100 Gothic Last Names With Meanings And History

Not a sucker for sunshine, rainbows, and all things bright and beautiful?

Is your soul darker than black and do you have an affiliation with dark mystical stuff? If so, you fall under the unique goth category of the human population.

However, Gothic arts and all things goth related have enchanted and attracted millions worldwide even if most of them haven't adopted it as their lifestyle. From gothic literature, goth music, and gothic fashion, all and sundry have been drawn towards it like moths to flames.

Gothic names mean names that are a bit scary and have a creep factor attached to them. If you're one of the goth souls looking for a twilit name, here is a list of some of the best Goth last names to suit your jet-black personality.

For more Gothic names, take a look at Names Meaning Midnight and Gothic Boys Names.

Here are some of the most famous last names from fiction:

1. Ann (Latin origin) meaning "favor" or "grace" is the name of one of the pioneers of gothic fiction, Ann Radcliffe.

2. Beckford (Old English origin) meaning "to tie a river crossing"; the name of Willian Thomas Beckford.

3. Bellamira (Latin origin) meaning "wondrous beauty"; from 'The Jew of Malta'.

4. Beowulf (Anglo-Saxon origin) meaning "war wolf"; a monster slayer from Anglo-Saxon poetry.

5. Bronte (Greek origin) meaning "thunder" one of the most popular Victorian last names of Emily Bronte, author of the gothic novel 'Wuthering Heights'.

6. Buffy (American origin) meaning "my God is an oath"; from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'.

7. Catherine (Greek origin) meaning "each of the two", is the name of the main female protagonist from the gothic romance novel 'Northanger Abbey' by Jane Austen.

8. Clara (Latin origin) meaning "clear" is the name of Clara Reeve.

9. Count (Latin origin) meaning "calculate" is the name of Count Dracula from Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'.

10. Cruella (American origin) meaning "evil"; name of Cruella Devil.

11. Cullen (Scottish origin) meaning "back of a river"; one of the vampire last names from 'Twilight Saga'.

12. Dante (Latin origin) meaning "everlasting "; from 'Divine Comedy'.

13. Darth (American origin) meaning "dark "; main antagonist from 'Star Wars'.

14. Desdemona (Greek origin) meaning "unlucky"; is the name of the female protagonist in 'Othello' who ultimately meets her demise in the end.

15. Dorian (Greek origin) meaning "child of the sea"; the main character from 'Picture of Dorian Gray'.

16. Dracula (Latin origin) meaning "dragon"; from the famous novel 'Dracula'.

17. Edgar (English origin) meaning "fortunate and powerful"; the name of horror fiction writer and poet, Edgar Allan Poe.

18. Grendel (Anglo-Saxon origin) meaning "legend"; a savage monster from the Anglo-Saxon poem, 'Beowulf'.

19. Hecate (Greek origin) meaning "far off"; Goddess of witchcraft and demons.

20. Horace (Latin origin) meaning "man of time"; the name of the first Gothic writer Horace Walpole who had written 'The Castle of Otranto'.

21. Igor (Russian origin) meaning "warrior", the trusted hunchback follower of Victor Frankenstein.

22. Inferno (Italian origin) meaning "hell"; Title of the first part of Dante Alighieri's 'Divine Comedy'.

23. Ivy (English origin) meaning "faithfulness"; the name of Poison Ivy.

24. Lenore (French origin) meaning "Light"; from the poem 'The Raven'.

25. Llorona (Mexican origin) meaning "weeping woman"; comes from a Mexican folk tale.

26. Mordor (Fictional/Sindarin origin) meaning "Black Land"; is the name of a dark and gloomy realm ruled by the dark lord Sauron, in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional land of Middle-Earth.

27. Ophelia (Greek origin) meaning "helper"; from 'Hamlet'.

28. Otranto (Italian origin) meaning  "a small port"; appears in the title 'The Castle of Otranto', which was the first work of gothic fiction written by Horace Walpole.

