100 Names That Mean “Cursed” for Boys & Girls

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Name consultant Sonya Prior shares a few of her favorite names with cursed meanings

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Last Updated: September 2, 2026 References

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For Boys

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The best names aren’t always rainbows and sunshine! Sometimes, a dark, moody, and ominous name is the right vibe, and that’s why we’ve compiled this comprehensive list of names that mean “cursed,” including male, female, and gender-neutral options. Whether you’re trying to name a fictional character or an expecting parent who leans toward the goth side of life, you’re sure to find a cursed name you love below. We also asked a few of wikiHow’s resident naming and horror experts for their favorite names that convey misfortune or doom, so keep reading!

Top Names That Mean “Cursed”

Name consultant Sonya Prior lists Dolores, Ophelia, Mort, Donahue, and Dorian as a few of her favorite names with cursed or dark meanings and energies.

Section 1 of 4:

Girl Names that Mean “Cursed”

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There are tons of feminine names that have ominous, cursed energy to them. Classic cursed girls’ names include Desdemona, which literally means “ill-fated” or “unlucky,” and Mallory, which means “ill-omened” or “unfortunate.” Horror expert Sydney Bermudez adds that Lilith, Raven, and Vesper are a few of her favorite names with dark meanings, and she says that names inspired by horror characters who experience extreme misfortune, like Carrie from Stephen King’s Carrie, are great options, too.^{[1]
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- Acantha: “Thorn,” also the name of a figure from Greek mythology who is turned into a thorn bush after she spurns Apollo. Greek origin.
- Achlys: “Dark mists,” also the personified spirit of death mists in Greek mythology. Greek origin.
- Adaliah: “One who draws water, poverty, cloud, or death,” Hebrew origin.
- Agrona: “Goddess of strife and slaughter,” also the name of a Celtic goddess of war and death, Old English origins.
- Alecto: “Unceasing anger,” also the name of one of the Furies from Greek mythology. Greek origin.
- Amaya: “The end” or “night rain,” Japanese origins.
- Arachne: “Spider,” also a tragic figure in Greek mythology who is turned into a spider after challenging Athena to a tapestry competition. Greek origin.
- Asaka: “Beautiful death,” Japanese origin.
- Banshee: “Fairy woman,” also a mythological figure in Irish folklore whose wailing warns that death is coming. Irish origin.
- Bronach: “Sorrow” or “sadness,” Irish origin.
- Carrie: “Free man,” also the ill-fated protagonist in Stephen King’s horror novel, Carrie. German origin.
- Cassandra: “To excel” or “shine,” also a tragic figure in Greek mythology who is cursed to prophesy the truth without anyone believing her. Greek origin.
- Cessair: “Sorrow” or "affliction," Irish origin.
- Deianira: “Destroyer of man,” also the wife of Heracles who is tricked into accidentally killing him in Greek mythology. Greek origin.
- Desdemona: “Ill-fated” or “unlucky,” also a tragic heroine in Shakespeare’s Othello. Greek origin.
- Dolores: “Lady of sorrows,” Latin origin.
- Eris: “Strife,” also the goddess of discord in Greek mythology. Greek origin.
- Ernaline: “Battle to the death,” Celtic origin.
- Hecate: “Far away,” also the name of the Greek goddess of witchcraft, magic, and demons. Greek origins.
- Isolde: “Ice ruler, ice battle,” or “one who is gazed at,” also the name of a tragic figure in the medieval tale of Tristan and Isolde. English origin.
- Jezebel: “Baal exalts” or “unexalted,” also the name of the daughter of a king who is condemned by God in the Hebrew Bible. Hebrew origins.
- Keres: “Death spirits,” Greek origin.
- Lamia: “Devouring,” “shining,” “radiant,” or “throat,” also a queen who is turned into a child-eating monster in ancient myths. Arabic and Greek origins.
- Lilith: “Belonging to the night,” also the name of Adam’s first wife who was banished from Eden for disobedience in Jewish folklore. Babylonian origins.
- Lola: “Sorrow,” Spanish and Latin origins.
- Louhi: “Goddess of death” or “snake,” Finnish origin.
- Mallory: “Without good fortune,” “unfortunate,” or “ill-omened,” French origin.
- Mara: “Bitter,” also the name Naomi claims to encompass her grief after the deaths of her husband and sons in the Bible. Hebrew origins.
- Medusa: “Cunning,” also the name of a tragic figure from Greek mythology who is unfairly punished by Athena with a curse that turns her hair into snakes. Greek origin.
- Melinoe: “Dark thought,” also a tragic figure in Greek mythology and the goddess of ghosts and nightmares. Greek origin.
- Morrigan: “Bringer of death,” also a fearsome goddess in Celtic and Irish mythology. Irish origin.
- Ophelia: “Help” or “aid,” also the name of a character who suffers a tragic fate in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Greek origin.
- Pandora: “All gifts,” also the name of a figure from Greek mythology who condemns the world when she opens a box releasing all of mankind’s ills. Greek origin.
- Persephone: “Bringer of death,” also the name of a goddess who is kidnapped by Hades and forced to become the Queen of the Underworld in Greek mythology. Greek origins.
- Raven: “A large black bird;” ravens are often seen as an ill omen and symbol of death, as well. British origin.^{[2]
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- Thana: “Death,” Arabic origin.
- Tisiphone: “Avenger of murder,” also one of the furies in Greek mythology. Greek origin.
- Tristana: “Sad,” Latin origin.
- Vesper: “Evening star” or “evening prayer,” Latin origin.^{[3]
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Meet the wikiHow Experts

