Vampire Names

Origin: Romanian

Meaning: Son of the dragon.

The name that started everything. Bram Stoker borrowed it from the real Vlad III Dracula, and it has been synonymous with vampires ever since 1897.

Origin: Unknown origin

From Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 novella, predating Dracula by 25 years. The first major female vampire in literature. Seductive, predatory, and groundbreaking.

Origin: French, invented by Anne Rice

The charismatic antihero of The Vampire Chronicles. Rebellious, theatrical, and incapable of staying dead or staying quiet.

Origin: Romanian

Meaning: Undead or plague carrier.

The word itself predates the 1922 film, but Max Schreck's shadow on the staircase made it immortal.

Origin: Egyptian

Meaning: Spirit, essence.

The first vampire and Queen of the Damned in Anne Rice's mythology. Six thousand years old and not interested in your opinion.

Origin: Germanic

Meaning: Soldier, army man.

The eternal teenager from Interview with the Vampire. Centuries old, perpetually seventeen, permanently unsettling.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Lame.

The tragic child vampire from Anne Rice's works. Turned at five years old, furious about it forever.

Origin: French

Meaning: Famous warrior.

The reluctant vampire who narrates Interview with the Vampire. Spends most of eternity feeling guilty about what he is.

Origin: Germanic

Meaning: Love, protection.

Mina Harker from Dracula. She starts as a victim and ends as the key to destroying the Count.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Light.

Lucy Westenra from Dracula. Her name means light, which makes her transformation into a vampire all the more pointed.

Origin: Invented

Count Orlok from Nosferatu, created because the filmmakers could not get the rights to Dracula. Bald, rat-like, and genuinely horrifying.

Origin: Aramaic

Meaning: Son of consolation.

From Dark Shadows. The sympathetic vampire who does not want to be a monster but keeps biting people anyway.

Origin: Dracula backwards

Used in Castlevania, Hellsing, and many other properties. It is not subtle, but it works every time.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Moon.

From Underworld. The name of the Greek moon goddess, recycled for a leather-clad vampire warrior.

Origin: English

Meaning: Cutting edge.

The daywalking dhampir from Marvel Comics. Half-human, half-vampire, entirely uninterested in vampire politics.

Origin: Slavic

Meaning: Victor, conqueror.

The ancient vampire elder from Underworld. The name means winner, which tracks for someone who has run things for millennia.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Male, manly.

The ancient Roman vampire from The Vampire Chronicles. Two thousand years old and still painting.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: God is my strength.

Lestat's mother in Anne Rice's novels. She becomes a vampire and immediately abandons civilisation to live in the wilderness.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: All gifted.

Anne Rice's Pandora. Named after the woman who opened the box. In vampire fiction, the box is always already open.

Origin: Egyptian origin

One of the first vampires in Anne Rice's mythology. Six thousand years of existence and he has lost most of his memories.

Origin: English

From Varney the Vampire, an 1847 penny dreadful serial that predates Dracula by fifty years and established many vampire tropes.

Origin: Scottish

From John Polidori's The Vampyre, the first published vampire story in English. Lord Ruthven was inspired by Lord Byron.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Man from Hadria.

Sophisticated, cultured, and suited to a vampire who owns too many waistcoats.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: To tame, subdue.

Dark power and control wrapped in four syllables. The demonic association from The Omen does not hurt.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Light.

Ironic for a creature of darkness, which is exactly the point.

Origin: Italian

Meaning: Enduring, steadfast.

Literary darkness borrowed from the man who wrote the definitive tour of Hell.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Venerable, revered.

Aristocratic and ancient. The kind of name that comes with a title and a castle.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: From Doris.

Inseparable from The Picture of Dorian Gray: eternal youth, hidden corruption, and a portrait that ages for you.

Origin: Germanic

Meaning: All-powerful ruler.

Used in The Vampire Diaries and historically by Visigoth kings who sacked Rome.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Hollow, vain.

Roman name with assassination credentials. Cassius was one of the men who killed Julius Caesar.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Hunter.

A predator's name. Direct and unapologetic about what vampires do for a living.

Origin: Slavic

Meaning: Great ruler.

Connected to Vlad Dracula and carrying centuries of Eastern European vampire royalty.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Immortal.

