110+ Names That Mean Death: Mythical, Poetic, and Symbolic Categories Explained

Names that mean death have a strange pull, don’t they? Whether you’re here for character inspiration, personal reflection, or pure curiosity, something about naming death—or what represents it—grips you. These names aren’t all grim. Some are sacred, others serene. In this exploration, you’ll find names grouped into categories: mythological, linguistic, nature-based, poetic, supernatural, and more. Each one carries the weight of mortality, yet somehow makes it beautiful.

Mythological Names That Embody Death

You’ve seen death turned into deities, destroyers, guardians, and guides. Across cultures, mythological names that mean death—or rule over it—carry power beyond life. These names are bold, often divine, and deeply symbolic.

1. Hades – Greek god of the underworld

2. Persephone – Queen of the dead, symbol of seasonal death

3. Hel – Norse goddess ruling over the dead

4. Anubis – Egyptian god of mummification and afterlife

5. Osiris – Egyptian lord of the dead and resurrection

6. Mictlantecuhtli – Aztec god of the underworld

7. Morrigan – Celtic goddess of fate, death, and battle

8. Izanami – Japanese goddess of death

9. Baron Samedi – Haitian Vodou loa of the dead

10. Ereshkigal – Sumerian queen of the underworld

11. Kali – Hindu goddess of destruction and time

12. Yama – Hindu and Buddhist lord of death

13. Charon – Ferryman of the dead in Greek myth

14. Achlys – Greek goddess of death mist

15. Santa Muerte – Folk saint of death in Mexican tradition

16. Nergal – Mesopotamian god of war and plague

17. Samhain – Celtic deity associated with the end of light

18. Mot – Canaanite god of death

19. Sedna – Inuit goddess associated with the spirit world

These names aren’t just morbid—they reflect how death has always been present in myth, given a face and a name to help you understand the unknown.

Linguistic Names That Literally Mean Death

Some names speak plainly. These are names that, in translation or etymology, literally mean “death” or are rooted in dying. While a few are used as given names, many are symbolic or poetic choices for stories or deeper meaning.

1. Mara – Sanskrit and Slavic roots, meaning “death” or “bitter”

2. Thanatos – Greek for “death”

3. Azrael – Hebrew/Islamic angel whose name means “whom God helps” but symbolizes death

4. Morana – Slavic goddess of winter and death

5. Morte – Italian and Portuguese for “death”

6. Smierc – Polish for “death”

7. Kematian – Indonesian for “death”

8. Shibo – Japanese word for “death” (死)

9. Nakam – Hebrew root word associated with vengeance and death

10. Qiyaamah – Arabic term for the Day of Resurrection (implying death’s finality)

11. Jahi – Avestan demon of decay and death

12. Mavet – Hebrew word for “death”

13. Mortem – Latin accusative form of “death”

14. Nekuia – Greek rite involving the dead

15. Sheol – Hebrew underworld, place of the dead

16. Houwang – Chinese term associated with death gods

17. Mors – Roman god of death; Latin for “death”

18. Kaloian – Balkan word connected to mourning rituals

19. Caoin – Old Irish for “lament” or “weep,” often for the dead

20. Amar – A name that in some languages (Arabic, Hindi) flips between eternal life and a pun on death in others

Each of these names comes straight from language, often hidden in plain sight.

Nature-Inspired Names Symbolizing Death

Nature has always mirrored death: falling leaves, decay, darkness. Here are names from plants, animals, and natural phenomena that evoke death or symbolize it deeply.

1. Raven – A bird linked to omens and death

2. Crow – Often a harbinger of death in myth and folklore

3. Nightshade – A toxic plant historically tied to death

4. Yew – A tree found in graveyards; symbolizes mourning

5. Ash – After fire, or from the ashes we rise

6. Willow – Especially the weeping willow, linked to sorrow and death

7. Hellebore – “Christmas rose,” poisonous and used in death rites

8. Cypress – A tree of mourning in ancient cultures

9. Hemlock – Poisonous plant famously used by Socrates

10. Foxglove – Beautiful but deadly, like death itself

11. Belladonna – “Beautiful lady” with deadly effects

12. Thorn – Symbol of pain, protection, and mortality

13. Obsidian – Dark volcanic glass used in ritual blades

14. Wolfsbane – A plant tied to both death and werewolf lore

15. Midnight – Symbolic of death’s arrival, the end of day

16. Shade – Literal and metaphorical meaning of ghost

17. Storm – Destructive force, often clearing the way for death

18. Winter – The death season in the natural cycle

19. Gloaming – Twilight; the fading of light (life)

20. Eclipse – Cosmic symbol of sudden darkness and awe

These names give death an earthly presence, turning it into something you can see, touch, and name.

