Vampire Names Bite Back!

With Halloween around the corner, it’s time to lift the lid on vampire names. It’s been a few years since we last covered them, and the vampire world — and the pool of fangtastic names — just keeps growing.

When you’re naming a vampire, you have several options:

Vampire-next-door names are for vampires who try to fit into the human world. These include the timelessly-named Twilight vampires, like Edward, Alice and James. There’s also True Blood with its older generation of names like Bill, Eric and Pam… and Terry Pratchett’s reformed character John “Not-A-Vampire-At-All” Smith.

Next-big-thing vampire names also blend into the human world, but stand out for being super-stylish. They may already be on the rise for babies, and a popular vampire book/show/movie can give them an extra boost. I promise I’m not going to mention Twilight all the time, but Stephenie Meyer was a fashion-forward namer, using up-and coming names like Emmett, Esme, Felix and Jasper years before they really took off.

International vampire names reflect that they’re a multicultural bunch. Eastern and Central European names are popular, as you’d expect from Dracula’s roots in Transylvania, but other nationalities are available, like Anne Rice’s Armand and Santiago. There’s also a strong contingent of Japanese vampires, such as the Manga series Vampire Knight with its lead bloodsuckers Yuki and Zero.

Gothic vampire names are those with a dark, dramatic flavor. These include mythological names and names from the ancient world like Aphrodite and Neferet in the House of Night series; atmospheric word names such as Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’s Jaguar and Darren Shan’s Meteor; and inventions like the moody respellings in the Black Dagger Brotherhood (Phury and Zsadist, anyone?).

And let’s not forget the comedy vampire names that you’re not likely to see in any baby name announcements, like Monster High’s Draculaura and Elissabat.

Here’s a selection of mouthwatering vampire names: one male and one female for (almost) every letter of the alphabet. They range from literary classics through Young Adult fiction and video games. Some are on-trend, some are offbeat, and none of them would be scary on a human baby.

Vampire girl names

Amelie (The Morganville Vampires) — Fresh French alternative to Amelia.

Bianca (The Dresden Files) — Light in sound and meaning.

Claudia (The Vampire Chronicles including Interview with the Vampire) — Recently left the Top 1000, but still timeless.

Drusilla (Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel) — Rare Roman name with clunky charm.

Elena (The Vampire Diaries) — A sleek international crowdpleaser.

Fala (Den of Shadows) — Sweet, simple and almost never used.

Gloriana (Glory St. Clair series) — Unashamedly frilly and, as the curvy vampire shows, could be Glory for short.

Harmony (Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel) — One of the biggest virtue names of the 21st century.

Irina (Twilight saga) — Elegant Slavic import deserving more attention.

Judith (The Southern Vampire Mysteries) — Biblical classic waiting for a comeback.

Kalika (The Last Vampire) — In the book, this name derives from the Indian goddess Kali.

Lucy (Dracula) — The classic vampire-next-door name.

Mavis (Hotel Transylvania) — The perky character helps to make this vintage darling fresh again.

Nadja (What We Do in the Shadows) — Slavic spelling of this hopeful name.

Olga (Young Dracula) — May appeal to lovers of short girl names like Alma and Ida.

Priscilla (Fear Street) — Long and dainty biblical choice.

Remilia (Touhou Project) — Remy plus Emilia equals…

Sophie–Anne (The Southern Vampire Mysteries) — Sweet anglo-french double name that feels like an update of Mary Ann.

Tatiana (Vampire Academy) — Grand and underused Russian beauty.

Ursula (The Vampire Chronicles) — A favorite for many name lovers, though unfairly neglected on the charts… in other words, right in the sweet spot.

Verona (Van Helsing) — Melodic Italian city name that could join the likes of Siena and Florence.

Wilhelmina (Dracula) — Dracula’s victim Mina has a pleasantly clunky full name that’s on the rise again.

Ysandre (The Morganville Vampires) — Romantic spin on the “Sandra” names.

Zafrina (Twilight saga) — Zarina meets Saffron in an invented name that wouldn’t sound out of place in real life.

Vampire boy names

Augustine (Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter) — Stately, but with cuddly nickname options.

Balthazar (Evernight) — A hidden gem, rare yet recognizable.

Caelan (Skulduggery Pleasant) — Between Callan and Kayden, this has a sound that’s the height of cool now.

Darius (The Saga of Darren Shan) — Kingly name with a stylish -us ending.

Emiel (The Witcher) — Interesting variation on Emile.

Felipe (The Southern Vampire Mysteries) — A Spanish classic that’s still going strong.

Garrett (Twilight saga) — A well-established member of the cool -tt ending group of boy names.

Hunter (Night World) — Punchy occupational name that’s been a favorite for over 20 years.

Ivan (Being Human) — Another Russian name, and an alternative to Evan.

Jagger (Vampire Kisses) — Fun and dramatic rock’n’roll surname.

Konrad (Warhammer Fantasy) — German classic that feels cool again.

Louis (The Vampire Chronicles) — Royal name on the uptick on both sides of the Atlantic.

Molochai (Lost Souls) — Another variation on Malachi, Malakai et al.

Nicolas (The Vampire Chronicles) — Streamlined French version of a quiet classic.

Otto (Discworld) — This little O name is super-stylish right now.

Paris (The Saga of Darren Shan) — More common on girls, but chic for boys too.

Quinlan (The Strain) — Irish surname with great potential.

Rido (Vampire Knight) — A rare option for an O-ending boy name

Silas (The Graveyard Book) — Neil Gaiman was on the pulse with this vampire janitor’s name, also endorsed by Justin Timberlake.

Thibor (Necroscope) — Variation on the Czech, Slovak and Hungarian name Tibor.

Vladimir (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod) — Is it even a list of vampire names if there’s no Vlad

Wybert (The Southern Vampire Mysteries) — Unusual Bert name with nerdy charm.

Xander (The Blood Maker and the Witch’s Curse) — Already had a vampirish vibe from Buffy, and now the name of a bona fide vampire.

Ysandre (The Morganville Vampires) — Romantic spin on the “Sandra” names.

Yolando (Vampire Huntress) — A fun masculinization of retro Yolanda.

Zero (Vampire Knight) — Full of cool sounds, but the meaning could be a problem.