Names That Mean Death

Makaria or Macaria is the name of two figures in Greek mythology, neither of whom have very uplifting stories to inspire a baby name.

Unusual and rhythmic, the feminine form of the ancient Greek Makarios or the Latinized Macarius, the name of several saints. The modern Spanish male version of the name, Macario, is used in the US.

Ancient Irish king of the underworld, so much more powerful than Don.

Theta is the name of the eighth letter of the ancient Greek alphabet, which is also the symbol of death. As such, it has rarely been used as a baby name.

Lachesis is one of the three Fates of Greek Mythology. She and her sisters determined life from birth to death—Lachesis controlled the length of one's life. We think her Roman name, Decima, is more baby name worthy.

The eponymous character in an Edgar Allan Poe ghost story, gothic Morella was likely based on Latin mors ("death") or Greek mauros ("black"). It’s also a subtle nature name, being an alternative name for the poisonous black nightshade plant.

The suffix Bran is familiar as raven-related since Game of Thrones, and the -ley suffix has been popular since the 1990s heyday of Ashley.

Angliziced form of the Cornish name Ia. According to legend, the Cornish saint Ia was an Irish princess who sailed across the sea to Cornwall on a leaf. She was martyred and buried at the spot where the church of St Ives (called Porth Ia - "St Ia’s cove" - in Cornish) now stands. Ive may be an anglicized form of her name or a variant of the masculine Ivo or Yves, "yew".

Kalliroi is a modern Greek form of the Classical name Callirrhoe, who in mythology was an ocean nymph who accompanied Persephone to the underworld. If you're looking for unusual names with ocean meanings, this should be on your list.

A Polish goddess of seasonal rites and rebirth. She is known to be the bringer of death and the symbol of winter, and is the counterpart of the spring goddess — either Lada or Vesna.

This unusual (to the American ear) unisex name is used throughout Scandinavia and Germany.

In Norse mythology, Valhalla was the great hall that welcomes heroes who died in battle. The residents of Valhalla were hand-picked by Odin, for they were to help him during Ragnarök.

A beautiful name but with a somber meaning — Naenia was the Roman goddess of funerals and lamentation.

The name of the powerful king of fairies in Irish folklore, who also rules over the dead in some legends. Finbar or Finbarr is a related name.

York is one of those names that's always been around but has never gone anywhere. There are records of baby Yorks born in 1880, yet since then it has never been given to more than 20 children in a single year. York has only ever charted as a girl name twice: in 2018, when it was given to five baby girls, and in 2020 to six girls.

This mini-member of the Ivo-Yves family of names is unlikely to appeal to English speakers, as it sounds like "ew".

Manius is one of the lesser-used Roman forenames, far less popular than Lucius, Marcus et al, both in ancient times and today. Its meaning is actually uncertain: another possible origin is from manes, deities of the underworld.

Shiva is one of the principle deities of Hinduism. Shiva is the powerful god of both destruction and resurrection but is also associated as the patron god of yoga, meditation and arts. Shiva's wife is Parvati, the mother goddess of creation.