’s flood.
- Cethlenn - A fierce warrior and the wife of Balor (a Fomorian king) in Irish mythology.
- Chione - An ancient Greek name associated with winter and death (since Chione was the daughter of the north wind, Boreas).
- Chiwa - An African name meaning “death.”
- Cihuateteo - An Aztec name meaning “divine women.” In Aztec culture, cihuateteo were believed to be the spirits of women who died of childbirth.
- Deianira - A Greek name meaning “man destroyer.”
- Desdemona - A Greek name meaning “misery” and “ill-fated.”
- Dolores - A Latin name meaning “lady of sorrows.”
- Ernaline - A Celtic name meaning “battle to the death.” In Old German, the name means “earnest” or “vigorous.”
- Hunapo - A Māori name meaning “hidden darkness.”
- Itishree - A Hindi name meaning “the end.”
- Keres - A Greek name meaning “death spirits.”
- Khalida - An Arabic name meaning “immortal” and “deathless.”
- Lamia - An Arabic name meaning “radiant” or “shining.” Its association with death comes from Greek mythology; Lamia is the name of a queen cursed to become a monster that devoured children.
- Libitina - A Latin name meaning “death.”
- Ligeia - A Greek name meaning “clear-voiced” or “sweet loudness.” It’s the name of a siren in Greek mythology, which are creatures that lure sailors to their doom.
- Lilith - A Hebrew name meaning “night demon” and “of the night.” It’s also the name of Adam’s first wife (and the wife of Lucifer) in Jewish folklore.
- Lola - A Latin and Spanish name meaning “sorrow.”
- Lorelei - In German folklore, Lorelei was the name of a siren known for luring men to their deaths with beautiful songs. It means “alluring temptress.” Respelled "Lorelai," this name's most popular bearer is probably Lorelai Gilmore from Gilmore Girls.
- Mallory - A French name that means “without good fortune” and “ill-omened.”
- Mara - A Sanskrit name that means “death.” In the Bible, “mara” is an expression of grief after death; thus, the name means “bitter” in Hebrew.
- Morella - A Latin name meaning “death,” “dark complexion,” and “great.”
- Morta - A Roman name meaning “fate.” She was also a goddess of death in Roman mythology.
- Morticia - A name based on the Latin word for death, “mort.” It’s also the name of Morticia Addams, an iconic character from The Addams Family.
- Nekane - A Basque alternative to Dolores, which means “sorrows” in Spanish.
- Omisha - A Hindu name meaning “goddess of birth and death.”
- Ophelia - A Greek name meaning "help." Ophelia is also a character in the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet, which is how the name got its association with death.
- Prantika - An Indian name meaning “the end.”
- Shivani - A Hindu name meaning “follower of Shiva,” the Hindu god known as the destroyer of the universe. It also means “life and death.”
- Solikha - A Sanskrit name meaning “flower of death.”
- Tanda - A Native American name meaning “seer of life and death.”
- Thana - An Arabic name meaning “death.” It’s also the feminine form of Thanatos, the Greek personification of death.
- Ultima - A Latin name meaning “last” or “endmost.”

Section 2 of 6:

