Hello, darkness, my old friend. It’s time to slip into the shadows, embrace the fading light, and celebrate amazing dark last names. Everything has a dark side, so why not explore the fascinating world of dark surnames?
Darkness has always been worshipped. The Romans had dark gods, the Celts celebrated the night, and the ancient Greeks and the Norse had rituals and deities that embraced the dark spirits. Darkness brings balance to the light, so let’s get that same balance to your naming inspiration.
191 Deliciously Dark Family Names
Celebrate the darkness and take a walk on the wild side.
- Acheron – the best dark last names have deep meanings, like “river of sorrow.”
- Allwise – the perfect Old Norse wizard name – means “all wise.”
- Ambrose – we all want to live forever – means “immortal” in Greek.
- Anubis – an unusual Egyptian mythological name meaning “god of the dead.”
- Archimedes – this Greek name means “master planner” and “cunning.”
- Artemis – a gender-neutral Greek name meaning “twin of Apollo” and “butcher.”
- Ashe – the “ash tree” was a protective symbol in Old English and Scandinavian.
- Astor – a powerful Scandinavian name meaning “thunder god.”
- Auberon – the mischievous king of the fairies – means “bear-like” in German.
- Balthazar – an unusual Greek name meaning “Baal protects the king.”
- Bateman – with a dark mythological meaning, Bateman means “boatman.”
- Battle – from the Old French “de la bataile,” meaning “man of the battle.”
- Belladonna – this Italian name refers to a “poisonous blackberry.”
- Bellatrix – don’t mess with anyone called Bellatrix – means “female warrior.”
- Benoni – this Hebrew name derives from Benjamin and means “son of my sorrow.”
- Bertram – associated with death, this German name means “bright raven.”
- Blackman – this Old English name means “black or dark man.”
- Blade – few names are as badass – means “knife” and “sword.”
- Bloodworth – an Old English name meaning “Blitha’s enclosure.”
- Brantley – is the Old Norse name for a “fiery torch or brand.”
- Burns – this Middle English name means “brook” and “burns house.”
- Byron – means “at the cowshed” and is associated with the hell-raising English poet.
- Calder – a simple Scottish name describing “wild waters.”
- Caldwell – many bodies have been discovered down a “cold well.”
- Cato – the perfect Latin name for an “all-knowing” child.
- Cedric – of Old English origin, meaning “well-loved” and “war chieftain.”
- Cephas – relating to the Greek “petrified,” this name means “rock.”
- Chimera – this classic Greek “fire-breathing serpent” epitomizes evil.
- Cipher – sometimes spelt Cypher; this biblical name means “empty vessel, mystery,” and “code.”
- Claw – an evil-sounding name of English origin, meaning “fork in the road.”
- Clawson – probably of Dutch origin, meaning “son of Claassen.”
- Clevenger – from the Latin “claviregus,” meaning “keeper of the keys.”
- Cochran – red spells danger, like this Scottish name meaning “red, ruddy,” and “crimson.”
- Corbett – from the Old French “corbet,” meaning “raven.”
- Corbyn – this spooky Irish, French, and English name means “dark raven.”
- Corcoran – a Gaelic and Irish name meaning “red or crimson.”
- Courtney – this “facial-feature” name is of Irish origin and means “short nose.”
- Crawford – a sinister-sounding English name describing a “ford (river crossing) of the crows.”
- Curren – a gender-neutral name with the double meaning of “hero” and “dagger.”
- Damian – this demonic character’s name means “to tame” and “subdue.”
- Damon – an alternate spelling of Damian with a spiritual meaning of “guardian spirit.”
- Dante – while the name means “enduring,” Dante had a chilling vision of hell.
- Darcus – of French origin, meaning “the strong or dark one.”
- Darke – this Old English name derives from “deorc” and means “dark.”
- Deacon – an Old English name meaning “messenger” or “helper.”
- Delaney – this gender-neutral Irish name means “dark challenger.”
- Demetrius – a Greek mythological name describing a “follower of Demeter.”
- Desdemona – this edgy Greek name means “ill-fated” and “unlucky.”
- Devlin – with Gaelic and Irish roots, this mischievous name means “fierce courage” and “unlucky.”
- Diablo – straight out of the Elder Scrolls series – this cool Spanish name means “devil.”
- Donovan – a noble 10th-century Irish name meaning “dark” and “brown-haired chieftain.”
- Dooley – a badass elf name, meaning “dark hero” in Irish.
- Draco – derived from the Greek “drakon,” meaning “dragon” or “serpent.”
- Dragon – from the Latin “draconis,” describing “a fierce or angry person.”
- Drakos – keeping with the Greek dragon theme, this name also means “ogre.”
- Draven – this Welsh and Scottish name means “white hawk” and “child of the shadows.”
- Dred – derived from the Anglo-Saxon “draedan,” meaning “to fear.”
- Dunn – this Middle English name means “dark” and “brown-colored.”
- Eagle – of British origin, meaning “sharp-eyed” and “impressive.”