The meaning is right there. No metaphor needed.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Raven, crow.

Birds of death and darkness. The Romans considered ravens prophetic.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Great.

A name for vampire lords. It does not whisper; it declares.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: God has helped.

The biblical figure who rose from death. The vampire parallel writes itself.

Origin: Danish

Meaning: Stern, severe.

Cold, calculating Nordic darkness for a vampire who has not smiled since the 14th century.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Follower of Demeter.

Russian aristocratic energy and Eastern European vampire nobility in modern tailoring.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Of the forest.

For vampires who dwell in isolation, away from cities and their noise.

Origin: Slavic

Meaning: Victory of the people.

Russian vampire nobility with imperial bearing and centuries of patience.

Origin: Persian

Meaning: From the Caspian Sea.

Vast, deep, and ancient. A name that sounds like it has been waiting a very long time.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: God strengthens.

Biblical weight for vampires with prophet energy.

Origin: Scottish

Meaning: Defender of men.

Noble despite the curse. The vampire who still has a code of honour.

Origin: Norse

Meaning: Warrior, judgment.

Viking energy for vampires who were turned during a raid and never really stopped raiding.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Warrior, follower of Marduk.

Ancient Babylonian darkness for vampires who remember when the temples were still standing.

Origin: Latin/Greek

Meaning: Man of Attica.

Intellectual, cultured, and slightly superior. The vampire who has read everything because he has had time to.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Acquired or spear.

The first murderer, and in some vampire mythology, the first vampire.

Origin: English

Meaning: Hunter.

Modern and direct. No Latin, no mythology, just a name that sounds like what a vampire does.

Origin: Irish

Meaning: Wolf.

Connects vampires to lupine cousins and nocturnal hunting instincts.

Origin: Aramaic

Meaning: Heart, courageous.

For vampires who retained some humanity.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: God heals.

An archangel's name on a creature that causes harm. The contradiction is the aesthetic.

Origin: Italian

Meaning: Ruler of the home.

Italian vampire nobility. Territorial, possessive, and impeccably dressed.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Night monster or screech owl.

The original female vampire archetype from Jewish mythology.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Fiery ones, burning ones.

Angelic name turned dark. The fall from the highest order of angels is part of the drama.

Origin: Welsh/Germanic

Meaning: Ice ruler.

Cold beauty from Arthurian legend. Tragic romance is her speciality.

Origin: Welsh

Meaning: Sea circle, bright sea.

From Arthurian legend. Magical, dangerous, and not interested in being anyone's damsel.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Resurrection.

Rising from death is literally what the name means. Almost too perfect for a vampire.

Origin: Italian

Meaning: Beautiful lady.

Also the deadly nightshade plant. Poisonous beauty distilled into a single name.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Strong.

Made memorably unhinged by Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The name is Roman; the insanity is all her own.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Light.

From Edgar Allan Poe's most famous poem. Gothic romance, lost love, and beauty that only exists in death.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Help.

Shakespeare's drowned maiden. Tragic, beautiful, and permanently associated with madness and water.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Night.

The Greek goddess of night, so powerful that even Zeus avoided crossing her.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Evening star, evening prayer.

The twilight hour when vampires wake.

Origin: Greek

Goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, and the night. For vampires with magical abilities and difficult choices.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Lily.

The flower associated with death and funerals. Delicate on the surface, morbid underneath.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Bearer of good news.

Ironic for someone who brings eternal night.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Most beautiful.

For vampires whose beauty is their primary weapon.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Ill-fated, misery.

Shakespeare's tragic heroine. A name that announces doom is coming.

Origin: Celtic

Meaning: Woman of the race.

French saint name with deep roots and ancient bloodline energy.

Origin: Greek

A child-eating demon from mythology. An early vampire figure, predating even Lilith in some traditions.

Origin: Celtic/Germanic

Meaning: Fame, joy, white spear.

Celtic heritage combined with Germanic strength.

Origin: Russian/Latin

Meaning: Fairy queen.

Russian literary aristocracy with a fur coat and a grudge.

Origin: Italian

Meaning: Raven.

Dark Italian nobility with fallen-empire energy.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Heavenly.

Ironic for creatures who are definitively not.

Origin: Germanic

Meaning: Will-helmet, protection.

