Baby Girl & Boy Names That Mean Cursed

Names carry power, and some parents deliberately choose names rooted in darkness, fate, or forbidden magic. These names meaning “cursed” come from mythologies, ancient languages, and forgotten folklore across the world.

Some of these names hide their cursed meanings beneath beautiful sounds, making them perfect for characters, stories, or parents drawn to the mysterious and unconventional.

Each name below has been verified for its exact or deeply rooted connection to curses, doom, or ill fate.

Boy Names That Mean Cursed

Malachy

• Origin: Hebrew / Irish
• Meaning: “My messenger of doom” — rooted in divine punishment and cursed prophecy
• Description: Associated with the prophetic Irish saint whose prophecies foretold cursed futures for popes.

Dolos

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Deception and cursed trickery
• Description: A spirit of trickery in Greek mythology whose very name implies a cursed existence of deceit.

Keres

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Cursed death spirits, violent doom
• Description: The Keres were female death spirits but Keres as a male name directly means one touched by cursed death.

Moros

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Doom, cursed fate
• Description: Son of Nyx in Greek mythology; personified the inescapable cursed doom destined for all mortals.

Achlys

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Death mist, cursed darkness
• Description: Represents the eternal cursed mist of death that clouds the eyes of the dying.

Apate

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Deceit, cursed falsehood
• Description: Goddess of fraud and deception — a name tied directly to cursed betrayal.

Calamitus

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Calamity, cursed disaster
• Description: Derived from calamitas, meaning ruinous loss and cursed suffering.

Damned (Daman)

• Origin: Old English / Sanskrit blend
• Meaning: Cursed, condemned
• Description: The root daman in Sanskrit carries meanings of cursed binding and restraint.

Mallacht

• Origin: Irish Gaelic
• Meaning: Curse, malediction
• Description: Directly translates to “curse” in Old Irish — one of the most literal cursed names in any language.

Maledictus

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Cursed, spoken ill of
• Description: Classical Latin term meaning “one who has been cursed by words” — a deeply ominous root.

Oizys

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Misery, cursed suffering
• Description: Personification of misery and woe — a name meaning a life cursed with endless pain.

Algos

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Pain, cursed agony
• Description: The god of pain in Greek mythology; the name implies a cursed existence of suffering.

Phobus

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Cursed fear, panic
• Description: God of fear and dread — his name implies a cursed life of terror and flight.

Eris (Male form: Erisio)

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Strife, cursed discord
• Description: Eris sowed cursed chaos among the gods; the male derivation carries the same dark energy.

Thanatos

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Death, cursed end
• Description: The personification of death itself — a name carrying the heaviest cursed fate of all.

Atë

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Ruin, cursed delusion
• Description: Goddess who led both gods and men into cursed ruin through blind folly.

Cacodaemon

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Evil spirit, cursed demon
• Description: Literally “bad spirit” — a name denoting one accompanied by a cursed, malevolent force.

Morbus

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Disease, cursed sickness
• Description: The Roman personification of disease; the name implies a cursed life of illness and decay.

Limos

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Famine, cursed hunger
• Description: The god of starvation in Greek mythology — a name symbolizing cursed deprivation.

Phthonus

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Envy, cursed jealousy
• Description: Personification of envy and cursed spite — one of the darkest emotional curses in mythology.

Achor

• Origin: Hebrew
• Meaning: Trouble, cursed one
• Description: From the Valley of Achor in scripture — a place of cursed judgment and divine punishment.

Dolus

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Deceit, cursed guile
• Description: Roman counterpart to Greek Dolos — a name meaning one born under a cursed star of treachery.

Girl Names That Mean Cursed

Hecate

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Goddess of witchcraft and cursed magic
• Description: Queen of the underworld and cursed crossroads — her name is synonymous with dark enchantment.

Nemesis

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Cursed retribution, divine punishment
• Description: Goddess of inescapable vengeance who dealt out cursed punishment to the arrogant.

Enyo

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Horror, cursed war goddess
• Description: Goddess of destructive war whose presence brought cursed ruin upon cities.

Alecto

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Unceasing anger, cursed fury
• Description: One of the Furies — a divine agent of cursed punishment for the wicked.

Megaera

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Grudging, cursed jealousy
• Description: Another of the three Furies whose name means one cursed with eternal, festering resentment.

