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Halloween Baby Names |
We had a lot of fun compiling our list of "spooky" baby names for Halloween, and we hope you have fun reading our list! We defined 'spooky' as names which have a hidden meaning; meanings which may give you a little shiver down the back. We tried to keep the list to names with somewhat 'scary' meanings...as opposed to names with merely unfortunate meanings. (Names like Portia, which is the feminine version of the name Porcius, which means "pig.")
Most of these names didn't make it into the Top 1000 names for 2009, and in some cases, it's easy to see why! But a few of the names on our spooky list surprised us by actually making the Top 1000. We give you the ranking for each of the spooky names, so you can see which ones were popular in 2009.
What should you do, if you like a name with a spooky meaning? (Maybe you've always loved the name Patience, or you want to name your baby Drake, because it's a family name.) We say, go ahead and give your baby a name you love, no matter what the meaning may be. You'll be giving your baby a name you think is wonderful, and that's the only 'meaning' that really matters!
Girl Name #1:
Antigone is a classical name which is derived from the roots anti, meaning "against" and gon, meaning "birth." Against Birth? Probably not a name you want for your new baby girl! It's no surprise that Antigone didn't make it into the Top 1000 names for 2009!
Boy Name #1:
The name Carey, meaning "dark," comes from the Gaelic "ciardha. Some sources associate the name with an Irish term meaning “descendant of the dark one.” Like Antigone, the name Carey didn't make it into the Top 1000.
Girl Name #2:
The name Arachne means "spider" in Greek. Arachne was brought back to life as a spider, by the goddess Athena, after Arachne hanged herself.
Certainly not a Top 1000 contender!
Boy Name #2:
The name is derived from the Greek word kerberos, which some sources claim means "demon of the pit". Cerberus was the mythological name of the three-headed dog which guards the entrance to Hades. We doubt this name will ever make it into the Top 1000!
Girl Name #3:
The name is derived from a Greek word meaning "foreign, strange". The root of the name is the same as the root of the word 'barbarian'. St. Barbara was a 3rd century Syrian saint, who was killed by her father. Despite this, the name ranked as #656 on the Top 1000 names for 2009!
Boy Name #3:
The name Cormac is comprised from Gaelic elements meaning “son of defilement.” Most people don't want to associate themselves with 'defilement' which is probably why this name hasn't made it into the Top 1000 yet!
Girl Name #4:
The name Hel comes from Norse mythology. It was name of the daughter of Loki, who ruled the underworld. The name has the same root at the English word "Hell." Not a name which made it into the Top 1000!
Boy Name #4:
There are different ways to spell the name, including Damien and Damon. Although some sources mistakenly think the name is derived from the Latin word daemon meaning "a spirit, a demon", the name is actually derived from the Greek word daman, which means "to tame or subdue. Often the term was a euphemism meaning "to kill." Demonic indeed! The name Damien ranked 127th in the Top 1000 for 2009, and the alternate spelling Damon ranked number 519.
Girl Name #5:
The meaning of the name Lilith is "of the night" and was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian folklore. Despite the fact that it's a pretty name, it's another name which didn't make it into the Top 1000 last year.
Boy Name #5:
More likely to be used as a nickname, instead of a given name, Diablito is derived from Spanish and means "little devil." This name didn't make it into the Top 1000 names of 2009.
Girl Name #6:
The name is derived from the English word 'patience' but most people don't know that the word patience comes from the Latin word patientia, which means "to suffer." Despite this, the name Patience hasn't suffered in the rankings and made it to number 747 of the Top 1000 names for 2009.
Boy Name #6:
Derived from the Latin word draca, the name Drake means "dragon". Not spooky enough for you? The word draca also forms the root of the name Dracula!
(Maybe this is where J. K. Rowling got the inspiration to name the Draco Malfoy
character in the Harry Potter books?) In the list of the Top 1000 names for 2009, Drake came in at number 230.
Girl Name #7:
The name Sidony is derived from a Latin surname, Sidonius, which mean a "person from Sidon" in Phoenician. The name also became associated with the Greek word sindon, which is a shroud. Not surprisingly, this name didn't make it into the 2009 list of Top 1000 names!
Boy Name #7:
The name Job is taken from Hebrew and means "hated, oppressed." (As if the Biblical Job didn't have enough to worry about!) Despite the increasing popularity of Biblical Names, the name Job didn't make it into the Top 1000 names
of 2009.
Girl Name #8:
Thana is a feminine form of the name Thanatos which means "death" in Greek. Thana didn't make it into the Top 1000 names for 2009.
Boy Name #8:
Rudolph is taken from the Old German name Hrodulf, which means "wolf". Rudolph didn't make the Top 1000 list of names for 2009.
A number of other names in our database are also associated with the word wolf. These include: