Names carrying meanings related to death, endings or mortality have become more popular in recent years. Once avoided as too morbid, names connected to death now intrigue parents seeking meaningful options. These names often symbolise transition, change, remembrance or new beginnings arising after life’s end. This article will explore the cultural background, analyse meanings and provide over 200 names related to death from global myths and contemporary culture to consider.
Understanding Names That Mean Death
Historically, names meaning death or containing dark elements were avoided out of fear they’d bring bad luck or premature death. But attitudes shifted as people increasingly value names reflecting real-world experiences like mortality.
Modern parents view names with death meanings more neutrally or even positively — associating them with ideologies like living fully, honouring ancestors, celebrating cycles of nature, finding strength during grief or representing moral qualities. Names with death meanings range from the heroic to the sinister based on their cultural origins. They carry undertones of:
- Transition, change, impermanence
- Remembrance, honoring those passed
- Dark qualities like vengeance or unrest
- Rebirth, regeneration, new beginnings
So names meaning death cover a rich spectrum. The crucial decision is choosing one aligning with your personal values.
Popular Names That Mean Death and Their Meanings
Here are some of the most popular global names meaning death, darkness or mortality and the symbolic significance behind them:
| Name | Origin | Meaning |
| Acacia | Greek | Deathlessness |
| Amara | Nigerian | Immortal one |
| Ankou | Breton | Personification of death |
| Asa | Hebrew | Healer and conveyor of curses or death |
| Astra | Latin | Of the stars |
| Auberon | French | King of faeries who help souls cross over |
| Azrael | Arabic | Angel of death |
| Belladonna | Italian | Beautiful woman, toxic deadly plant |
| Boreas | Greek | God of the freezing north wind |
| Buffy | American | Vampire slayer character |
| Chindi | Navajo | Vengeful ghost |
| Clio | Greek | To celebrate death |
| Crowe | Middle English | Raven-like bird |
| Damien | English | Omen child character |
| Dies | Latin | The passage of time |
| Ereshkigal | Akkadian | Goddess ruling the Mesopotamian underworld |
| Euphemia | Greek | Auspicious, praiseworthy |
| Hades | Greek | God of the underworld |
| Kali | Hindi | Dark/death goddess |
| Keita | Japanese | Celebration |
| Lenore | Greek | Light |
| Lilithu | Assyrian | Dark goddess related to illness & death |
| Macaria | Greek | Goddess of blessed death |
| Melinoe | Greek | Having a dark mind |
| Mika | Japanese | New moon |
| Mortis | Latin | Personification of death |
| Muninn | Norse | Raven serving death/war god Odin |
| Nekane | Basque | Lament, wailing |
| Nova | Latin | New beginning from an ending |
| Persephone | Greek | Queen of the underworld |
| Poe | American | Raven poem writer |
| Requiem | Latin | Repose, rest, final soul journey |
| Samana | Hindu | God of death |
| Sedna | Inuit | Goddess of the afterlife |
| Shade | English | Dimness, dark, shadow |
| Shilah | Hebrew | Death’s messenger |
| Thanatos | Greek | Death |
| Yama | Hindu | God judging dead & presiding over ancestors |
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Girls Names That Mean Death
A list of richly symbolic female names related to endings, darkness, and mythological underworld goddesses.
| Girls Names | Meaning |
| Aella | Whirlwind or storm |
| Amara | Eternal, undying |
| Ankou | Personification of death (Breton) |
| Arya | Honorable, noble |
| Astennu | Mythical books recording judgment of dead (Egyptian) |
| Azrael | Angel of death |
| Bedelia | Strength |
| Bryn | Hill, mound |
| Cassia | To fall |
| Cicely | Mythical Saint beheaded for her beliefs |
| Clio | Celebrate death |
| Dalia | Branch or bough |
| Damia | To tame, rule (Greek) |
| Ereshkigal | Goddess of death (Mesopotamian) |
| Euterpe | Joy, delight |
| Euphemia | Auspicious, praiseworthy |
| Hecate | Goddess of witchcraft and ghosts |
| Jana | To harvest, gather |
| Jubilee | Joy, a ram’s horn blown for celebrations/funerals |
| Kali | Dark/death goddess (Hindu) |
| Lenore | Bright, light |
| Lilithu | Dark goddess related to illness & death (Assyrian) |
| Macaria | Goddess of blessed death (Greek) |
| Melinoe | Having a dark mind |
| Mika | New moon |
| Morticia | Derived from mortis (Latin for death) |
| Nekane | Lament |
| Persephone | Queen of the Greek underworld Hades |
| Ravenna | Raven-black hair signaling attraction to the occult or death |
| Requiem | Rest, repose |
| Sedna | Goddess of the afterlife (Inuit mythology) |
| Shade | Dimness, dark |
| Shilah | Death’s messenger |
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Boys Names That Mean Death
A list of evocative male names with meanings tied to mortality, finality, and ominous figures from global lore.
