Names That Mean Bad-Luck

I’ve always found it strange how a name can carry so much weight before a baby even opens its eyes. So I went digging into names that mean bad luck across cultures, myths, and old languages — and every one of them seems to hide its own little curse.

Below is my full list of names that mean bad luck, sorted by gender, origin, and category, so you can jump straight to the one you’re curious about.

Boy Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Mordecai – warrior of misfortune (folk association)
• Cain – possession/lament, linked to a cursed fate
• Loki – trickster tied to chaos and ruin
• Typhon – Greek monster of destruction
• Dorian – doomed one (literary association)
• Draven – hunter, but carries a dark, ominous ring
• Malachi – often twisted into “bad king” in folk readings
• Sorin – dark, sorrowful
• Corvin – raven, a bird linked to bad omens
• Cronus – devourer, associated with ruin
• Ares – god of war and destruction
• Hades – god of the underworld, death
• Damien – to tame/subdue, linked to dark fate in pop culture
• Cassian – hollow, empty fate
• Baldur – ironically a doomed god of light in myth
• Malvin – cursed friend
• Grimm – dark, grim omen
• Ravik – raven-like, ill omen
• Fenrir – monstrous wolf of destruction
• Set – Egyptian god of chaos
• Azrael – angel of death
• Marek – warlike, tied to ruin
• Draco – dragon, feared and ominous
• Vex – to trouble or plague
• Silas – of the forest, but linked to isolation and misfortune
• Orin – pale, associated with sickness
• Kael – slender, but ominous in modern naming trends
• Talon – claw, aggressive and threatening

Girl Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Morrigan – Celtic goddess of war and fate
• Cassandra – cursed prophetess, doomed to be disbelieved
• Lilith – night demon, first ill-fated woman in myth
• Niobe – grief-stricken, turned to stone from sorrow
• Medusa – cursed gorgon
• Persephone – tied to the underworld
• Hecate – goddess of witchcraft and crossroads
• Erinyes (Erin) – root tied to the furies of vengeance
• Ate – Greek goddess of ruin and mischief
• Discordia – Roman goddess of discord
• Alecto – unceasing anger, a fury
• Tisiphone – avenger of murder
• Banshee (Bansi) – wailing omen of death
• Morgana – enchantress tied to downfall
• Ilsabet – variant linked to sorrowful tales
• Malina – dark one
• Ravenna – raven, an omen bird
• Sorrow (used as a given name historically) – grief itself
• Dolores – sorrows
• Tristessa – sadness
• Marah – bitterness
• Mara – bitter, sorrowful
• Ondine – water spirit tied to tragic drowning myths
• Circe – enchantress who curses men
• Nyx – goddess of night and darkness
• Eris – goddess of strife and chaos
• Enyo – goddess of war’s destruction
• Selene (in some tragic myths) – tied to loss

Unisex Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Raven – bird symbolizing death omens
• Wolf/Wolfe – predator, danger
• Shadow – darkness, the unseen threat
• Ashes/Ash – remains, destruction
• Storm – chaos and upheaval
• Ruin – total collapse
• Vesper – evening, associated with endings
• Onyx – dark stone, linked to mourning
• Grim – ominous, dark
• Sable – black, mourning color
• Winter – barrenness, death of the year
• Thorne – pain, difficulty
• Crow – another death-omen bird
• Blaze (in old folklore, tied to destructive fire) – wildfire
• Rune – hidden fate, sometimes cursed spellwork
• Reaper – death itself
• Echo – a nymph doomed to only repeat others
• Fable (used ironically in tragic tales) – cautionary tale
• Vale – valley, tied to mourning (“vale of tears”)
• Solace (ironic, born from grief) – comfort after sorrow
• Requiem – a mass for the dead
• Phoenix (before rebirth, tied to destruction first) – burned to ash
• Briar – thorny, painful
• Wren (folklore ties it to omens) – small bird of superstition
• Ora (in some dark folk tales) – edge, boundary of fate
• Corbin – raven-related, dark omen
• Alder (old folklore ties it to mourning trees) – sorrow tree