Boy Names that Mean Death

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Just like the feminine names above, there are plenty of boys’ names that mean death and come with some extra gravitas. Some are associated with immortality, while others are connected to battle, deadly power, or death itself. Take a look at the following list of masculine names that mean death:^{[1]
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- Abdulbaith - An Arabic name meaning "servant of one who brings forth sorrow."
- Admatha - A biblical name meaning “cloud of death.”
- Aeron - A Hebrew name meaning “shining light,” though it’s also a Welsh name associated with the god of battle and slaughter.
- Ahimoth - A biblical name meaning “brother of death.”
- Ajal - An Arabic name meaning “hour of death.”
- Akuji - An African name meaning “dead and awake.”
- Alexiares - A Greek name meaning “unconquerable” and “he who wards off war” (or “guards from death and ruin.”)
- Amartya - A Sanskrit name meaning “deathless” and “immortal.”
- Archemoros - A Greek name meaning “forerunner of death.”
- Athanasius - A Greek name meaning "death" or "immortal."
- Azmaveth - A Hebrew name meaning “defier of death” or “strong in death.”
- Balor - An Irish name meaning “deadly one.” It’s also the name of a deadly giant, or Fomorian, in Celtic mythology.
- Benoni - A Hebrew name meaning “son of my sorrow.”
- Berodach - A biblical name meaning “the son of death.”
- Cain - A Hebrew name meaning "acquired." In the bible, Cain is Adam and Eve's first son, and he kills his brother Abel, which is why the name is associated with death.
- Claeg - An English name meaning “one subjected to death.”
- Clay - An English name meaning “mortal” or “one subjected to death.”
- Dáinn - An Old Norse name meaning “dead.”
- Daimon - A Greek name meaning “guiding spirit” or “protective spirit.”
- Dearil - A Scottish and German name meaning “call of death.”
- Djall - In Albanian folklore, Djall is a demon of fire and death. The name means “devil.”
- Donn - An Old English name meaning “ruler of the world” and a Celtic name meaning “the dark one.”
- Drystan - A Welsh name meaning “full of sorrow.”
- Erlik - A Turkish name meaning "mighty." In Turkish mythology, Erlik was the malicious ruler of the spirit world.
- Ernesh - An Indian name meaning “battle to the death” (as well as “sincere”).
- Ewan - A Scottish name meaning “born of yew.” In Celtic folklore, yew trees were a symbol of death and resurrection.
- Hadeon - A Ukranian name meaning “destroyer.”
- Hapi - An Egyptian name meaning “Nile river.” In Egyptian mythology, Hapi is a guardian of the underworld.
- Hazarmaveth - A biblical name meaning “dwelling of death.”
- Jeevak - An Indian name associated with the time from the present until death.
- Jerimoth - A biblical name meaning “he that fears or rejects death.”
- Kalabhiti - A Hindu name meaning “of whom death is afraid.”
- Kalakuta - An Indian and Sanskrit name meaning “potion of death.”
- Kalaraja - A Sanskrit name meaning “lord of death.”
- Kalayavan - An Indian name meaning “as horrible as death.”
- Kaliya - An Indian name meaning “time of death.”
- Lefu - An African name meaning “sickness” or “death” (to the South African Sotho tribe).
- Leukadios - A Greek name meaning “there will be light again after mourning.”
- Mabuz - An Arthurian name meaning “ruler of Death Castle.”
- Markandeya - A Sanskrit name meaning “conqueror of death.”
- Melwas - A Welsh name meaning “princely youth” and “prince of death.”
- Menahem - A Hebrew name meaning "comforter," sometimes chosen for a child born after the death of a sibling.
- Meremoth - A biblical name meaning “bitterness of death.”
- Methusael - A biblical name meaning “who demands his death.”
- Mort - A Latin name meaning “death.”
- Mors - Another Latin version of the word “death.”
- Mortis - A Latin name meaning "death," and also associated with rigor mortis, which is when the body stiffens after death.
- Mot - A Ugaritic name meaning “death.”
- Nastrond - An Old Norse name meaning “corpse shore” or “shore of death.” It’s the name of the afterlife reserved for sinners in Norse mythology.
- Nihil - A Latin name meaning “nothing” or “zero.”
- Nirnasha - An Indian name meaning “deathless.”
- Sephtis - A Persian name meaning “eternal death.”
- Supay - An Incan name meaning “god of evil death.”
- Sychar - A biblical name meaning “end.”
- Than - A Vietnamese name meaning “death.”
- Tristan - A Celtic and Latin name meaning “noise,” though it also means “sad” in old French.
- Tuwile - A Kenyan name meaning “death is inevitable.”
- Uqbah - An Arabic name meaning “the end of everything.”

Section 3 of 6:

Gender-Neutral Names that Mean Death

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Don’t want a name that’s traditionally masculine or feminine? No problem. Some names evoke the idea of death, darkness, and ill-omen without being associated with a specific gender. Look below for a list of unisex (or gender non-conforming) names associated with death.^{[2]
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- Bela - In Hebrew, this name means “devouring” or “destruction.”
- Cypress - A Greek name associated with cypress trees, which are considered symbols of the transition between life and death.
- Elysium - A Greek name meaning “home of the blessed after death.” In Greek mythology, the Elysian fields were believed to be the afterlife for righteous souls.
- Felagha - An Ijaw name meaning “death has not reached me.”
- Jolon - A Native American name meaning “valley of dead oaks.”
- Kritanta - An Indian name meaning “god of death.”
- Letum - A Latin name meaning “death” or “god of non-violent death.”
- Manes - An ancient Roman name meaning “to the spirits of the dead,” though it’s also an American name referring to someone “strong-willed.”
- Maveth - A Hebrew name meaning “death.”
- Merripen - A Romani name meaning “manner” or “death.”
- Mrithun - An Indian name meaning “lord of death.”
- Omega - A Greek name meaning “the end” or “great.”
- Raven - An English name meaning “large black bird.” Ravens are also a symbol of death and ill-omen across many cultures and mythologies.
- Shi - A Chinese name meaning “death” as well as “time” and “history.”
- Tomoe - A Japanese name meaning "death" and "earth," as well as "favor" or "grace."
- Vendetta - An Italian word meaning "vengeful."
- Vesper - A Latin name meaning “evening star.” though it’s also associated with darkness and death.

Section 4 of 6:

Death God & Goddess Names

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With the many different cultures and mythologies that have existed throughout history, it’s no surprise that there are also plenty of different gods, goddesses, and mythological creatures associated with death. Some are the personification of death, while others were believed to govern the “underworld” or afterlife (depending on the culture).^{[3]
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- Allani - The Hurrian goddess of the underworld, also associated with the determination of fate.
- Ankou - The personification of death in French and Breton mythology.
- Anpu (or Anubis) - The Egyptian god who ruled the underworld.
- Apollo - The god of light, music, healing, poetry, and prophecy in Greek mythology, although his name means “destroyer” as well.
- Arawn - The King of the Otherworld in Celtic mythology.
- Ares - The Greek god of war, battle, and ruin.
- Atropos - One of the fates in Greek mythology, Atropos is responsible for cutting the thread of life to end mortals’ lives.
- Charon - The ferryman of the underworld in Greek mythology.
- Chernobog - A Slavic deity associated with misfortune whose name means “black god.”
- Clotho - Another of the Greek fates who spins the thread of human life.
- Coatlicue - An Aztec goddess of life, fertility, and death.
- Enma - The Buddhist god of hell and personification of death.
- Erebus - The personification of darkness in the underworld in Greek mythology.
- Ereshkigal - A Sumerian goddess who ruled the underworld, or land of the dead.
- Freyja (or Freya) - A Norse goddess of love, fertility, war, and death.
- Hades - The god of the underworld in Greek mythology.
- Hecate - The Greek goddess of magic, witchcraft, and the night.
- Hel (Hela) - The Norse goddess of the underworld and death whose name may also mean “destiny.”
- Javaraya - The god of death in Sanskrit.
- Kalma - The personification of death in Finnish folklore.
- Keket - The Egyptian goddess of darkness and night.
- Louhi - A wicked death goddess in Finnish mythology.
- Manea - The Roman goddess of the dead and mother of ghosts, whose name means “spirit” and “to think.”
- Marzana - The goddess of death and new beginnings in Slavic mythology,
- Morana - The Slavic goddess of winter and death whose name means “death” or “illness.”
- Morrigan - A Celtic goddess known as the “bringer of death,” associated with death, war, and destiny.
- Naenia - The Roman goddess of funerals.
- Nephthys - An Egyptian goddess associated with air, death, and mourning.
- Nyx - The Greek goddess of the night.
- Odin - The Norse god of wisdom, poetry, and death whose name means “lord of frenzy.”
- Orcus - The Roman god of the underworld specifically responsible for punishing evildoers.
- Osiris - The Egyptian god of the underworld whose name means “powerful” and “mighty.”
- Owuo - The Akan god of death and destruction.
- Pana - An Inuit goddess believed to care for souls in the underworld before their reincarnation.
- Persephone - The queen of the underworld (and wife of Hades) in Greek mythology.
- Pluto - The Roman name for Hades, ruler of the underworld.
- Proserpina - The Roman equivalent of Persephone, whose name means “bringer of death.”
- Ran - The Norse goddess of the sea believed to drag swimmers to their deaths with her net.
- Shinigami - Japanese creatures, monsters, or gods believed to invite humans toward death.
- Shiva - The Hindu god of destruction (destroyer of the universe).
- Tia - The goddess of peaceful death in Haida mythology.
- Thanatos - The godly personification of death in Greek mythology whose name means “death.”
- Tuoni - The Finnish god of the underworld and personification of darkness.
- Whiro - The Māori lord of darkness.
- Yama - The Hindu god of death and justice.

