100 Beautiful Dark Names and Their Meanings

Some names carry the hush of nightfall, the deep of a shadow, or the quiet of a moonless sky. Names that mean dark have pulled from Irish, Arabic, Sanskrit, and Old English roots for centuries, worn by figures in myth and history who leaned into that mystery rather than away from it.

This list gathers 100 names that mean dark, sorted into 40 girl names, 51 boy names, and 9 unisex picks. Each entry comes with its origin and the story or meaning behind it, so you can see where the name comes from and why it fits.

Whether your baby arrived after dusk, has striking dark features, or simply suits a name with a little shadow in it, there is something here to spark the idea you are chasing.

40 Gorgeous Girl Names That Mean Dark

The Social Security Administration has tracked given names from card applications for U.S. births going back to 1880, though names before 1937 are undercounted because many people never applied ⁽¹⁾. According to the agency’s 2025 rankings, Olivia and Liam topped its list of the 1,000 most popular U.S. baby names that year ⁽²⁾.
These beautiful girl names that mean dark will perfectly suit your little queen of the night:

1. Adriana: A romantic Latin girl name meaning “from Hadria” or “dark.”
2. Adrienne: The French feminine form of Adrian, sharing the Latin root meaning “from Hadria” or “dark.”
3. Branna: A fresh and flighty Gaelic girl name with the dark animal-inspired meaning of “raven.”
4. Brenn: A hip and mysterious Scandinavian name meaning “raven” or “dark-haired.”
5. Bruna: A pretty Portuguese choice among dark names, Bruna means “brown.”
6. Charna: A beautifully unique Yiddish name meaning “dark, black.”
7. Ciara: This sweet Gaelic name sounds light and airy but actually means “dark.”
8. Dài yù: Meaning “black jade,” this Mandarin name is full of dark shimmer and intrigue.
9. Dee: A perky Welsh female name meaning “dark,” after the river running through England and Wales.
10. Duana: A magical Gaelic girl name meaning “from darkness.”
11. Ebony: A gorgeous English word taken from the dark tree wood.
12. Esmeray: A dreamy Turkish girl’s name meaning “dark moon.”
13. Hamna: A unique Arabic name meaning “dark grape” or “berry.”
14. Jemisha: A regal and unique Hindi name meaning “queen of the darkness.”
15. Jetta: A Latin-rooted girl’s name meaning “jet black,” perfect for a baby with luscious dark hair.
16. Kali: After the Hindu goddess of death and time, this name means “dark one.”
17. Kauket: The feminine form of Kek, an Egyptian name perfect for your little queen of the darkness.
18. Keira: A cute variant of the Celtic Ceira, meaning “dark.”
19. Kiora: A Celtic name meaning “little dark love,” sounding like the Maori greeting “kia ora.”
20. Laila: A pretty Hebrew-rooted girl name meaning “dark” or “of the night.”
21. Lamya: A romantic Arabic name for a baby girl with beautiful dark features.
22. Layla: A soft spelling variant of Leila meaning “dark.”
23. Lilith: Meaning “belonging to the night,” this dark girl’s name is highly recognizable and mysterious.
24. Maura: A cute Italian female name meaning “dark” or “moorish.”
25. Maurizia: A longer, sophisticated Italian name meaning “dark” or “moorish.”
26. Melania: A Russian and Italian form of Melanie, from the Greek word for “dark” or “black.”
27. Melanie: A popular Greek-rooted feminine name meaning “dark,” which could relate to hair color or skin tone.
28. Nótt: The feminine personification of the night in Norse mythology.
29. Nyx: This shadowy name meaning “night” belonged to a Greek mythological personification of the night.
30. Ombra: The Italian word for “shadow” casts a dark yet delicate glow.
31. Rajani: A Sanskrit girl’s name meaning “night” or “the dark one,” used as an epithet for the goddesses Kali and Durga.
32. Raven: A stylish animal-inspired pick among dark names, named after the iconic bird.
33. Sable: A small mammal and a dark shade of black.
34. Sandhya: An emotive Indian girl name meaning “dusk” or “evening.”
35. Skaði: Meaning “shadow,” Skaði was the Norse mythological goddess of skiing and winter, pronounced “skhad-y.”
36. Te-Uri: A unique choice belonging to the Tahitian goddess of darkness.
37. Umbra: A dark space name relating to the darkest part of the moon’s shadow during an eclipse.
38. Yamini: A lyrical Hindi and Sanskrit girl’s name meaning “night” or “nocturnal.”
39. Zelda: A fierce Germanic warrior name meaning “dark battle, gray fighter, strong woman.”
40. Zylla: A dark and mysterious Hebrew name meaning “shadow.”