Last Names (Surnames) That Mean Bad Luck

• Malchance (French-rooted) – bad luck, literally
• Malheur – misfortune
• Sorrows – surname derived from grief
• Doomsday (rare historical surname) – ultimate ruin
• Grimshaw – dark, grim woodland
• Blackwood – dark, ominous forest
• Ravensworth – raven’s place, omen-linked
• Direton (constructed from “dire”) – place of dire events
• Malfoy (literary, French “bad faith”) – bad faith/luck
• Cursoe (constructed) – curse-linked
• Vane – linked to vanity and folly
• Faulkner – falconer, but folk-tied to “fault”
• Winterbourne – cold stream, bleak
• Thornfield – painful ground
• Ashworth – place of ashes
• Deathridge – ominous surname
• Coffin – actual historical English surname, death-linked
• Graves – burial, death
• Sorrell (folk-linked to sorrow, though botanical) – bitter herb
• Wolfram – wolf-raven, doom-linked compound
• Direwood – dire, ominous forest
• Blackthorn – painful dark shrub
• Nightshade – poisonous, deadly plant surname
• Ruina (Latin-rooted) – ruin
• Malaspina – “bad thorn,” Italian noble surname
• Malatesta – “bad head,” Italian noble surname
• Crowley – crow-meadow, omen-linked
• Sterva (Slavic-rooted, “carrion”) – decay-linked

Baby Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Kali – Hindu goddess of destruction and time
• Azazel – fallen angel, ill-omened
• Draven – dark hunter
• Lilith – night demon
• Cain – marked and cursed
• Morrigan – war and fate goddess
• Sorin – sorrowful, dark
• Malia (folk-twisted from “mal”) – bitter
• Damon – to tame, dark literary ties
• Vesper – evening, ending
• Raven – omen bird
• Grimm – grim, dark
• Nyx – night goddess
• Eris – chaos goddess
• Cassia (folk-tied to Cassandra) – doomed
• Malin – small, but “mal” root ties to bad
• Talon – sharp, threatening
• Corvina – raven-derived
• Bane – poison, ruin
• Onyx – mourning stone
• Ashlyn (folk-tied to ashes) – meadow of ash
• Doom (rare, used symbolically) – fate itself
• Rune – hidden, cursed fate
• Wraith – ghostly, death-linked
• Marek – warlike, ruinous
• Sable – black, mourning
• Thorne – painful

Chinese Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Sì (四, sounds like “death”) – avoided in numbering and naming
• Xiōng (凶) – ominous, inauspicious
• Huò (祸) – disaster, calamity
• Nì (逆) – adverse, against fortune
• Sāng (丧) – mourning, funeral
• Zāi (灾) – calamity, disaster
• Bù Xìng (不幸) – misfortune
• Wáng (亡, homophone caution) – to perish
• Kū (哭) – to weep, sorrow
• Chóu (愁) – worry, sorrow
• Hēi (黑, symbolically) – black, bad omen
• Yīn (阴, symbolically) – shadow/yin, associated with misfortune in excess
• É Yùn (厄运) – bad fortune
• Cán (残) – broken, ruined
• Bēi (悲) – grief
• Wēixiǎn (危险, root Wēi) – danger
• Mò (末) – end, decline
• Shuāi (衰) – decline, misfortune
• Kùn (困) – trapped, hardship
• Sǔn (损) – loss, damage
• Pò (破) – broken, shattered
• Luàn (乱) – chaos, disorder
• Wù (误) – error, mistake, misfortune
• Hén (痕) – scar
• Chàng (怅, root) – melancholy
• Àn (暗) – dark, dim
• Jié (劫, as in “jié shù” calamity) – calamity/robbery of fate
• Qī (凄) – bleak, mournful

Korean Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Ag-un (악운) – bad luck, literally
• Bul-haeng (불행) – misfortune
• Jae-ang (재앙) – disaster
• Eo-du (어두, root “dark”) – darkness
• Seul-peum (슬픔, root) – sorrow
• Go-tong (고통, root) – suffering
• Mang (망, as in “manghada”) – ruin, downfall
• Hyung (흉, as in 흉조 “ill omen”) – ominous
• Jeo-ju (저주) – curse
• Wi-heom (위험, root) – danger
• Sil-pae (실패, root) – failure
• Jeol-mang (절망, root) – despair
• Gohtong-i (고통이, poetic root) – pain-bearer
• Eu-um (음, yin/dark root) – shadow
• Sang-cheo (상처, root) – wound
• Bi-ae (비애) – sorrow, grief
• Chwi-yak (취약, root) – vulnerability, weakness
• Pae-mang (패망) – downfall, ruin
• Ак-mong (악몽, root “ak”) – nightmare
• Heo-mu (허무) – emptiness, futility
• Go-dok (고독, root) – loneliness
• Won-han (원한) – grudge, resentment
• Bu-jeong (부정, root) – negativity
• Chwi-so (취소, symbolic) – cancellation, undoing of fate
• Mol-lak (몰락) – downfall
• Hae (해, as in 해악 “harm”) – harm-rooted