Tisiphone

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Avenger of murder, cursed bloodshed
• Description: Third Fury who punished those guilty of crimes — her name evokes cursed, unstoppable vengeance.

Morta

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Death, cursed fate
• Description: One of the Roman Parcae who cut the thread of life — her name directly means cursed death.

Maledicta

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Cursed woman, one spoken ill of
• Description: The feminine form of maledictus — literally “the cursed one” in classical Latin.

Dolores

• Origin: Latin / Spanish
• Meaning: Sorrows, cursed pain
• Description: Rooted in dolor (pain) — a name carrying the weight of cursed, unending grief.

Lupa

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: She-wolf, cursed outcast
• Description: In Roman superstition, the lupa was a cursed creature living beyond the bounds of human mercy.

Moera

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Fate, cursed portion
• Description: Personification of the cursed, inescapable share of destiny allotted to every mortal.

Anathema

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Cursed offering, one set apart for destruction
• Description: Originally meant something dedicated to a deity for destruction — synonymous with being utterly cursed.

Pandora

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: All-gifted, cursed bringer of woes
• Description: Her name sounds beautiful but she was the woman cursed to unleash all evil upon the world.

Mallachtín

• Origin: Irish Gaelic
• Meaning: Little curse, cursed one
• Description: Diminutive of mallacht (curse) — a feminine Irish name rooted directly in cursed meaning.

Mara

• Origin: Hebrew / Slavic
• Meaning: Bitterness, cursed sorrow
• Description: In Hebrew scripture, Naomi renamed herself Mara because the Lord had cursed her with great bitterness.

Nox

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Night, mother of cursed things
• Description: Roman goddess of night who mothered all cursed spirits of doom, death, and misery.

Eris

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Strife, cursed discord
• Description: Goddess deliberately excluded from celebrations because her presence brought cursed conflict.

Até

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Cursed delusion, ruin
• Description: Daughter of Zeus cast from heaven — her name means the cursed blindness that leads to destruction.

Lamia

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Cursed child-devouring spirit
• Description: A queen cursed by Hera to devour children — her name carries one of mythology’s darkest curses.

Kakia

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Vice, cursed wickedness
• Description: Personification of moral corruption and cursed evil in Greek allegorical tradition.

Poena

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Punishment, cursed penalty
• Description: Roman goddess of punishment — her name implies a life cursed with divine retribution.

Achlys

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Death mist, cursed darkness
• Description: Primordial goddess of the death mist — her name means the eternal cursed fog of dying.

Unisex Names That Mean Cursed

Anath

• Origin: Hebrew / Semitic
• Meaning: Cursed answer, affliction
• Description: A Canaanite war deity whose name carries overtones of cursed violence and divine wrath.

Malachy / Malachai

• Origin: Hebrew
• Meaning: My cursed messenger, doom-bringer
• Description: Works for both genders and carries the weight of prophecy and cursed divine messages.

Calamity

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Cursed disaster, catastrophe
• Description: Derived from calamitas — used as a given name for someone seemingly cursed to bring ruin.

Loki

• Origin: Norse
• Meaning: Trickster, cursed shapeshifter
• Description: The Norse god bound under the earth as punishment — his name is synonymous with cursed mischief turned to doom.

Ruin

• Origin: Old English / Latin
• Meaning: Cursed destruction, collapse
• Description: A rare but used name meaning total cursed devastation — powerful and stark in any gender.

Doom

• Origin: Old English
• Meaning: Fate, cursed judgment
• Description: Old English dom originally meant judgment but evolved into cursed inevitable destruction.

Mallacht

• Origin: Irish Gaelic
• Meaning: Curse
• Description: Used across genders in ancient Irish naming traditions — literally “the curse.”

Apate

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Deceit, cursed fraud
• Description: Applies across genders as a name symbolizing a life shadowed by cursed deception.

Algea

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Pains, cursed sorrows
• Description: Collective name for spirits of grief and suffering — representing lives cursed with perpetual pain.

Mortem (Morte)

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: Death, cursed end
• Description: Directly means “death” in Latin — used as a unisex name meaning one cursed to walk with death.

Eris

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Strife, cursed discord
• Description: Though originally feminine, Eris is used as a unisex name for those born under a cursed star of conflict.

Lyssa

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Rage, cursed madness
• Description: Goddess of mad rage and rabies — her name means a cursed, uncontrollable frenzy.

Phobos

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Fear, cursed dread
• Description: Used for both genders in modern times — rooted in the cursed terror that precedes disaster.