Section 5 of 6:

Angel Names that Mean Death

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Christianity, Judaism, and Islam religious texts all speak of angels, and a few of those angels are specifically associated with death—sometimes as shepherds for souls that pass on or heralds of death. Take a look at the angels whose names mean “angel of death”:
- Abaddon - A Hebrew name meaning “ruin” or “destruction” and an angel of death with an army of locusts.
- Azazel - An angel of death in the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic faiths.
- Azrael - A Hebrew name meaning “angel of god.” Azrael is also an angel of death responsible for bringing souls to the afterlife.
- Dabria - An English name meaning “angel of death” (and “name of an angel” in Latin).
- Samael - A Hebrew name meaning “venom” and an archangel of death in the Christian and Jewish faiths.

Section 6 of 6:

Names Associated with Darkness & Danger

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Darkness, the color black, and the concepts of destruction and ruin are all commonly associated with death. So, if you don’t necessarily need a name that translates directly to “death,” the names below (which are all related to darkness and other symbols of death) may interest you instead:
- Adrienne - A feminine Latin name meaning “dark.”
- Ahma - A feminine Japanese name meaning “dark rain.”
- Ahriman - A masculine Persian name meaning “evil spirit.”
- Aridam - An Indian name meaning “destroyer of foes.”
- Bellinor - A masculine French name meaning “beautiful and dark person.”
- Blake - An Old English name meaning “black” or “dark.”
- Charna - A feminine Yiddish name meaning “dark” or “black.”
- Ciara - A feminine Irish name meaning “ruddy” or “dark.”
- Cole - A masculine English name meaning “black coal.”
- Corbin - A masculine English, French, and Latin name meaning “raven.”
- Dahak - A Hindu name meaning “destroyer.”
- Daray - An Irish name meaning “dark.”
- Darcel - A masculine Irish name meaning “dark.”
- Darcie - A feminine Irish name meaning “dark girl.”
- Delaney - An Irish name meaning “dark.”
- Donovan - A masculine Irish name meaning “dark warrior.”
- Doug - A masculine Old English name meaning “dark water.”
- Dougal - Like Doug, this masculine Old English name also means “dark water.”
- Doyle - An Old English name meaning “dark stranger.”
- Dubheasa (Duvessa) - A feminine Irish name meaning “dark beauty.”
- Duncan - An Old English name meaning “dark warrior.”
- Gedeon - A Hebrew name meaning “destroyer” and “mighty warrior.”
- Hadeon - A masculine Ukranian name meaning “destroyer.”
- Heolstor - A masculine Anglo-Saxon name meaning “darkness.”
- Jela - A Swahili name meaning “father suffered during birth.”
- Jemisha - A feminine Hindu name meaning “queen of the darkness.”
- Kali - A feminine Sanskrit name meaning “black one.”
- Kerrin – A Gaelic name that means “dark eyes.”
- Kuragari - A Japanese name meaning “darkness.”
- Leila - A feminine Hebrew, Arabic, and African name meaning “dark beauty.”
- Merula - A feminine Latin and Roman name meaning “female blackbird.”
- Morwen - A feminine Welsh name meaning “dark maiden.”
- Mysteria - A feminine Latin name meaning “mystery.”
- Onyx - A Greek name meaning “claw” or “dark black.”
- Orpheus - A masculine Greek name meaning “darkness of the night.”
- Perran - A Cornish name meaning “little dark one.”
- Runihura - An Egyptian name meaning “destroyer.”
- Sable - A feminine English and Slavic name that means “black.”
- Sauda - A feminine Arabic name meaning “black” and “dark.”
- Shamhuth - A biblical boy’s name meaning “destruction” and “desolation.”
- Sullivan - A Garlic name meaning “black eyes.”
- Tamala - An African name meaning “dark tree.”
- Tamasvi - A feminine Indian name meaning “one who has darkness inside.”
- Tamesis - An English name meaning “dark one.”
- Tamisra - A feminine Bengali name meaning “she who is full of darkness.”
- Tynan - A masculine Irish name meaning “dark” or “dusky.”
- Umbra - A feminine Latin name meaning “shadow.”
- Zelda - A feminine German name meaning “dark battle.”
- Ziddim - A biblical name meaning “destructions” or “treasons.”