90 Best Creepy & Scary Names for Characters

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Find horror-themed names for your little one or a fictional character

Co-authored by Raven Minyard, BA

Last Updated: January 5, 2026 Fact Checked

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For Girls

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For Boys

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Unisex

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Other

Boo! Did we scare you? If you love to be scared, what better way to show off your spooky interests than by naming your child (or character) after your favorite horror movie villain or Gothic literature heroine? In this article, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best scary names for boys and girls, as well as plenty of gender-neutral options. Keep reading to find the perfect name for you!

Eerie Names for Boys & Girls

For boys: Damien, Cain, Azrael, Draco, Heathcliff
For girls: Belladonna, Dahlia, Samara, Mina, Draconia
Unisex: Salem, Nyx, Poe, October, Onyx

Section 1 of 4:

Scary Names for Girls

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Pick an eerie but elegant name for a girl. Many creepy girls’ names are inspired by poisonous flowers or characters from Gothic literature. Some of these names may sound unusual, while others are relatively common. Here are some of our favorites:
- Amaryllis (after a toxic flower)
- Belladonna (after the poisonous flower)
- Bellatrix (after Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter)
- Carmilla (after Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu)
- Carrie (after Carrie by Stephen King)^{[1]
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- Dahlia (after the Black Dahlia Murder)
- Desdemona (after Desdemona from Shakespeare’s Othello, meaning “misery”)^{[2]
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- Draconia (meaning “dragon-like”)
- Elizabeth (after Elizabeth Bathory)
- Elvira (after Elvira, Mistress of the Dark)
- Hecate (after the Greek goddess of magic and crossroads)
- Jezebel (a wicked queen from the Bible)
- Kali (after the Hindu goddess of time, change, death, and destruction)
- Lamia (after a child-eating monster from Greek mythology)
- Laurie (after Laurie Strode from Halloween)^{[3]
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- Lenore (after Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”)
- Ligeia (after “Ligeia” by Edgar Allan Poe)
- Lilith (after the Assyrian demon)
- Lucy (after Lucy from Dracula)
- Luna (meaning “moon”)^{[4]
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- Maleficent (after Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty)^{[5]
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- Mina (after Mina from Dracula)
- Morrigan (after the Irish goddess of war, fate, and death)
- Morticia (after Morticia Addams)
- Ophelia (after Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet)
- Persephone (Greek goddess of the underworld)
- Raven (after Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”)^{[6]
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- Rosemary (after Rosemary’s Baby)
- Samara (after Samara from The Ring)
- Willow (after Willow Rosenberg from Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Section 2 of 4:

Scary Names for Boys

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Choose a dark name for a boy. Many villains from horror movies and Gothic literature are men, so there’s no shortage of scary boy names to choose from. If you prefer, choose a name from religion or mythology. Here are some examples:
- Asmodeus (the demon of wrath from the Bible)
- Azrael (the angel of death from the Bible)
- Bram (after Bram Stoker)
- Cain (after Cain from the Bible)
- Casimir (meaning “to destroy peace”)
- Chucky (after Chucky from Child’s Play)
- Corbin (a French name for “raven”)
- Damien (after Damien from The Omen)^{[7]
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- Dexter (after the TV show Dexter)
- Dorian (after Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde)
- Draco (“Drac” means “devil” in Romanian)
- Edgar (after Edgar Allan Poe)
- Edward (after Edward Scissorhands)
- Gomez (after Gomez Addams)
- Hannibal (after Hannibal Lecter)
- Heathcliff (after Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights)
- Ichabod (after Ichabod Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow)
- Jack (after Jack the Ripper or Jack Torrance from The Shining)
- Jason (after Jason from Friday the 13th)^{[8]
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- Krueger (after Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street)
- Lestat (after Lestat from Interview With the Vampire)
- Lucifer (a fallen angel from the Bible, another name for Satan)
- Michael (after Michael Myers from Halloween)^{[9]
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- Mortimer (meaning “dead water”)
- Norman (after Norman Bates from Psycho)^{[10]
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- Tristan (meaning “sadness”)
- Tynan (meaning “dark”)
- Victor (after Victor Frankenstein)
- Vlad (after Vlad the Impaler)
- Wolf (after the animal)

Section 3 of 4:

Scary Gender-Neutral Names

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Choose a creepy unisex name. A lot of spooky names will work for any gender. Whether you’re choosing a new name for yourself or prefer a gender-neutral name for your baby, consider an eerie name inspired by nature or your favorite horror character. Here are some examples:
- Ambrose (meaning “immortal”)
- Ash (meaning “residue from fire”)
- Blaze (meaning “flame, fire”)
- Briar (meaning “shrub, small tree, thorns”)
- Eclipse (a celestial darkening)
- Freddy (after Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street)
- Hemlock (after the poisonous plant that killed Socrates)
- Jadis (after the White Witch from The Chronicles of Narnia)
- Jet (after the color jet black)
- Kestrel (a bird of prey)
- Midnight (after the middle of the night)
- Nemesis (after the Greek goddess of vengeance)
- Night (meaning “darkness, evening”)
- Noir (the French word for “black”)
- Nyx (after the Greek goddess of night)
- October (after the month)
- Onyx (after the black gemstone)
- Pennywise (after Pennywise the Clown from IT)
- Poe (after Edgar Allan Poe)
- Regan (after Regan from The Exorcist)^{[11]
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- Rue (meaning “bitterly regret”)
- Sable (meaning “black”)
- Sage (meaning “wise; cleansing herb”)
- Salem (after the Salem Witch Trials)^{[12]
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- Shade (meaning “shadow, shelter)
- Sidney (after Sidney Prescott from Scream)
- Storm (meaning “tempest, turbulence”)
- Tempest (meaning “stormy”)
- Thorne (meaning “from the thorn bush”)
- Wednesday (after Wednesday Addams)