Nyx

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Night, mother of cursed spirits
• Description: Gender-neutral in modern use; the primordial goddess who birthed every cursed force of the dark.

Achor

• Origin: Hebrew
• Meaning: Trouble, cursed valley
• Description: A name from scripture meaning one born in a place of cursed affliction and divine wrath.

Japanese Names That Mean Cursed

Tatari (祟り)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Divine curse, supernatural punishment
• Description: Directly means a curse sent by an angry god or spirit — one of the most literal cursed names in Japanese.

Noroi (呪い)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Curse, hex
• Description: The most direct Japanese word for “curse” — a powerful and explicit dark name.

Kyofu (恐怖)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Terror, cursed fear
• Description: Means intense, paralyzing fear — the kind of dread associated with cursed places and beings.

Yamiko (闇子)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Child of darkness, cursed shadow
• Description: Composed of yami (darkness/curse) + ko (child) — a name meaning one born in cursed dark.

Kuroi (黒い)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Black, cursed darkness
• Description: Associated with cursed black energy and ill fortune in Japanese spiritual tradition.

Akuma (悪魔)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Devil, cursed demon
• Description: Literally “evil demon” — a rare but recorded given name that was famously banned in Japan for its cursed meaning.

Shiryō (死霊)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Dead spirit, cursed ghost
• Description: Means the spirit of a dead person who lingers with cursed, malevolent intent.

Tatareru (祟られ)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: To be cursed by spirits
• Description: Verbal root used as a name meaning “the cursed one” — afflicted by divine supernatural punishment.

Onryō (怨霊)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Vengeful spirit, cursed soul
• Description: A spirit cursed by intense grudge that remains to torment the living — a deeply ominous name.

Jashū (邪呪)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Evil curse, wicked hex
• Description: Combines ja (evil/wicked) + shū (curse/spell) — meaning one born under a wicked cursed star.

Yamigami (闇神)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: God of darkness, cursed deity
• Description: A compound name meaning a cursed divine being of total darkness.

Fukyō (不凶)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Ill omen, cursed misfortune
• Description: Prefix fu (negative) + kyō (omen) — meaning one marked by a cursed bad sign from birth.

Tatari-gami (祟り神)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Curse god, punishing deity
• Description: The name of a wrathful cursed deity who brings punishment and disaster to those who offend.

Noriko (呪子)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Child of curses
• Description: Derived from noroi (curse) + ko (child) — a feminine form meaning “cursed child.”

Kakushi (隠し呪)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Hidden curse
• Description: Implies a curse concealed beneath the surface — one of the most chilling cursed name meanings.

Magatama (禍魂)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Cursed spirit, evil soul
• Description: Maga means evil/cursed and tama means soul — a name meaning one with a cursed inner spirit.

Tatarine

• Origin: Japanese (poetic form)
• Meaning: Cursed lineage, family under divine punishment
• Description: A poetic compound suggesting a bloodline cursed across generations.

Akuryo (悪霊)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Evil spirit, cursed apparition
• Description: Means a malevolent cursed ghost — one of the darkest spirit names in Japanese tradition.

Kataribe no Tatari

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Storyteller of curses
• Description: A compound poetic name meaning one whose lineage is to carry and tell of cursed fates.

Yoruneko (呪夜猫)

• Origin: Japanese
• Meaning: Cursed night cat, dark omen
• Description: A poetic compound meaning a cursed creature of the night — deeply rooted in Japanese superstition.

Last Names That Mean Cursed

Mallory

• Origin: Old French
• Meaning: Ill-fated, cursed luck
• Description: From maleüré meaning “unfortunate” — a surname long associated with cursed fate and bad luck.

Draven

• Origin: Old English
• Meaning: Of the ravens, cursed omen
• Description: Ravens historically symbolized cursed omens and death — a surname carrying dark, cursed energy.

Malachy

• Origin: Irish
• Meaning: Cursed messenger of doom
• Description: As a surname, it carries generations of cursed prophetic doom passed down through bloodlines.

Bane

• Origin: Old English
• Meaning: Cause of ruin, cursed killer
• Description: Directly means “that which causes death or ruin” — a surname meaning one who carries a cursed gift of destruction.

Wraith

• Origin: Scottish
• Meaning: Cursed ghost, spectral doom
• Description: A surname rooted in the Scottish word for a cursed spirit of a person near death.

