155+ Names That Mean Trouble

The name of one of the Furies in Greek mythology, a goddess who avenged crimes of murder. She is described as wearing a dripping blood-red robe, with a serpent coiled around her waist.

The name of the hyena character in The Lion King was clearly chosen for it's villainous meaning—not exactly one you want for a baby, but if you can get past that, it's a nice name.

Atropos is one of the three Fates of Greek Mythology. She and her sisters determined life from birth to death—Atropos determined how one would die and would cut the thread of life. Her Roman equivalent is Morta.

There are many more appealing Irish surnames than Foley, and certainly more positive meanings. If Foley is a genuine family name, this would be all right in the middle.

Tuff, a corruption of "tough," has been given to approximately 50 baby boys each year for the past few years. Tough, on the other hand, has never charted as a baby name.

Could Renegade be the next Maverick? The rebellious meaning and fashionable nickname Ren make it a real possibility.

Azubah is one of those unique baby names from the Bible that is both uncommon and usable, especially given that trendy letter Z in the middle. Azubah's sad meaning may be a strike against it. There were two figures named Azubah in the Bible, one the wife of Caleb and the other the mother of Jehoshaphat (as in Jumping).

Extremely rare yet with an on trend sound, although the meaning may put parents off.

Lithe and leonine name chosen for her daughter by singer Erykah Badu -- whose other child has the number name Seven.

This name has a hauntingly appropriate meaning for its most famous bearer, Pakistani women and children's right activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousefzai. The name itself is derived from the more traditional Malalai, which was the name of a 19th century female Afghan freedom fighter. If you're looking for a soft sounding female name that packs a punch in history and in meaning, Malala is definitely a strong contender.

A new, rising word name for boys that has the advantage of sharing sounds with more common names like Bryson and Braydon. And the disadvantage of getting confused with them.

Grit became a buzzword in the 2010s, thanks to both the 2010 film True Grit and psychologist Angela Duckworth's 2016 book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perserverance. The book, based on Duckworth's research, attributes success to grittiness. Clearly, the message stuck with parents, as Grit debuted as a name for boys in 2021.

Used as a first name for a handful of girls every year, Joplin could be seen as a distant cousin of other -lin names, like Caitlin, Brooklyn and Braelynn. We think it works even better as a musical middle name possibility for fans of Janis... or Scott. Both great connections — albeit very different from one another.

The evocative name of one of our most beautiful national parks -- yes, but also the bombastic cartoon character, Yosemite Sam.

Peabody is a quintessentially Waspy surname that your child won't thank you for -- either the pea part or the body part, or the meaning part.

The Hellen spelling of this ancient Greek name refers directly to the Hellenes, another name for the Greek people. The mythological Hellen, related to the sun god Helios, was actually male, though there are no baby boys named Hellen in the US today.

Tornado first meant thunderstorm and only later came to mean whirlwind, the common modern meaning. More recently, Tornado is the first name of a tennis-playing teen whose sister is called the equally attention-getting Hurricane. Both names work for either gender, if you think you can withstand the storm jokes.

You might want to honor premier U.S. architect Frank Gehry--even though he was born Ephraim Goldberg. Gehry, pronounced like the more common surname Geary, may be a spin on the name Gary, which means spear, or derive from the Middle English word geary, which means fickle.

Power is one of the new crop -- Justice, Liberty, Peace -- of strong, clear-cut, declarative choices, though this one carries more assertiveness than virtue.

Notorious debuted on the charts for boys in 1995, at the height of The Notorious B.I.G.'s career.