Korean Girl Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Seul-gi (슬기 sounds close to seulpeum, sorrow-adjacent) – wisdom through sorrow (folk play)
• Ae-ran (애란, root “ae” sorrow) – sorrowful orchid
• Bi-seo (비서, poetic root “bi” sorrow) – sorrow-touched
• Han-na (한나, root “han” grudge/deep sorrow) – deep resentment
• Won-mi (원미, root “won” grudge) – lingering grudge, beauty
• Eun-ha (은하, twisted folk-reading) – silver river of tears
• Ga-eul-pi (가을비, poetic “autumn rain”) – melancholic rain
• Seo-ri (서리) – frost, symbolizing cold fate
• Nun-mul (눈물) – tears
• Han-sum (한숨) – sigh, sorrow
• Ae-tan (애탄, root) – lament
• Go-dok-i (고독이) – loneliness-bearer
• Jeol-mangi (절망이) – despair-bearer
• Sang-sil (상실, root) – loss
• Heo-tong (허통, poetic) – hollow ache
• Bi-mong (비몽) – sorrowful dream
• Chwi-han (취한, poetic) – overwhelmed by grudge
• Won-tan (원탄, root) – grudge and lament
• Sae-byeok-eum (새벽음, poetic “dark dawn”) – dim dawn
• Eo-duk-mi (어둑미, root “dark”) – dark beauty
• Ae-sang (애상) – mournful sentiment
• Bi-hwa (비화) – sorrowful flower
• Han-ah (한아, root “han”) – grudge-child (folk-play)
• Seul-ah (슬아, root “seul” sorrow) – sorrow-child (folk-play)
• Nun-mul-i (눈물이) – tear-bearer
• Chwi-ae (취애, poetic) – bound by sorrow

Russian Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Zloveshiy (Злове́щий, root) – ominous
• Neschastye (Несчастье) – misfortune, itself the word for bad luck
• Gorye (Горе) – grief, woe
• Roc (Рок) – fate/doom
• Prokliatiye (Проклятие, root) – curse
• Tьма (Tma) – darkness
• Skorbь (Skorb) – sorrow
• Bedá (Беда) – disaster, trouble
• Zloy (Злой, root) – evil, ill-fated
• Chyornaya (Чёрная, root “black”) – black, ominous
• Mrak (Мрак) – gloom, darkness
• Toská (Тоска) – deep anguish
• Krov (Кровь, symbolic) – blood, doom-linked
• Volk (Волк) – wolf, feared omen
• Voron (Ворон) – raven, death omen
• Smert (Смерть, root) – death
• Pogibel (Погибель) – doom, ruin
• Muka (Мука) – torment
• Grekh (Грех) – sin, misfortune-linked
• Nechist (Нечисть, root) – unclean spirit, evil omen
• Zloi Rok (Злой Рок) – evil fate
• Chёrny (Чёрный) – black
• Buря (Burya) – storm, symbolic of chaos
• Груз (Gruz, symbolic “burden”) – heavy burden
• Тень (Ten) – shadow
• Плач (Plach) – wailing, lament
• Отчаяние (Otchayanie, root) – despair