29. Portia (Latin origin) meaning "an offering"; names of characters in  Shakespeare's 'Julius Ceasar' and 'The Merchant of Venice'.

30. Quasimodo (Latin origin) meaning "almost like"; a character from 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'.

31. Raven (English origin) meaning "dark"; from Poe's poem, 'The Raven'.

32. Rebecca (Latin origin) meaning "to bind"; from the gothic novel 'Rebecca'.

33. Sabrina (Latin origin) meaning "from Cyprus or the river Severn"; a fictional teenage witch.

34. Samantha (English origin) meaning "listener"; a character from 'Bewitched'.

35. Samara (Hebrew origin) meaning "protected by God"; the main antagonist of 'The Ring' series.

36. Sauron (Fictional/Sindarin origin) meaning "foul" or "putrid" is a dark evil lord in Tolkien's fictional universe, The Middle-Earth.

37. Shelley (Old English origin) meaning "meadow's edge"; the name of Mary Shelley.

38. Stoker (Middle Dutch origin) meaning "to stoke" or "incite" is the surname of Bram Stoker, author of the cult classic horror novel 'Dracula'.

39. Victoria (Latin origin) meaning "victory"; the title of the book 'Victoria Holt'.

40. Vlad(Slavic origin) meaning "rule" or "glory" is the name of Vlad, the Impaler who was a tyrannical ruler and the main inspiration behind Bram Stoker's classic horror novel, 'Dracula'.

Here is a list of some of the most common gothic names with their meanings:

41. Achlys (Greek origin) meaning "death-mist"; goddess of clouding of the eyes after death.

42. Barnabas (Greek origin) meaning "son of encouragement"; the protagonist of 'Dark Shadows'.

43. Bates (English origin) meaning "bat"; the surname of Norman Bates.

44. Bathsheba (Hebrew origin) meaning "daughter of an oath" is the name of Bathsheba Thayer, a real-life witch who had also appeared as the main antagonist in the horror movie 'The Conjuring'.

45. Beelzebub (Biblical origin) meaning "the devil"; a biblical demon.

46. Belial (Hebrew origin) meaning "wicked" or "worthless"; a demon from hell mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.

47. Blair (Scottish origin) meaning "meadow" appears in the title of the found footage horror movie 'The Blair Witch Project'. It is the creepiest name on the list.

48. Bones (Old French origin) meaning "good"; one of the gothic names meaning death.

49. Burton (English origin) meaning "town of the fortress"; the surname of Tim Burton.

50. Carrie (German origin) meaning "free"; from 'Carrie'.

51. Casper (Chaldean origin) meaning "treasurer"; from 'Casper, the friendly ghost'.

52. Dirge (Latin origin) meaning "a song or hymn of mourning"; a dark gothic name.

53. Endora (Greek origin) meaning "light"; from 'Bewitched'.

54. Fester (Late Middle English origin) meaning "festering sore"; a character from 'The Addams Family'.

55. Frankenstein (German origin) meaning "stone of the Franks"; the title of Mary Shelley's famous gothic novel.

56. Ghidora (Japanese origin) meaning "hydra"; a golden dragon from 'Godzilla'.

57. Gomez (Spanish origin) meaning "man"; a character from 'The Addams Family'.

58. Hannibal (Hebrew origin) meaning "one who Baal has favored"; a titular character named Hannibal Lecter from the movie and tv series.

59. Ichabod (Hebrew origin) meaning "departed glory"; the name of the protagonist from 'Sleepy Hollow'.

60. Jason (Greek origin) meaning "to heal"; the main antagonist from 'Friday the 13th'.

61. Krueger (German origin) meaning "tavern-keeper"; the antagonist named Freddy Krueger from 'Nightmare on Elm Street'.

62. Lucifer (Latin origin) meaning "light-bearer"; the name of Satan in the Bible.

63. Mary (English origin) meaning "beloved"; from an urban legend called Bloody Mary.

64. Maleficent (Norwegian origin) meaning "magnificent"; a Disney antagonist.

65. Midnight (American origin) meaning "12:00 AM"; one of the most beautiful gothic surnames.

66. Morticia (English origin) meaning "undertaker"; the name of Morticia Addams from 'The Addams Family'.

67. Nosferatu (Greek origin) meaning  "disease-bearing"; the title of the silent horror movie 'Nosferatu'.

68. Rasputin (Russian origin) meaning "debauched" was known as a famous Russian sorcerer.

69. Rosemary (Latin origin) meaning "sea dew"; from the horror movie 'Rosemary's Baby'.

70. Ripper (English origin) meaning "killer who mutilates his victims"; the name of the famous serial killer, Jack the Ripper.

71. Salem (Hebrew origin) meaning "peace" is the name of a famous location notorious for witch trials and witch burnings.

72. Samhain (Irish origin) meaning "end of harvest season" is the name of the demon who rises on Halloween.

73. Scarface (English origin) meaning "scarred face" is the name of Al Capone in the film 'Scarface'.

74. Zelda (Hebrew origin) meaning "dark battle"; a character from 'Sabrina'.

Names from mythology are some of the most popular gothic names, here's a list of the same:

75. Acheron (Greek origin) meaning "river of sorrow"; a fitting gothic name.

76. Ambrosia  (Greek origin) meaning "immortal"; wine of the Greek gods and goddesses.

77. Ares (Greek origin) meaning "the god of war"; a unique gothic name.

78. Artemis (Greek origin) meaning "butcher"; goddess of the hunt.

79. Asteria (Greek origin) meaning "starry one"; goddess of the stars.

80. Chimera (Greek origin) meaning "the monster killed by Bellerophon"; one of the best gothic surnames.

81. Circe (Greek origin) meaning "Greek Goddess" is the goddess of magic.

82. Clytemnestra (Greek origin) meaning "famous"; wife of Agamemnon.

83. Cyclops (Greek origin) meaning "round-eyed"; a one-eyed monster from mythology.

84. Diana (Indo-European origin) meaning "divine"; goddess of the hunt.

85. Dirth (English origin) meaning "famine"; a gloomy gothic name.

86. Eiris (Greek origin) meaning "rainbow"; goddess of conflict.

87. Erebus (Greek origin) meaning "darkness"; another name for the underworld in Greek mythology.

88. Hades (Greek origin) meaning "the place or state of departed spirits"; God of the Dead from Greek mythology.

89. Hela (Norse origin) meaning "goddess of the underworld"; a gothic aesthetic name from Norse mythology.

90. Latona (Latin origin) meaning "goddess name" is the mother goddess of day and night.

91. Luna (Italian origin) meaning "moon"; Roman Goddess of the moon.

92. Medea (Greek origin) meaning "to think"; the vengeful wife of Jason.

93. Medusa (Greek origin) meaning "to protect, to rule over"; a famous snake monster.

94. Nox (Latin origin) meaning "Night "; goddess of night.

95. Nyx (Greek origin) meaning "Night "; the name of the goddess of the night from Greek mythology.

96. Pan (Greek origin) meaning "all"; is the title of Guillermo Del Toro's horror fantasy movie 'Pan's Labyrinth'.

97. Persephone (Greek origin) meaning "bringer Of destruction"; goddess of Spring and the Underworld.

98. Selene (Greek origin) meaning "moon"; goddess of the moon.

99. Thanatos (Greek origin) meaning "death" is the name of the son of Nyx and Erebus and also is the twin brother of Hypnos.

100. Xylia (Greek origin) meaning "forest" is another form of the word 'Sylvia'

Kidadl has lots of great names articles to inspire you. If you liked our suggestions for Gothic Last Names then why not take a look at Gothic Girls Names, or for something different take a look at Last Names Beginning With X.