Sonya Prior is an Auckland-based name consultant known as the BB Namer who also shares name content on social media to over 30k followers across TikTok and Instagram.

Sydney Bermudez is a horror content creator and Mexican folklore and urban legends expert who boasts over 400k followers on TikTok and Instagram.

Section 2 of 4:

Boy Names That Mean “Cursed”

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Prior says a few of her favorite boy names with cursed or shadowy energies include Donahue (“dark warrior”) and Dorian (“from the sea”).^{[4]
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Sonya Prior
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Expert Interview} The literal meaning of Dorian may not seem all that dark or eerie, but the name immediately calls to mind Dorian Gray from Oscar Wilde’s book The Picture of Dorian Gray—a character cursed to remain young and beautiful forever while a painted portrait of him reveals the darkness within.^{[5]
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- Abadon: “Doom” or “destruction,” also the angel who reigned over the abyss in the Bible. Hebrew origin.
- Abel: “Breath” or “vapor,” also the name of the first murder victim (at the hands of his brother) in the Bible. Hebrew origin.
- Achilles: “Pain or grief of the people,” also the name of a legendary Greek warrior who was cursed to have one weak spot in his heel, leading to his demise. Greek origin.
- Aeron: “Shining light,” also the name of the Welsh god of slaughter and battle. Hebrew and Celtic origins.
- Ajal: “Hour of death,” Arabic origin.
- Akuji: “Dead and awake,” African origin.
- Amsel: “Blackbird,” which is often seen as an ill omen or sign of misfortune. Hebrew origin.
- Ankou: The personification of death in Cornish mythology. Breton, Cornish, and Welsh origins.
- Arawn: Welsh king of the Otherworld, or the realm of the dead. Welsh origins.
- Apollyon: “Destroyer,” also the name of an abyss and the demonic angel that lives there in ancient mythology. Greek origin.
- Bram: “Father of multitudes,” “bramble,” or “brushwood,” also the name of Bram Stoker, author of Dracula.
- Brennan: “Descendant of the sad one,” Irish origin.
- Cain: “Acquired,” “craftsman,” or “spearer,” also the name of a Biblical figure who is cursed to be a restless wanderer forever after killing his brother. Hebrew origins.
- Casimiro: “Destroyer of peace,” Spanish origin.
- Charon: “Of keen gaze,” also the figure in Greek mythology tasked with rowing newly dead souls across the River Styx into the Underworld. Greek origin.
- Crawford: “Ford of the crows,” a bird historically seen as an ill omen or sign of bad luck. English origin.
- Donahue: “Dark warrior,” Irish origin.
- Donavan: “Dark warrior,” Irish origin.
- Dorian: “From the sea,” also the name of the cursed protagonist in Oscar Wilde’s novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Greek origin.^{[6]
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- Draven: “Hunter” or “the hunted,” English origin.
- Goneril: “Unnatural grief,” also the name of a villainous character who suffers a tragic fate in Shakespeare’s King Lear. English origin.
- Grimsley: “Dark meadow,” British origin.
- Jabez: “Sorrowful” or “pain,” Hebrew origin.
- Jalon: “Abode of misfortune” or “dwelling of sorrow,” Hebrew origin.
- Judas: “Praised,” also the name of the disciple who betrayed Jesus in the Bible. Greek origin.
- Kazmer: “Destroyer of peace,” Hungarian origin.
- Lucifer: “Light-bringer,” also the name of an angel who falls from grace and is condemned in the Bible. Latin origin.
- Malachi: “My messenger” or “messenger of doom,” associated with prophecies of doom in the Bible. Hebrew origin.
- Malloy: “Ill-fated” or “noble chief,” Irish origin.
- Moros: “Doom” or “destined for death,” also the personified spirit of doom in Greek mythology. Greek origin.
- Mort: “Death,” “dead,” or “still water,” French origin.^{[7]
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- Mortimer: “Dead sea,” Latin origin.
- Morty: “Dead water” or “dead pond,” British and French origins.
- Noctis: “Of the night” or “of darkness,” Latin origin.
- Odin: “Lord of frenzy,” “fury,” or “frantic,” also the Norse god of death, wisdom, and poetry.
- Orpheus: “The darkness of the night,” also the name of the tragic figure in Greek mythology who tries to rescue his beloved from the Underworld. Greek origin.
- Perses: “Destroyer,” also a Greek Titan and the father of Hecate, goddess of witchcraft and demons. Greek origin.
- Pluto: The Roman god of the dead and the underworld. Roman origins.
- Prometheus: “Forethought,” also the Titan from Greek mythology who is punished by the gods for stealing their fire and showing it to mankind. Greek origin.
- Samael: “Venom of God” or “blindness of God,” also an archangel of destruction and death in angelic lore. Hebrew origins.
- Than: “Death,” Vietnamese origin.
- Tristan: “Sorrowful” or “sad,” also the name of a tragic figure in the medieval tale of Tristan and Isolde.