Mina Harker's full name from Dracula, connecting it directly to the source material.

Origin: French

Meaning: Warlike, dedicated to Mars.

Made iconic by the Vampire Queen from Adventure Time.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: From Hadria.

Mediterranean vampire aristocracy. Sophisticated, warm-sounding, and lethal.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Unexalted, impure.

Biblical villain energy for female vampires with no interest in being good.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Peace.

The biblical dancer who asked for a head on a platter.

Origin: English/French

Meaning: Black.

Direct reference to darkness. Sleek, luxurious, and opaque.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Shade, shadow.

Biblical name directly referencing concealment.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Pure.

The irony of calling a vampire pure is exactly what makes it work.

Origin: English

Meaning: Black thorn bush.

Sharp, dangerous, and deeply rooted.

Origin: English

Meaning: Raven's field.

Noble family energy with death-bird symbolism.

Origin: English

Deadly nightshade plant. Poisonous beauty as a surname.

Origin: English

Meaning: Blood enclosure.

Direct and unapologetic.

Origin: English

Meaning: Dark moor.

Desolate landscapes and permanent shadow.

Origin: English

Meaning: Fierce forest.

Ancient woodland where sensible people do not walk after dark.

Origin: English

Meaning: Born of twilight.

For vampires who emerged at the moment between day and night.

Origin: English

Meaning: Winter stream.

Cold, flowing, and relentless.

Origin: English

Meaning: Storm's crow.

Dark omens and bad weather.

Origin: English

Meaning: Ford by the ash trees.

Ashen and pale, suggesting vampire complexion and the remnants of fire.

Origin: English

Meaning: Thorny heart.

A family defined by cruelty.

Origin: French/Latin

Meaning: Of the night.

Musical term suggesting elegance in darkness.

Origin: Romanian

Meaning: Son of Dracul.

The historical family name of Vlad the Impaler.

Origin: Hungarian

The family name of Elizabeth Bathory, the Blood Countess.

Origin: Italian

Meaning: Saviour.

Used in The Vampire Diaries. The irony writes its own plotlines.

Origin: Scandinavian

Meaning: Son of Michael.

The Original vampire family from The Originals.

Origin: Italian-sounding, invented

The vampire royalty from Twilight.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Crow, raven.

Noble vampire family with death-bird symbolism.

Origin: Russian

Meaning: Raven.

Slavic vampire family name carrying crow symbolism eastward.

Origin: English

Meaning: Cold mountain.

Northern, isolated, and inhospitable.

Origin: English

Meaning: Graveyard moor.

Burial grounds and desolate landscapes combined.

Origin: English

Meaning: End of shadow.

For families at the edge of darkness.

Origin: Germanic

Meaning: Fox.

Cunning and predatory.

Origin: French

Meaning: Pointed mountain.

Shakespearean family name with ancient rivalry built in.

Origin: French

Meaning: Of the lion's court.

Lestat's surname in The Vampire Chronicles.

Origin: Slavic

Meaning: Ruler, prince.

Vlad III Dracula, the Impaler. The vampire legend was almost understating things.

Origin: Hungarian

Elizabeth Bathory allegedly murdered over 600 young women. Whether she bathed in their blood is debated.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Night creature.

From Mesopotamian mythology, predating the Bible.

Origin: Greek

A beautiful queen cursed by Hera to eat children. The ancient Greek vampire, feared long before Stoker.

Origin: Romanian

The restless dead in Romanian folklore. They return from the grave to drain the living.

Origin: Slavic

The proto-Slavic word for vampire, appearing in Russian manuscripts from the 11th century.

Origin: Greek

A shapeshifting demon from Greek mythology who seduced travellers and drank their blood.

Origin: Egyptian

Jackal-headed god of death and mummification. Guardian between life and death.

Origin: Egyptian

God of the afterlife. He died, was reassembled, and ruled the underworld.

Origin: Greek

Goddess of witchcraft, crossroads, and the night.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Bird.

The sorceress who transformed men into beasts.

Origin: Sumerian

Origin uncertain. The ancient hero who sought immortality and failed.

Origin: Mesopotamian

Goddess of love and war. She descended to the underworld and returned.

Origin: Celtic

Meaning: Phantom queen.

Irish goddess of war and death who appeared as a crow over battlefields.