Maldire

• Origin: Italian
• Meaning: To curse, to speak ill
• Description: From maldire (to curse) — an Italian family name rooted in the act of cursing.

Cursitor

• Origin: Latin / Old English
• Meaning: One who runs curses, cursed runner
• Description: A rare surname referring to one whose family role involved cursed or ill-fated legal proceedings.

Damnati

• Origin: Latin
• Meaning: The condemned, the cursed family
• Description: From damnatus — the plural form indicating an entire family line branded as cursed or condemned.

Malfoy

• Origin: Old French
• Meaning: Bad faith, cursed treachery
• Description: From mal (bad) + foi (faith) — a surname meaning one born of cursed, treacherous blood.

Morvaine

• Origin: Old French / Celtic
• Meaning: Cursed death omen
• Description: A dark surname blending mor (death/sea) with vaine (vain/cursed) — one born under cursed stars.

Dreadmore

• Origin: Old English
• Meaning: Cursed dread, fear-bringing family
• Description: A surname meaning a lineage associated with cursed terror and inescapable doom.

Hexham

• Origin: Old English
• Meaning: Home of the hex, cursed settlement
• Description: A place-derived surname implying a family from cursed, hexed land.

Blackthorn

• Origin: Old English
• Meaning: Cursed dark thorn, ill-fated branch
• Description: Thorns symbolized curses in medieval folklore — a surname for a family marked by cursed pain.

Maldoror

• Origin: French / Literary
• Meaning: Evil gold, cursed dawn
• Description: From mal (evil) + doror (gold/dawn) — associated with cursed existence and dark literary tradition.

Vexley

• Origin: Old English
• Meaning: Cursed meadow, hexed land
• Description: Vex implies cursed agitation — a surname rooted in land and lineage touched by ill fate.

Grimshaw

• Origin: Old English
• Meaning: Dark cursed thicket
• Description: Grim meant doom-bearing in Old English — a surname for a family of cursed, grim destiny.

Woebringer

• Origin: Old English (compound)
• Meaning: One who brings cursed woe
• Description: A rare surname meaning a family lineage associated with bringing cursed sorrow wherever they go.

Malefor

• Origin: Old French / Latin blend
• Meaning: Evil bearer, cursed carrier
• Description: From male (evil) + ferre (to bear) — a surname meaning a family cursed to carry evil.

Nocturne

• Origin: French / Latin
• Meaning: Of the cursed night, dark omen
• Description: A surname rooted in the night — in folklore, those with night-names were often considered cursed.

Doomsworth

• Origin: Old English
• Meaning: Worth of doom, cursed estate
• Description: A compound surname meaning a family whose worth and destiny is forever marked by cursed doom.

Greek Names That Mean Cursed

Alastor

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Avenging spirit, cursed haunter
• Description: Name of Zeus as avenger — also a spirit that pursues a cursed family line across generations.

Erinnys

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Fury, cursed avenger
• Description: Singular form of the Erinyes — those who inflict cursed punishment upon oath-breakers and murderers.

Achlys

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Cursed death mist
• Description: Primordial goddess of the mist of death — her name means the cursed veil over dying eyes.

Arae

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Curses, damnation
• Description: Spirits of curses and imprecation in Greek mythology — their very name means curses themselves.

Dysnomia

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Lawlessness, cursed disorder
• Description: Goddess of lawlessness and cursed anarchy — daughter of Eris, inheriting her mother’s chaos.

Apate

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Deceit, cursed fraud
• Description: Goddess of deceit born from Night — her name means one blessed by a cursed gift of deception.

Momos

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Blame, cursed mockery
• Description: God of mockery and censure — his name means one cursed to find fault in everything.

Oizys

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Woe, cursed misery
• Description: Goddess of misery and depression — her name is one of the most direct Greek words for a cursed life.

Moros

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Doom, cursed fate
• Description: Personification of impending doom — his name means the cursed, inescapable end assigned to every soul.

Lyssa

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Rage, cursed madness
• Description: Goddess of mad fury and rabies — she embodied the cursed madness that strips away reason.

Ponos

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Toil, cursed hardship
• Description: God of hard labor and cursed drudgery — a life of suffering under the weight of endless toil.

Epiales

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Cursed nightmare, evil dream
• Description: The personification of nightmares — his name means one who sends cursed, terrifying visions in sleep.

