If you spent your high school days (or hey, even these days!) wearing black lipstick and fishnets, and now you’re about to become a parent, well, a sweet, adorable baby name just might not be the way you want to go. The good news: There are plenty of goth-inspired baby names for kids of all genders that will let you embrace your edgy side. While these dark, moody baby names are totally appropriate for the schoolyard, they have just the right amount of spook factor to let your kid stand out.
If you’ve read our baby name coverage before, you know we have nothing against baby names that are all sugar and sunshine. But also, let us be the first to say: There is no rule that says your baby’s name has to be traditionally-cute, per se, and it certainly doesn’t have to be conventional. So if you’re looking on the darker side of the name spectrum, check out our list of goth baby names with roots in hard rock, the spooky side of nature, or even witchy films and fiction.
Goth Baby Names for Girls
There are several famously-dark characters that are a great source of goth baby name inspiration. One of pop culture’s favorite goth girls is Wednesday Addams, from The Addams Family. Wednesday is obviously a great goth name; however, if you feel like that has already been done, then the other days of the week make equally cool names. Saturday might be a bit too perky for a goth girl name, but Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, or (my favorite) Friday would all make great names.
Wednesday’s mom, Morticia, has an equally cool name that has just the right amount of edgy weirdness to it. The name is Latin in origin and means “funeral director.” You can’t get much more goth than that.
We also loved the gothic vibe of Lydia from the movie Beetlejuice, played by actress Winona Ryder. The name has both Swedish and Greek origins. Another favorite is Raven, who’s a popular goth girl on the cartoon Teen Titans. Here are more of the goth girl names we love:
Goth Baby Names for Boys
Robert Smith, the lead singer of The Cure, is one of the coolest goth guys out there. Even though the name Robert doesn’t really have a goth sound to it, his last name, Smith, would make a great first name. Smith is a name of English origin that means “tradesman” — and it has a goth-y reference without being overtly goth at all.
Christian Death founder Rozz Williams was called the “Goth Pioneer” by Rolling Stone magazine. His first name, Rozz, is edgy and unique and would make a great goth name for any gender.
Some of these sound less edgy, but have fabulously goth meanings — like Corbin, which means “raven.”
Here are more of our favorite goth baby boy names:
Gender-Neutral Goth Baby Names
These androgynous or unisex goth baby names are perfect for a little gothlet of any gender. Since black is the go-to color for all goths, we’re especially digging the names inspired by different shades of black.
A version of this story was originally published in October 2015.
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