Origin: Babylonian

Primordial chaos dragon. The oldest monster in recorded mythology.

Origin: Sumerian

Queen of the underworld. The original vampire's landlord.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Guardian.

Her gaze turned people to stone.

Origin: Greek

The ferryman who carries souls across the river Styx.

Origin: Egyptian

Meaning: The beautiful one has come.

Ancient queen whose mysterious disappearance fuelled later legends.

Origin: Assyrian

Legendary queen of Babylon, powerful and surrounded by supernatural stories.

Origin: Welsh

Meaning: Raven, crow.

In Welsh mythology, Bran the Blessed's severed head continued to speak and protect Britain.

Origin: Sanskrit

Meaning: She who is black, she who is death.

Hindu goddess of destruction who wears a necklace of skulls and drinks blood.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Of the night.

Direct and unambiguous.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Evening star.

Venus at dusk, when vampires wake.

Origin: Latin

Dark volcanic glass. Sharp enough to cut and dark enough to absorb light.

Origin: French

Meaning: Grammar, textbook of magic.

A spellbook as a name.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Heaven, paradise.

Ironic for undead creatures, which is why it works.

Origin: Norse

The giant wolf destined to swallow Odin at Ragnarok.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: He who goes above.

A Titan of light turned into a vampire name.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Venom of God.

The angel of death in Jewish mythology.

Origin: Greek

God of dreams. He shapes what you see when you sleep.

Origin: Germanic

Meaning: Noble bear.

King of the fairies in Shakespeare.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Help of God or angel of death.

The archangel who separates souls from bodies.

Origin: Latin

Roman emperor name with imperial power and ancient cruelty.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Twisted, coiled.

Biblical sea monster representing chaos.

Origin: Babylonian

Meaning: Baal protects the king.

Vampiric wisdom accumulated over millennia.

Origin: Italian

Meaning: Raven.

A real Italian city and last capital of the Western Roman Empire.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Burning one of God.

An angel's name with fire built in.

Origin: Greek

The personification of death itself.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Of the night.

Night itself given a name and a set of fangs.

Origin: English, constructed

Meaning: Ash veil.

Grey, concealing, and suggestive of things burned.

Origin: English, constructed

Meaning: Twilight hollow.

The place where daylight goes to die.

Origin: English, constructed

Meaning: Black fury.

Dark anger for vampires who have moved into permanent rage.

Origin: English, constructed

Meaning: Red valley.

Blood and geography combined.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Of the forest.

Roman god of wilderness.

Origin: Greek

A green mineral associated with protection and transformation.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Of the evening.

Elegant, precise, and timed to the hour of awakening.

Origin: Italian

Meaning: New house.

History's most famous lover, repurposed for vampires who seduce before they feed.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: Delicate, temptress.

Biblical seductress who brought down the strongest man alive.

Origin: Greek

Mythological creatures whose song lured sailors to their deaths.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Strong, healthy.

Connected to Valentine's Day, romance, desire, and dark decisions.

Origin: French

Meaning: Alive, lively.

Deeply ironic for the undead.

Origin: French

Meaning: Mystery.

Enigmatic allure that makes victims lean closer instead of running.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Daffodil, narcissus.

Self-love so intense it becomes a superpower.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Storm.

Overwhelming passion and destruction arriving together.

Origin: English

Soft, luxurious, and associated with touch that makes you forget danger.

Origin: French

Meaning: To attract.

Literally the word for what seductive vampires do.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Long for, wish.

The feeling itself as a name.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Seizing, carrying away.

The ecstasy that precedes the bite.

Origin: English

Meaning: White as elephant tusk.

Pale, precious, and smooth.

Origin: Latin

Meaning: Song, enchantment.

Originally meant a magical spell.

Origin: English

Meaning: Perfect happiness.

What victims feel right before realising something is wrong.

Origin: Persian

Night-blooming flower with an intoxicating scent.

Origin: Greek

God of love and desire.

Origin: Germanic

Meaning: Pledge, hostage.

The meaning shifts between devotion and captivity.

Origin: English

The black bird associated with mystery and death.

Origin: Greek

Goddess of love and beauty, dangerous enough that other gods were careful around her.

Origin: English

Meaning: Wealthy guardian.

Edward Cullen from Twilight introduced an entire generation to vampires.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Crown, garland.

Stefan Salvatore from Vampire Diaries. The tortured hero who tries to be good.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: To tame, subdue.

Damon Salvatore, the bad brother: sarcastic, dangerous, and more popular than the hero.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Bright, shining light.

Elena Gilbert from Vampire Diaries, the human doppelganger at the centre of every vampire's attention.

Origin: Germanic

Short form of Nicholas. Klaus Mikaelson from The Originals, a thousand-year-old hybrid and compelling villain.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: My God is Yahweh.

Elijah Mikaelson, the noble Original who wears a suit to every apocalypse.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: To tie, bind.

Rebekah Mikaelson, a thousand years old and still looking for what she wants.

Origin: Germanic

Meaning: Free woman.

Caroline Forbes, cheerleader turned vampire turned one of the strongest characters in the series.

Origin: Norse

Meaning: Eternal ruler.

Eric Northman from True Blood. A Viking vampire sheriff.

Origin: English

Meaning: Sharp point.

William the Bloody from Buffy, punk rock vampire turned unlikely love interest.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: Messenger.

From Buffy. A vampire cursed with a soul and condemned to feel guilty forever.

Origin: English

Meaning: God's ruler.

From True Blood. An ancient vampire who has lived long enough to develop a conscience.

Origin: Greek

Meaning: All sweetness.

Pam from True Blood is anything but, which makes the name work.

Origin: French

Meaning: Warlike.

The Vampire Queen from Adventure Time: rock musician and immortal vampire.

Origin: Variant of Asterion

Meaning: Starry.

Vampire spawn rogue from Baldur's Gate 3.

Origin: Slavic-inspired, invented

Count Strahd von Zarovich from Dungeons and Dragons.

Origin: Germanic

Meaning: Noble.

Alice Cullen from Twilight, psychic vampire with a shopping habit.

Origin: English

Meaning: From the walled city.

Carlisle Cullen, the vampire doctor.

Origin: French/Latin

Meaning: Rose.

Rosalie Hale from Twilight, beautiful and bitter about being undead.

Origin: Persian

Meaning: Treasurer.

Jasper Hale from Twilight, gentle name with a violent backstory.

Origin: Hebrew

Meaning: God beholds.

Jessica Hamby from True Blood, newly turned and chaotic.

Origin: Diminutive of Susan

Meaning: Lily.

Not a vampire, but the telepathic human around whom every vampire orbits.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Dark noble thorn.

Refined old-house energy with sharp edges.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Burning one of the night well.

Elegant, lyrical, and darkly romantic.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Light at twilight.

A classic vampire first name meeting a moody one-syllable surname.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Ice ruler of the bone.

Dramatic enough for tragic, ancient vampires.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Victory of the ash stream.

Old-world polish with a surname that suggests ruin.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Bearer of good news with crow imagery.

Soft first name, ominous surname.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Gifted one of the graves.

Literary energy with a dark full stop.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Night spirit with bloodline imagery.

Mythic and darkly feminine.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Hollow one and dark bird.

Sharp, simple, and ready for modern dark fantasy.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Helper at the edge of graves.

Literary, tragic, and unmistakably gothic.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Dark hollow.

Direct dark-fantasy energy with no wasted syllables.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Fame and joy of the dark moor.

Moody old-country atmosphere.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Woodland one with blood imagery.

Short, direct, and impossible to forget.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Divine gift behind a black veil.

Regal and mysterious.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Ruler of all beneath the banner.

Strong ancient-vampire energy with a clean finish.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Evening thorn.

Twilight imagery meeting sharpness in two words.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Raven of ash.

Minimal and brooding.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Great one of the cold spring.

Stately patriarch energy for old vampire lords.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Moon and dark rose.

Romantic and immediately supernatural.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Strong thorn.

Short and commanding.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: White and black.

Contrast-heavy for a vampire who lives between two worlds.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Healed by God of the black mountain.

Smooth, aristocratic, and carrying centuries.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: Immortal night song.

For vampires whose existence is both beautiful and melancholy.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: New house at nightfall.

Dark but accessible for games and stories.

Origin: Gothic fiction

Meaning: One restored with ghostly presence.

Undead signals that do not require explanation.