- Ebenezer – this Hebrew name means “stone of help” and is associated with the famous miser.
- Edge – a habitational name describing someone “living near an edge or ridge.”
- Egbert – this Old English name describes the “bright edge of a sword.”
- Elektra – an ultra-cool character name meaning “shining” and “amber.”
- Endymion – this Greek mythological character is the lover of Selene, the moon goddess.
- Enigma – of Greek origin, meaning “to speak in riddles.”
- Erwin – a Germanic name meaning “respected friend” and “friend of the army.”
- Fable – from the Latin “fabula,” describing a “tale with a moral or lesson.”
- Fagan – an infamous Dickens character – means “little ardent one” in Irish.
- Fallon – this Gaelic name means “superior” and “descended from a ruler.”
- Ferdinand – the infamous murder of Archduke Ferdinand started World War I.
- Flint – a great evil character name, meaning “born near an outcrop of flint.”
- Franco – the infamous Spanish dictator – means “Frenchman” and “free man.”
- Franz – a masculine German name meaning “fierce, bold,” and “free.”
- Gage – a French name meaning “pledge, oath,” and a character in Stephen King’s Pet Cemetery.
- Garnett – of French and Middle English origin, meaning “red like a pomegranate.”
- Garroway – an Old English name meaning “spear fighter.”
- Gawain – from Arthurian legend – means “little falcon” and “white falcon.”
- Gervase – a mixture of Old German and Gaelic, meaning “spear servant.”
- Griffith – a classic Welsh name meaning “strong chief” and “strong lord.”
- Gulliver – of Irish origin and the perfect name for a “glutton.”
- Gunner – a variant of the German Gunther, meaning “warrior” and “battler.”
- Hacker – derived from the Middle English “hacken,” meaning “to hack.”
- Hades – this Greek fantasy name means “god of the underworld.”
- Hagen – derived from the Old Scandinavian “h🇶gni,” meaning “protector.”
- Hamlet – a famous character name derived from the Danish/Scandinavian Amleth, meaning “trickster.”
- Hannibal – the cannibal character Hannibal Lecter – means “grace of Baal.”
- Harding – of Old English and Norse origin, meaning “son of the courageous one.”
- Harker – the English lawyer in Dracula – means “eavesdropper” or “busybody.”
- Harlan – a British name meaning “rocky road.”
- Havoc – from the Middle English “havok,” meaning “destruction” and “ruin.”
- Hawke – an Old English bird name meaning “hawk” and “wild.”
- Hemlock – this bewitching name is a “poisonous plant” known as the Devil’s bread.
- Hildebrand – of Old German origin, meaning “battle sword.”
- Jacoby – from the Hebrew Yaakov, meaning “supplanter.”
- Jeremoth – a biblical name describing “one who fears death.”
- Jett – this semi-precious gemstone is famed for its dark color.
- Kalma – the Finnish death goddess – means “the stench of corpses.”
- Keegan – an Irish/Gaelic name meaning “small flame.”
- Keres – of Greek origin, meaning “death spirits.”
- Krueger – the legendary horror movie character – means “tavern-keeper.”
- Kurtz – from the Middle German “kurz,” meaning “someone short in stature.”
- Le Strange – of French and Irish origin, meaning “hound of the borderland.”
- Lockhart – this French name derives from “loschart,” meaning “one who squints” and “cross-eyed.”
- Lockwood – an Anglo-Saxon habitational name meaning “forest near a fortified place.”
- Loki – the Norse god of mischief, Loki means “airy.”
- Lorcan – this masculine Irish name means “little fierce one.”
- Lycoris – a classic Greek name meaning “twilight.”
- Macbeth – this dark Shakespearean play means “son of life.”
- Malik – this Arabic name means “king, master,” and “ruler.”
- Mallory – of French origin, meaning “unfortunate” and “unlucky.”
- Marek – a Czech masculine name meaning “warlike” and “dedicated to Mars.”
- Martel – of Old English and French descent, meaning “forceful person” and “hammer.”
- Marwood – from the Norman/French “maireward,” meaning “casts an evil eye.”
- Maury – taken from the Old Latin Maurice, meaning “dark-skinned.”
- Meremoth – this biblical name means “bitterness “ and “myrrh of death.”
- Merle – of French origin, meaning “blackbird.”
- Midnight – this spooky horror name is perfectly eerie sounding.
- Montgomery – an old-fashioned name meaning “mountain belonging to the ruler” and “man-power.”
- Mooney – this classic Irish name means “wealthy” and “descendant of the wealthy one.”
- Moonlight – an atmospheric dark name meaning “the light of the moon.”
- Mordor – an imaginary world from Tolkien, meaning “shadow land” and “black land.”
- Morpheus – this ancient Greek name means “god of dreams.”
- Mort – from the Old French nickname derived from the Latin “mortuus,” meaning “death.”
- Mystery – refers to “an unexplained situation,” a perfect pick for shady characters.
- Nash – this edgy arch-villain name means “by the ash tree.”
- Nesbitt – of Old English origin, describing “a bend shaped like a nose.”
- Nester – this wise and respected Greek character name means “voyager” and “traveler.”
- Night – the perfect dark character name.
- Nightshade – the deadly nightshade was said to be the devil’s plant.
- Noir – the French word for “black.”
- Nyx – a mystical Greek name meaning “night.”
- Onyx – this black gemstone derives from the Greek “onux,” meaning “claw and nail.”
- Peregrine – the perfect name for restless kids – means “wanderer, traveler,” and “one from abroad.”
- Perseus – the Greek son of Zeus – means “destroyer.”
- Phaedra – a “bright” Greek name with a dark backstory.
- Phineas – derived from the Hebrew Phinehas, meaning “oracle” and “serpent’s mouth.”
- Phoenix – this mythological Greek creature symbolizes regeneration but actually means “dark red.”
- Pike – derived from the Middle English “pyke,” meaning “sharp point.”
- Puck – this Shakespeare-inspired name describes a “goblin” or “sprite.”
- Quaker – this derisive nickname describes “people trembling at the word of the Lord.”
- Raiden – this Japanese name means “god of thunder and lightning.”
- Ravana – a wonderful Sanskrit name meaning “to roar.”
- Raven – this gothic name means “dark-haired” and “wise.”
- Reinhardt – derived from the Old German Raginhart, meaning “brave counsel” and “strength of advice.”
- Ripley – the badass main character in Alien – means “clearing in the woods.”
- Rogue – this gender-neutral English name means “unpredictable and mischievous.”
- Rook – this dark Old English name means “crow” and “chariot.”
- Ryker – means “powerful ruler” in Danish and “rich” in German.
- Saber – this weapon-inspired French name means “sword” and “patient.”
- Salem – the infamous witch trials – means “peaceful, safe,” and “complete.”
- Saxon – this Germanic name means “dagger” or “short sword.”
- Scar – every self-respecting villain has a scar – means “mark left on the skin.”
- Severin – of Latin origin, describing a “stern, severe,” and “austere” person.”
- Shadow – the ultimate dark superhero name – means “shade” in Old English.
- Sheldon – the perfect villainous hideout location – means “steep valley.”
- Silva – this Spanish name describes many a bad person hiding in a “woodland or forest.”
- Sirius – now associated with Sirius Black; this Roman name means “burning” and “dog star.”
- Sisk – this Irish and Welsh name describes an early “Saxon.”
- Spikes – an edgy pick among dark surnames, describing a “long, heavy nail” in Old English.
- Stoker – the great author of Dracula – means “one who tends the fire.”
- Stryker – a great fantasy character name, meaning “to strike” or “to smooth” in Dutch and Old English.
- Sullivan – this Irish and Gaelic name means “dark eyes.”
- Sweeney – while this Irish name means “small hero,” it’s also associated with Sweeney Todd.
- Sylvester – is derived from the Latin “silvestris,” meaning “wooded” and “wild.”
- Talon – an arresting nature-inspired name describing a “bird’s claw.”
- Taos – this Mexican name means “place of the red willows” – red with blood, perhaps?
- Tempest – an Old English name describing “turbulent and stormy” weather.
- Thorne – was Damian’s surname in The Omen – means “thorn bush.”
- Troy – the besieged Turkish city from Greek mythology – means “foot soldier.”
- Uberto – some of the most evil people have “brilliant minds,” which also means “shining intellect” in German.
- Ulysses – dark names have dark meanings – this epic Greek and Latin name means “wrathful.”
- Underwood – this Old English name means “below a hillside wood” and has spiritual undertones.
- Vaughn – of Welsh origin; some of the most evil figures have been “little.”
- Vega – this beautifully descriptive Arabic and Spanish name means “swooping eagle.”
- Velasco – an ancient Basque/Spanish surname meaning “little crow” or “raven.”
- Vesper – this unisex Latin name means “evening star” or “evening prayer.”
- Voltaire – the famous French author – means “determined little thing.”
- Wade – the perfect gunslinger name – means “to go” and “ford” in Old English.
- Wanless – this Old English surname means “hopeless” and “luckless.”
- Wednesday – the dark daughter of the Addams Family – means “day of Mercury.”
- Wheatley – the macabre satanic author Dennis Wheatley – means “from the wheat meadow.”
- Whitlock – an apt warlock name – means “white hair.”
- Wilde – the perfect German name for “undisciplined and untamed” children.
- Winter – a cool anime name meaning “time of water.”
- Wolf – some nature-inspired names are cool – means “of courage and cunning.”
- Wolfgang – many dark family names are nature-inspired – means “way of the wolf.”
- Wolfram – a descriptively dark name meaning “wolf raven” in German.
- Wraith – fewer dark names are as mysterious as this one – means “ghost or spirit.”
- Xenon – a futuristic-sounding Greek name meaning “stranger.”
- Zelda – this High German girl’s name means “dark battle, gray fighting maiden,” and “Christian battle.”
- Zorro – is of Spanish origin, meaning “sly” and “cunning.”