51 Beautiful Boy Names That Mean Dark

Help your child stand out with these distinct boy names that mean dark:

1. Abnus: An Arabic boy name meaning “ebony.”
2. Adrean: A Latin-rooted name meaning “from Hadria” or “dark one.”
3. Adrian: A popular Roman male name meaning “from Hadria” or “dark.”
4. Apep: The Egyptian deity of chaos and darkness.
5. Araphel: Meaning “God’s darkness,” a shadowy Hebrew boy’s name.
6. Blagden: An Anglo-Saxon surname with the shady meaning of “dark valley.”
7. Bruno: Meaning “brown,” this cute boy’s name is dark and mysterious.
8. Caliban: A great Shakespearian name meaning “darkness, black.”
9. Chernobog: An epic name meaning “black God,” after the Slavic god of darkness and evil.
10. Ciar: An Old Irish word meaning “black,” and the stem of names such as Ciaran.
11. Ciaran: A Gaelic boy name for a little “dark” one.
12. Colby: Like Cole, this English name and surname means “dark.”
13. Cole: A cool, short English name meaning “coal black” or “swarthy” (dark-skinned).
14. Daray: An American and Irish name meaning “dark” or “dark-skinned.”
15. Darcel: A male version of Darcy, Darcel means “dark” in French.
16. Dolan: A unique Irish choice among boy names meaning “dark, defiant.”
17. Donker: A Dutch surname meaning “dark, somber” that would make an intriguing given name.
18. Donovan: An Irish surname and given name meaning “dark.”
19. Dougal: Meaning “dark stranger,” this Scottish boy’s name carries a lot of history.
20. Douglas: A Scottish name meaning “dark water,” bringing the legendary Loch Ness monster to mind.
21. Dubhán: A rare name from Old Irish meaning “little dark one.”
22. Duff: A unique given name and surname meaning “dark,” derived from Gaelic roots.
23. Duncan: Meaning “dark warrior,” this Scottish name sounds fierce and strong.
24. Dwayne: Rooted in Irish, this cool name means “dark one.”
25. Elatha: Meaning “art” or “craft,” Elatha was a prince of darkness from Irish mythology.
26. Erebus: A unique and mysterious Greek male name borne by the god and personification of “darkness.”
27. Gethin: A smart Welsh pick among male names meaning “dark, swarthy.”
28. Hades: Meaning “unseen,” Hades was a Greek mythological god of the underworld, night, and darkness.
29. Hari: An enchanting Hindi name meaning “dark” or “tawny.”
30. Jet: An English word name for jet, the deep-black gemstone, ideal for a striking one-syllable pick.
31. Keir: Like the feminine Kiera, this Irish boy’s name means “dark.”
32. Kek: The Egyptian god of primordial darkness.
33. Kerry: Means “from the Kingdom of Ciar” in Ireland, which translates to “black.”
34. Krishna: A Hindi deity and strong male name meaning “dark, black.”
35. Maurice: A French masculine name meaning “dark, moorish.”
36. Mauritz: A cool Swedish choice among male names that mean “dark” or “moorish.”
37. Mauro: A strong European name also meaning “dark, moorish.”
38. Maurycy: A Polish form of Maurice meaning “dark, moorish.”
39. Moreno: An alluring Spanish boy’s name meaning “dark.”
40. Mørk: A Danish given name and surname meaning “dark.”
41. Morris: A medieval form of Maurice that is also a common surname.
42. Myrick: A unique Welsh variant of Maurice meaning “dark, moorish.”
43. Myrkur: The Icelandic word for “darkness” could make a fierce and memorable name.
44. Nigel: An English name often assumed to mean “dark” in Latin.
45. Orpheus: The Greek legendary lyre-player whose name means “darkness of night.”
46. Piran: A cool, unique Cornish name meaning “dark.”
47. Scotus: A rare name from the Roman god of darkness, rooted in the Latin and Greek word for shadow, “skotos.”
48. Shyamal: A unique Sanskrit-rooted name meaning “dark,” as in shades of black and blue.
49. Sullivan: Meaning “dark-eyed one,” this Irish name gives the adorable nickname of Sully.
50. Sunil: A Sanskrit name for a shade of “very dark blue.”
51. Yagiz: A memorable Turkish male name meaning “dark, brown.”

9 Cool Unisex Names That Mean Dark

These gender-neutral dark names offer a mysterious and intriguing edge:

1. Blake: The perfect mix of light and dark, this Old English name can mean “fair” or “dark.”
2. Braith: A cool-sounding Welsh name meaning “speckled,” or the beautiful light and dark mix of “black and white.”
3. Darcy: A cute and attractive Irish name for a “dark-haired” baby.
4. Delaney: An upbeat Gaelic given name and surname meaning “dark.”
5. Kiernan: A dreamy unisex name from Gaelic meaning “little dark one.”
6. Merle: The name of a blackbird in French and a variant of names such as Muriel.
7. Onyx: A dazzling gender-neutral name inspired by the jet-black gemstone.
8. Quintisha: An African name meaning “black and proud,” perfect for a baby with a beautiful dark skin tone.
9. Shadow: Popular as a pet name but gaining traction for babies, this word name is fully embraced by the dark.

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