Names from the Arts and Pop Culture
By Clare Green · Updated September 2026
Across 5 pages
of 5
Norse
"wand elf"
Gandalf is most famously the name of the powerful wizard in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit . The name is drawn from Old Norse mythology.
Welsh
"born of trees"
A name from Welsh mythology. In the Mabinogion , Gwydion was a powerful magician who made his nephew a wife from flowers (Blodeuwedd, meaning "face of flowers").
Cherokee
"big witch"
In Cherokee culture, witches are medicine men who use their power for evil. Tskilekwa derives from the Cherokee word for "witch," tsgili .
"hooting owl"
Owls are revered and feared in Cherokee culture, thought of as witches in disguise. Uguku is one of multiple owl names in the Cherokee language. It is onomatopoetic with the owl's calls.
English word name
"group of witches"
Cool and witchy.
Finnish
"magic"
A rare Finnish name with ties to sorcery and witchcraft.
Portuguese
"lily"
Derived from the Latin lilium , Lírio is a unisex floral name which was used for a witch character in the cult 1996 horror film The Craft .
Scottish
"great"
Morag is one of the quintessential Scottish names for girls . Actually a diminutive of Mor, it has always been used more than the original. Commonly heard in Scotland, but could lead to…
French, folkloric name
Melusine was a figure from early European folklore, associated with the water. Her legends are especially connected with the northern and western areas of France, as well as the Low Countries. She…
French variation of Millicent, German
"strong in work"
The romantic fairy tale-like name has come to modern attention via the beautiful but terrifying sorceress in Game of Thrones . The character may look as lovely as her name sounds, but it's hard to…
Greek mythology name, god of sleep and dreams
Though you may pray to the god of sleep for your baby to slumber through the night, a drowsy image is not the greatest one to inflict on your little boy.
Greek
"strong-willed"
Alcina is an operatic name, best-known as the name of the beautiful sorceress of the eponymous Handel opera drawn from the Orlando poems. Alcina and her sister Morgana live on an island where Alcina…
Occupational name
With the rise of such working names as Gardener, Miller, and Bailey, someone out there might want to dub their child a Wizard — though we're not sure this exactly classifies as an occupation.
Literary invented name
Elphaba was invented by Gregory Maguire for the protagonist of his novel Wicked , which became the long-running Broadway play and then a movie. Elphaba is the name of the Wicked Witch of the West,…
"bird"
The original Greek form of Circe, also used in various other languages. Less soft than the English Circe, Kirke nonetheless has a distinct sound with modern appeal. In Greek mythology, she is a…
Literary name
Glinda is famous as the name of the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz, invented by author L. Frank Baum. but has there ever been a real life, non-fictional Glinda? Not in the US last year. The name may…
Latin literary name and bird name
Fringilla Vigo is a sorceress and villain in The Witcher series. Her name comes from a genus of singing finches.