Egyptian Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Set (Seth) – god of chaos and storms
• Apophis (Apep) – serpent of destruction and darkness
• Ammit – devourer of the unworthy dead
• Sekhmet (in her wrathful aspect) – goddess of destruction
• Neb-Heru (folk-linked to chaos titles) – “lord of confusion”
• Isfet – Egyptian concept of chaos and disorder itself
• Bata (in tragic myth cycles) – ill-fated brother figure
• Anhur (aspect tied to war and slaughter) – warlike destroyer
• Mafdet (linked to punishment) – executioner deity
• Serket (in her punishing aspect) – scorpion of retribution
• Sobek (feared aspect) – devouring crocodile god
• Nehebkau (serpent tied to binding fate) – fate-binder
• Babi (baboon god tied to violence) – bloodthirsty deity
• Wepwawet (as opener of ominous paths) – path of death
• Heka (dark-magic association) – sorcery, curse
• Renenutet (in famine aspect) – harvest failure
• Shai (fate deity, feared aspect) – doomed destiny
• Meskhenet (in ill-fated birth omens) – difficult fate at birth
• Duamutef (funerary, death-linked) – guardian of the dead
• Qebehsenuef (funerary, death-linked) – guardian of entrails
• Hapy (funerary aspect) – death-organ guardian
• Imsety (funerary aspect) – death-organ guardian
• Osiris (before resurrection, murdered god) – murdered, dismembered god
• Nephthys (mourning goddess) – goddess of lament
• Anubis (feared, death-linked) – god of the dead
• Geb (in earthquake myths) – shaking, destructive earth
• Tefnut (drought aspect) – dryness, famine

French Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Malheur – misfortune (used poetically as a name)
• Malchance – bad luck itself
• Désastre – disaster
• Tristan – historically linked to “triste” (sad), a sorrowful birth
• Douleur – pain, used symbolically
• Sombre – dark, gloomy
• Noire (fem.) – black, dark omen
• Maudit – cursed
• Ombre – shadow
• Chagrin – sorrow
• Ruine – ruin
• Ténèbres – darkness
• Deuil – mourning
• Fatalité – doom, fatality
• Malefique (fem. Maléfique) – evil, cursed
• Corbeau (surname-style) – raven, omen bird
• Noirceur – blackness, darkness of fate
• Damné – damned
• Perdu(e) – lost, doomed
• Souffrance – suffering
• Épreuve – ordeal, trial
• Vaincu – defeated
• Infortune – misfortune, literally
• Détresse – distress
• Adversité – adversity
• Calamité – calamity
• Sinistre – sinister, ominous
• Funeste – fatal, ill-omened

Greek Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Cassandra – cursed with unbelieved prophecy
• Niobe – turned to stone from grief
• Ate – goddess of ruin and folly
• Eris – goddess of strife
• Nemesis – goddess of retribution
• Erebus – god of darkness
• Thanatos – god of death
• Moros – god of impending doom
• Oizys – goddess of misery
• Algea – spirits of pain and sorrow
• Lyssa – spirit of mad rage
• Apate – spirit of deceit
• Dysnomia – spirit of lawlessness
• Ponos – spirit of hard labor and suffering
• Penthos (root) – grief
• Achos (root) – pain, distress
• Keres – spirits of violent death
• Hypnos (feared aspect, brother of death) – sleep tied to death
• Charon – ferryman of the dead
• Styx – river of the underworld, oath-bound doom
• Lethe – river of forgetting, tied to death
• Cocytus – river of wailing
• Phlegethon – river of fire in the underworld
• Tartarus – deepest pit of suffering
• Erinys (Erinyes root) – fury of vengeance
• Deimos – god of dread
• Phobos – god of fear
• Melinoe – goddess of ghosts and nightmares

Italian Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Malasorte – bad luck itself
• Sfortuna – misfortune
• Malocchio (folk term, “evil eye”) – cursed gaze
• Disgrazia – disgrace, misfortune
• Tenebra – darkness
• Maledetto – cursed
• Rovina – ruin
• Sciagura – calamity
• Cordoglio – mourning, grief
• Malanno – misfortune, illness
• Iattura – jinx, bad omen
• Funesto – fatal, ominous
• Sinistro – sinister
• Perdizione – perdition, doom
• Tormento – torment
• Angoscia – anguish
• Disperazione – despair
• Corvo (surname-style) – raven, omen
• Nero (symbolic) – black
• Buio – darkness
• Dannazione – damnation
• Afflizione – affliction
• Calamità – calamity
• Tragedia – tragedy
• Lutto – mourning
• Sventura – misfortune
• Malessere – malaise, unease
• Catastrofe – catastrophe