Section 3 of 4:

Gender-Neutral Names That Mean “Cursed”

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If you’re looking for a gender-neutral name that means “cursed,” you’re in luck—there are tons of dark, shadowy, and ominous options to choose from! Bermudez offers names like Nyx, Onyx, Salem, Hallow, and Regan, but here are a few more great picks:^{[8]
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- Adrienne: “Dark,” Latin origin.
- Atlas: “Enduring,” also the name of the Titan from Greek mythology cursed to carry the world upon his shoulders. Greek origin.
- Blake: “Black,” “dark,” “pale,” “white,” or “flower,” British and Gaelic origins.
- Bronte: “Thunder” or “bestower,” also the last name of gothic novelists Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë, whose works feature many characters with tragic or cursed fates.
- Cass: “One who shines and excels over man,” also a reference to Cassandra, the tragic figure in Greek mythology cursed to prophesy a truth no one would believe.
- Darcy: “Descendant of the dark one” or “dark-haired,” Irish and French origins.
- Hallow: “Sacred” or “holy,” also associated with All Hallow’s Eve or Halloween. English origin.
- Jinx: “A spell or curse,” English origin.
- Kieran: “Black” or “little dark one,” Irish origin.
- Marley: “Marshy meadow,” also the name of a ghost cursed to wear heavy chains for eternity in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
- Morgan: “Circle of the sea” or “born of the sea,” also the name of Morgan le Fey, a mischievous enchantress from Arthurian legend. Welsh origin.
- Nyx: “Night,” also the Greek deity that is the personification of night. Greek origin.
- Onyx: “Claw,” “nail,” or “gemstone,” Greek origin.
- Poe: “Peacock,” also the name of Edgar Allen Poe, the American poet famous for his gothic works with dark, heavy themes.
- Regan: “Little king,” also the name of a villainous character in Shakespear’s King Lear who suffers a doomed fate, as well as the name of the possessed main character in The Exorcist. Irish origin.
- Rue: “Regret,” English origin.
- Sable: “Black,” Slavic origin.
- Salem: “Peaceful,” “safe,” “complete,” or “perfect,” also the name of the infamous town in Massachusetts where several citizens were prosecuted for witchcraft.^{[9]
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- Thorne: “Prickly bush” or “thorny,” English origin.