Baby Names with Dark Meanings
Senior Content Specialist
November 03, 2022
Are the sweeping, dreary landscapes of gothic literature your home? Are the Grimm’s Fairy Tales not quite grim enough? Is Halloween just one day of a spooky lifetime? If you’ve answered “yes” to any of these questions, you’ve come to the right place! Baby girl, boy, and gender-neutral names with dark meanings are here to invoke those deep night feelings daily. These names are an opportunity to teach baby about the glorious macabre.
What makes darkness enticing?
Whether you’re drawn to the unbeaten paths of the forest, or you can’t quite figure out why you love scary movies, the darkness can be alluring. Ironically, what makes darkness so enticing can be boiled down to stimulation. Humans enjoy consuming and exposing themselves to the unthinkable and the anticipation of what goes bump in the night. These reactions, preemptive or reactive, provide mental and physical stimulation through fear or excitement. When a person is frightened, adrenaline courses through the body to elicit heightened awareness and quick reaction time. But, even though the moment is scary, adrenaline is a similar hormone to dopamine—the happiness hormone.
What does darkness do to the brain?
It’s often speculated that darkness enables the deepest, most ungoverned part of the mind and soul to call the shots. Humans can imagine seeing things and even more readily lie, reflecting the darker aspects of the psyche once given the freedom to. Scientifically speaking, darkness can be the root cause of one’s depression; spending too much time in darkness can slow the production of serotonin. It can also be at the root of the term illusory anonymity. This term essentially means that people in perceived darkness—a dim room or even just wearing sunglasses—have a general tendency toward dishonesty. However, people are more than their basic chemicals. Before the modern era of technology—including the invention of electricity—humans were accustomed to the dark. Sleeping in total darkness proves to be more restful and, over time, can improve circadian rhythms, making for a long-lasting better quality of life.
What makes a dark meaning?
Dark meanings capture the mysterious essence of the unknown and the terrifying. A strong majority of these baby names include connections to the night, devilry, and folklore of many different breeds. But there is a difference between outright evil and simply eerie connotations with some of these definitions. Some names specifically call upon death, while others might offer a slightly more complicated tale to dive into. These names provide the opportunity to look into Dracula folklore, the intricacies of Beelzebub, and the deep sadness of Banshees in Irish folklore.