| Boys Names | Meaning |
| Acheron | River of woe (Greek) |
| Bhrungaraja | Destructive king (Hindi) |
| Bram | Of the raven (Stoker’s Dracula inspiration) |
| Conan | Little wolf hound |
| Crowe | Raven-like bird (also surname of actor who plays dark characters) |
| Dagda | Leader god in Celtic mythology said to rule underworld at times |
| Damien | Omen child character |
| Dellan | Dark warrior woman character |
| Dolan | Dark or black-haired |
| Drust | Druid mythological king said to dwell underground with dead ancestors’ spirits |
| Dylan | Son of the waves or sea which is symbolic of death/rebirth mythology in many cultures |
| Eben | Stone signaling permanence even after death |
| Erc | Death (also surname signaling dark, enduring qualities) |
| Fenrir | Destructive wolf beast in Norse mythology that swallows souls |
| Hades | God of Greek underworld where dead go |
| Helio | Of the sun – symbolic in myth of cyclical dying and rebirth |
| Huginn | Raven in Norse mythology serving as eyes, ears of death/war god Odin |
| Icarus | Daring young man who died flying too close to the sun |
| Ira | Watchful one |
| Jedidiah | Beloved of God |
| Kace | Vigilant, watchful |
| Kalen | Death omen |
| Kek | Personification of primordial darkness (Egyptian) |
| Mortis | Personification of death (Roman) |
| Mot | Personification of death (Canaanite) |
| Muninn | Second raven serving death/war god Odin in Norse myths |
| Niall | Champion, cloud |
| Orpheus | Descended to Greek underworld and returned with soul of dead wife |
| Osiris | Egyptian god ruler of Duat underworld and judge of dead |
| Poe | Raven poem writer |
| Raven | Bird long symbolic of darkness, death, mystery in myths |
| Reaper | Personification of death |
| Requiem | Rest, repose |
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Baby Names That Mean Death
A list of gender neutral baby names inspired by cultural symbols of demise and tragic legends couples can consider.
| Baby Names | Meaning |
| Absinthe | Mythic toxic wormwood drink dubbed “green fairy” |
| Aconite | Toxic wolfsbane flower used to deter werewolves in myths |
| Asa | Healer who also conveys curses or death |
| Ashes | Remains after death, symbolic of mourning |
| Astra | Of the stars, celestial |
| Athelas | Healing plant used to ease passage into death in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings |
| Auberon | King of faeries who help souls crossover into death |
| Azrael | Angel of Death who separates souls from bodies at time of death (Islam/Judaism) |
| Belladonna | Toxic deadly nightshade plant |
| Blithe | Happy, joyful – yet with uncaring undertones about death/danger |
| Boreas | God of the cold north wind felt by ancients as causing winter death |
| Bryn | From the hill – hills/mounds ancient symbols of death |
| Camazotz | Bat god, lord of the house of death (Mayan myths) |
| Celandine | Swallow-wort flower used in rituals marking cycles of death/rebirth |
| Cerberus | Multi-headed hound guarding underworld gate in Greek myths |
| Ceridwen | Celtic goddess of rebirth after death/cauldron symbolizing cycle of death/rebirth |
| Cerula | Little death; a spectral spirit; a completive end before rebirth |
| Cimeron | People living on boundary between life/death worlds (Romani) |
| Cwn Annwn | Mythic white hounds of Celtic underworld god Arawn |
| Dies | Day, the inevitability of passing |
| Elethea | Discovering truth at time of death (Gnostic Christian) |
| Ember | Remains after fire symbolic of life extinguished/ongoing |
| Ereshkigal | Goddess ruling the Mesopotamian underworld |
| Euphemia | Auspicious, praiseworthy |
| Exodus | Departure, death |
| Ghost | Soul, spirit |
| Giltine | Goddess of death (Lithuanian) |
| Hades | God of the Greek underworld |
| Hel | Goddess of death (Norse) |
| Jedidiah | Beloved of God |
| Kāla | God of death, time (Hindu) |
| Kali | Dark death goddess (Hindu) |
| Keren-Happuch | Hebrew name meaning ‘horn of the face paint that comes from death’s shadow’ |
| Lenore | Bright, light |
| Lilith | Storm goddess related to illness & death (Jewish) |
| Macaria | Goddess of blessed death (Greek) |
| Mika | New moon |
| Morta | Death (Roman) |
| Morticia | Derived from mortis (Latin for death) |
| Mot | Personification of death (Canaanite) |
| Mouri | Death (Japanese) |
| Nova | New beginnings arising from an ending |
| Orpheus | Hero who went to Hades and returned with his wife’s soul |
| Persephone | Queen of the underworld (Greek) |
| Raven | Bird symbolic of darkness, death, mystery |
| Reaper | Personification of death |
| Requiem | Funeral mass for the dead |
| Saul | Death |
| Shade | Dimness, dark, shadowy |
| Shilah | Death’s messenger (Hebrew) |
| Supay | God of death (Inca) |
| Tadesse | I shall rise again (Ethiopian) |
| Thanatos | Personification of death (Greek) |
| Yama | God who judges the dead (Hindu) |
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Unisex Names That Mean Death
A set of versatile unisex names with meanings encompassing aspects of loss, closure, and immortal handover into the great unknown.