Gothic and Poetic Names Evoking Mortality

Some names are steeped in mood and metaphor. They don’t directly mean “death,” but they conjure it with beauty, darkness, or haunting grace.

1. Lilith – A symbol of forbidden power, exile, and night

2. Vesper – Evening star; twilight symbol

3. Nocturne – A musical piece for the night

4. Morticia – A gothic invented name clearly derived from “mort”

5. Draven – Fictional, dark-sounding name from “The Crow”

6. Riven – Suggests something broken or torn

7. Lucien – Means “light,” but often used with dark characters

8. Seraphine – Angelic but dramatic, with funereal connotation

9. Bellamy – “Fine friend,” but sounds sorrowful in Gothic use

10. Briar – Thorny beauty, often tangled with fairy tales and curses

11. Desdemona – Shakespearean tragedy

12. Evadne – Greek tragic figure

13. Ophelia – Linked to beauty, water, and death

14. Liora – Means light, but pairs well with dark imagery

15. Zephyrine – A breeze that passes, like life

16. Isolde – From the doomed lovers of Arthurian legend

17. Elvira – Gothic flair, made popular by horror culture

18. Nyx – Goddess of night

19. Verlaine – Melancholy poetic name

20. Melinoe – Greek spirit with pale limbs, daughter of Persephone

These names are perfect if you’re looking for something that whispers death without saying it.

Angelic and Supernatural Names of Death Messengers

Some names belong to those who deliver death, not personify it. Angels, spirits, demons, and guides—they act as the passage between life and what follows.

1. Samael – Ambiguous angel, sometimes death-bringer

2. Shinigami – Japanese “death god” or spirit

3. Psychopomp – A guide for souls (not a name, but a role)

4. Banshee – Wails before death

5. La Llorona – The crying woman, tied to death of children

6. Churels – Female spirits from South Asia, linked to wrongful death

7. Yuki-onna – Snow woman who appears before death

8. Pontianak – Malaysian vampire spirit

9. Revenant – Returned dead

10. Valkyrie – Choosers of the slain

11. Dullahan – Irish headless rider, harbinger of death

12. Lamia – Greek demon who devoured children

13. Ekimmu – Mesopotamian spirit of the dead

14. Preta – Buddhist hungry ghost

15. Myling – Scandinavian child ghost

16. Slavic Rusalka – Spirits of the drowned

17. Moirae – The Fates who cut life’s thread

18. Ankou – Breton spirit collecting the dead

19. Grim – Often shorthand for Grim Reaper or shadow figure

These figures remind you that death often comes with a face—or a whisper.

Cultural Names for Death Itself (Personified)

Lastly, sometimes death is simply called by name. You might not give your child these names, but they appear in stories, rituals, and art around the world.

1. Death – Sometimes capitalized, sometimes feared

2. La Muerte – “The Death” in Spanish, often personified

3. The Reaper – Cloaked, skeletal figure of Western death

4. The Pale Rider – Revelation’s fourth horseman

5. Old Lady – Euphemistic term for death in some cultures

6. The Ferryman – Charon or unnamed guides

7. The Black Dog – English folk symbol of approaching death

8. Lady Death – Gothic reinterpretation of death as feminine

9. Father Time – Sometimes entwined with mortality

10. The Collector – A modern mythic figure

11. Giltinė – Lithuanian goddess of death

12. Ah Puch – Mayan god of death

13. The Angel of Death – Common across Abrahamic religions

14. Todesengel – German for Angel of Death

15. Namtar – Mesopotamian bringer of death

16. Grimalkin – Sometimes linked to witches and death

17. Keres – Death spirits in Greek myth

18. Lobishomen – Brazilian myth, sometimes tied to death-dealing transformations

These aren’t just names—they’re how cultures give shape to something you can’t avoid but can try to understand.