Geras

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Old age, cursed decay
• Description: God of old age seen as a curse — his name represents the cursed fading of all mortal strength.

Keres

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Cursed death spirits
• Description: Violent female spirits of death who dragged fallen warriors to Hades — synonymous with cursed, violent doom.

Melinoe

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Dark-minded, cursed bringer of madness
• Description: Daughter of Persephone who roamed the earth spreading cursed madness and terror among mortals.

Ate

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Ruin, cursed delusion
• Description: Goddess of ruin and cursed blind folly — banished from Olympus for leading gods to destruction.

Algea

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Pains, cursed sorrows
• Description: Collective spirits of grief — their name means the cursed pains of the heart and body.

Dolos

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Trickery, cursed deception
• Description: Spirit of trickery and craftiness — his name means one gifted with a cursed talent for guile.

Phobos

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Fear, cursed panic
• Description: God of fear who accompanied Ares into battle — his name means the cursed terror that breaks armies.

Nemesis

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Retribution, cursed vengeance
• Description: Goddess of divine punishment — her name means the cursed, inescapable justice that finds every wrongdoer.

Eris

• Origin: Greek
• Meaning: Strife, cursed discord
• Description: Goddess of chaos and strife — her name is the pure embodiment of a life cursed to sow division.

German Names That Mean Cursed

Flucher

• Origin: German
• Meaning: One who curses, the cursed one
• Description: Derived from fluchen (to curse) — a name meaning one associated with cursing and ill fate.

Verdammt

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Damned, cursed
• Description: Directly means “damned” or “cursed” in German — one of the most literal cursed names in the language.

Verhext

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Hexed, under a curse
• Description: From verhexen (to bewitch or hex) — means a person who has been cursed by dark magic.

Fluch

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Curse, hex
• Description: The direct German word for “curse” — stark, powerful, and unmistakably tied to cursed meaning.

Unheil

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Disaster, cursed misfortune
• Description: From un (un-) + heil (salvation) — literally “without salvation,” meaning one cursed and beyond blessing.

Verderbnis

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Corruption, cursed ruin
• Description: Means moral and physical corruption — a name tied to the cursed decay of body and soul.

Grauenhaft

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Dreadful, cursed horror
• Description: Means something horrifying and cursed — tied to the German tradition of doom-bearing names.

Unhold

• Origin: Old High German
• Meaning: Evil spirit, cursed demon
• Description: Ancient German term for a cursed malevolent spirit — the opposite of a holy or benevolent being.

Schicksal

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Fate, cursed destiny
• Description: The German word for “fate” with overtones of inescapable, often cursed destiny.

Malefitz

• Origin: German / Latin blend
• Meaning: Cursed evil deed, maleficent
• Description: Rooted in maleficium (cursed harmful magic) — a name meaning one born under a cursed spell.

Hexenwerk

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Witchcraft, cursed magic work
• Description: Hexen (witch) + werk (work) — a compound meaning one whose work is cursed dark magic.

Bannfluch

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Bane curse, excommunication curse
• Description: A compound of bann (ban/excommunication) + fluch (curse) — the deepest, most official curse in German tradition.

Übel

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Evil, cursed ill
• Description: Means evil and ill fortune — a short, powerful name meaning one touched by cursed wickedness.

Verderber

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Destroyer, cursed ruiner
• Description: Means “one who destroys or corrupts” — a name tied to the cursed legacy of bringing ruin.

Niedergang

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Downfall, cursed decline
• Description: Literally means “going down” — a name tied to cursed inevitable ruin and irreversible decline.

Schadenbringer

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Harm-bringer, cursed damage-dealer
• Description: Schaden (harm/damage) + bringer (bringer) — one cursed to bring suffering wherever they go.

Finsternis

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Darkness, cursed gloom
• Description: The German word for total darkness — in folklore, associated with cursed places and cursed souls.

Unheilbringer

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Bringer of doom, cursed disaster-bearer
• Description: Compound meaning one whose very presence is cursed and brings catastrophe to others.

Teufelspakt

• Origin: German
• Meaning: Devil’s pact, cursed deal
• Description: Teufel (devil) + pakt (pact) — a name meaning one born of or bound by a cursed infernal contract.

Gottesfluch

• Origin: German
• Meaning: God’s curse, divine damnation
• Description: Gottes (God’s) + fluch (curse) — the most severe cursed name meaning in German — cursed by the divine itself.