Names That Mean Sorrow

Brona

Irish

"sorrow"

Brona is an Anglicized form of Bronach or Bronagh, the name of a sixth century mystic and follower of Saint Patrick. The name is attracting some modern notice in the US via the character Brona Croft…

Tristana

Celtic mythology name, feminine variation of Tristan

"sorrow"

A more substantial but less-popular feminization of Tristan, the originally-male mythological name now used for girls as well as boys.

Tristine

Feminine variation of Tristan, Celtic

"sorrow"

Tristine is an uncommon girls' name that feminizes the mythological Tristan, yet is used for girls much more rarely than the original.

Bronagh

Irish

"sorrow"

Bronagh, along with Anglicized form Brona, is a popular name in Ireland. It's the name of a sixth century mystic as well as a modern television character on Penny Dreadful.

Nepenthe

Greek

"a poetic drug said to banish sorrow from a person's mind"

Mourning

English word name

"grief, sorrow"

Mourning was recorded as a name among enslaved people in 19th-century America, where other names that capture the atrocities of slavehood — such as Suffer, Misery, and Hardtimes — were used as well.

Ulalume

Literary invented name, Latin

"wailing, a light symbolizing sorrow"

The titular character of a tragic poem by Edgar Allen Poe set in a lonesome October. Ulalume may be representative of death itself, making the name feel gothic and otherwordly. The etymology is…