Horror-Related Names (Boys)

  1. Barnabus
    • Boris
      • Origin:

        Slavic
      • Meaning:

        "to fight"
      • Description:

        Boris is one of the old Russian names being revived by chic Europeans; it hasn't quite made a comeback yet in the U.S., but it does have potential.
    • Church
      • Origin:

        English word name
      • Meaning:

        "a building used for Christian worship"
      • Description:

        One of the new-wave Christian word names that has appeared occasionally on the charts since the 2010s.
    • Damian
      • Origin:

        Greek
      • Meaning:

        "to tame, subdue"
      • Description:

        Damian has sidestepped its demonic horror movie overtones, leaving a basically friendly and charming Irish image. A well-used upper-class name in England, it is growing in popularity here.
    • Dexter
      • Origin:

        Latin
      • Meaning:

        "dyer, right-handed"
      • Description:

        The jazzy, ultra-cool Dexter, like most names with an "x," has a lot of energy and dynamism.
    • Donovan
      • Origin:

        Irish
      • Meaning:

        "dark"
      • Description:

        One of the first of the appealing Irish surnames to take off in this country, this boys’ name has long outgrown its "Mellow Yellow" association, which came via the single from a sixties singer-songwriter named Donovan.
    • Dorian
      • Origin:

        Greek, name of a tribe
      • Description:

        The Dorians were an ancient Greek tribe, one of the three major pre-Spartan tribes. It literally means "of Doris," a Greek district, or "of Doros," referring to the son of Helen of Sparta. Dorian derives from the Greek doron, meaning "gift," along with related names such as Dorothy and Dora.
    • Edgar
      • Origin:

        English
      • Meaning:

        "wealthy spearman"
      • Description:

        Edgar is an Old English name historically associated with the tenth century English king known as Edgar the Peaceful. There was also a King Edgar of Scotland.
    • Erik
      • Origin:

        Spelling variation of Eric, Old Norse
      • Meaning:

        "eternal ruler"
      • Description:

        While substituting a C for a K is a modern trend, Erik is in fact the traditional spelling of the name, derived from the Old Norse Eiríkr and introduced to the English speaking world in the Anglo-Saxon period. Now, Erik is popular in Scandinavia and throughout much of Central and Eastern Europe, where it ranks in the Top 100 in Germany, Slovenia, Hungary, and more.
    • Faust
      • Origin:

        Latin
      • Meaning:

        "fortunate one"
      • Description:

        Because the legendary Faust sold his soul to the devil, few parents would choose this for a child, although Fausto is commonly heard in Italy and Spain.
    • Gage
      • Origin:

        French
      • Meaning:

        "oath, pledge"
      • Description:

        Gage was part of the craze for one-syllable surnames, with associations to tasty green gage plums and the mathematical gauge.
    • Hannibal
      • Origin:

        Punic and Assyrian
      • Meaning:

        "grace of Baal, god of fertility and fortune"
      • Description:

        These days, it's thought of less as the name of the great general and more as the first name of Lecter the fictional cannibal. Either association is too heavy for a child to bear.
    • Ichi
      • Jack
        • Origin:

          English, diminutive of John
        • Meaning:

          "God is gracious"
        • Description:

          Jack may have fallen from its Number 1 place in England, but in the US it's as popular as it was at its height in the 1920s and 1930s. A durable, cheery, everyman form of John, Jack ranks as one of the most popular boy names starting with J.
      • Jason
        • Origin:

          Greek
        • Meaning:

          "to heal"
        • Description:

          Jason, the Number 3 name for the entire decade of the 1970s -- thus the title of our original baby-naming book, Beyond Jennifer & Jason -- is more likely to be dad's name now than baby's, but it's still a widely used name.
      • Judd
        • Origin:

          Medieval short form of Jordan
        • Meaning:

          "flowing down"
        • Description:

          Judd is a strong but sensitive short form that can easily stand on its own, the second 'd' giving it a lot more substance, and it would also be a good middle name choice. Two recent actors have given it credence--Judd Nelson and Judd Hirsch, and now it's most noticeably represented by comedy director Judd Apatow.
      • Karras
        • Lon
          • Origin:

            Diminutive of Alonzo
          • Meaning:

            "noble, ready"
          • Description:

            For older generations this still summons silent horror star Chaney; for others it's a pleasant if slight nickname name.
        • Loomis
          • Lugosi