| Unisex Names | Meaning |
| Absinthe | Mythic toxic wormwood drink dubbed “green fairy” |
| Acheron | River of woe (Greek) |
| Aconite | Toxic wolfsbane flower used to deter werewolves in myths |
| Asa | Healer who also conveys curses or death |
| Astra | Of the stars, celestial |
| Atropos | A Fate who cuts the thread of life (Greek mythology) |
| Azrael | Angel of Death (Islam/Judaism) |
| Banshee | Female spirit who wails as a death omen (Irish myth) |
| Basil | King-like death divinity (Greek myth) |
| Beaumont | Grave, tomb area |
| Blithe | Happy, joyful yet with uncaring undertones about death |
| Boreas | Greek god of the freezing north wind which kills |
| Bryn | Hill, burial mound |
| Camazotz | Bat god, lord of the house of death (Mayan) |
| Casper | A friendly ghost |
| Cerberus | Multi-headed hound guarding underworld gate in Greek myths |
| Ceridwen | Celtic goddess of rebirth after death |
| Charon | Boatman who ferries dead across Styx (Greek myth) |
| Chindi | Vengeful ghost (Navajo) |
| Cimeron | People living on boundary between life/death |
| Cwn Annwn | Mythic white hounds of Celtic underworld |
| Dies | Day, the passage of time |
| Ebon | Ebony blackness that swallows light |
| Ember | Remains after fire dies out |
| Enlil | Lord of open/ghost world (Sumerian) |
| Ereshkigal | Goddess ruling the Mesopotamian underworld |
| Evelyn | Beautiful bird, or desired; derived from Aveline meaning hazelnut tree associated with death in folklore |
| Exodus | Departure, death |
| Fade | Gradually grow faint, die out |
| Ghost | Soul, spirit |
| Giltinė | Goddess of death (Lithuanian) |
| Hades | God of the Greek underworld |
| Hebron | Hebrew place named related to spellbinding and necromancy |
| Jubilee | Ram’s horn blown for funerals and celebrations |
| Kāla | Hindu god of death and time |
| Kali | Dark death goddess (Hindu) |
| Keita | Celebration (Japanese) |
| Lenore | Bright, light |
| Lilith | Storm goddess related to illness & death (Jewish ) |
| Lazarus | Biblical man resurrected four days after death by Jesus |
| Macabre | Gruesome, grim, associated with death |
| Mika | New moon |
| Mort | Death (French) |
| Morta | Death (Roman) |
| Mot | Personification of death (Canaanite) |
| Mouri | Death (Japanese) |
| Niobe | Daughter of Tantalus turned to stone while mourning her lost children |
| Nova | New beginnings arising from an ending |
| Omri | Sheaf of wheat symbolic of cycle of rebirth after death |
| Orpheus | Hero in Greek myth who went to underworld and returned with his wife |
| NOS4D | Bird symbolic of darkness, death, mystery |
| Requiem | Funeral mass for the dead |
| Saul | Asked of God; death |
| Shade | Dimness, dark, shadowy |
| Shilah | Death’s messenger (Hebrew) |
| Tristan | Born sad, evoker of tears |
Choosing a Name with a Death Meaning
Names carrying death or mortality meanings range widely — from dark and foreboding to positive and hopeful. Consider cultural views on death and any personal loss experiences before selecting names like these for your child.
In many cultures, death-related names may be viewed as unlucky or inauspicious. But they can also represent cherishing life, remembering loved ones, feeling empathy or pursuing justice. Talk over these names’ different interpretations to choose appropriately.
Conclusion
This guide covered over 200 global baby names related to endings, mortality and darkness/light symbolism. It provided background on cultural perceptions of death meanings and how that impacts name selection. From names of underworld deities to mortal characters, poisonous plants to life cycle symbols, names touched by death encompass rich range. Hopefully this guide helps introduce evocative options to suit modern sensibilities and honor the eternal human quest for meaning amidst our universality of impermanence.