Japanese Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Fukō (不幸) – misfortune, literally
• Kyō (凶) – ill-omened, as in taikyō “great misfortune”
• Wazawai (災い) – disaster, calamity
• Noroi (呪い) – curse
• Yami (闇) – darkness
• Shi (死, homophone caution “four/death”) – death
• Kanashimi (悲しみ) – sorrow
• Kurayami (暗闇) – pitch darkness
• Akuun (悪運) – bad luck/fate
• Zannen (残念) – regret, disappointment
• Kutsuu (苦痛) – pain, suffering
• Higeki (悲劇) – tragedy
• Metsubō (滅亡) – ruin, downfall
• Soushitsu (喪失) – loss
• Zetsubō (絶望) – despair
• Fuun (不運) – misfortune/bad luck
• Akuma (悪魔) – demon
• Shinigami (死神) – god of death
• Onryō (怨霊) – vengeful spirit
• Tatari (祟り) – curse, divine punishment
• Kage (影) – shadow
• Yūrei (幽霊) – ghost
• Bakemono (化け物) – monster
• Shitsui (失意) – dejection, discouragement
• Nageki (嘆き) – lament
• Higan (彼岸, symbolic “other shore”) – edge of death
• Kokū (虚空, symbolic) – emptiness, void

Latin Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Malefortuna – bad fortune
• Infelix – unlucky, unfortunate
• Funestus – fatal, deadly
• Sinister – literally “left” but adopted as ominous
• Malus Omen – bad omen
• Fatum Malum – evil fate
• Perditio – destruction, ruin
• Calamitas – calamity
• Exitium – destruction, ruin
• Luctus – grief, mourning
• Dolor – pain, sorrow
• Tenebrae – darkness
• Maledictus – cursed
• Pernicies – ruin, disaster
• Clades – disaster, defeat
• Vae – “woe,” used as an exclamation-turned-name
• Miser – wretched, unfortunate
• Adversitas – adversity
• Ruina – ruin
• Discordia – discord, strife
• Poena – punishment, penalty
• Nex – violent death
• Mors – death
• Umbra – shadow
• Tristitia – sadness
• Aegritudo – sickness of spirit, grief
• Casus Malus – bad fall/chance
• Improbus Fatum – wicked fate (compound)

Roman Names That Mean Bad Luck

• Fatum – fate, often ill-fated
• Discordia – Roman goddess of discord
• Mors – Roman god/personification of death
• Nemesis (adopted Roman) – retribution
• Furia – fury, avenging spirit
• Invidia – envy, personified as a curse-bringer
• Bellona – goddess of war and destruction
• Orcus – god of the underworld and oaths broken
• Dis Pater – ruler of the underworld
• Larvae (as spirit-name) – malevolent ghosts
• Lemures – restless, vengeful spirits
• Averruncus – god invoked to avert disaster (implying its constant threat)
• Robigus – god of blight and crop ruin
• Febris – goddess of fever, personified illness
• Angerona (feared aspect) – goddess of hidden fear
• Vejovis – anti-Jupiter, a darker underworld deity
• Summanus – god of nocturnal thunder and dread
• Malus Genius – “bad spirit,” opposite of a guardian angel
• Poena – Roman personification of punishment
• Letum – death itself, personified
• Clades Publica – “public disaster,” used symbolically
• Terror – personified dread
• Pavor – personified panic
• Ira – wrath, personified
• Luctus – Roman personification of grief
• Maeror – Roman personification of mourning
• Egestas – personified poverty and ruin

Mythological & Fictional Names That Mean Bad Luck

I couldn’t resist adding this one — so many stories are built entirely around a name that seals someone’s fate.

• Sisyphus – condemned to eternal, futile labor
• Icarus – doomed by his own ambition
• Pandora – opened the box that unleashed all misfortune
• Oedipus – cursed from birth by prophecy
• Achilles (his one weakness sealed his doom) – vulnerable hero
• Prometheus (in his punishment) – eternally tormented titan
• Jonah – biblical figure tied to bad luck at sea
• Voldemort (literary) – “flight of death”
• Sauron (literary) – “the abhorred”
• Mordred (Arthurian) – betrayer, doom-bringer of Camelot
• Grendel (literary) – monster of ruin
• Frankenstein’s creature (pop culture) – tragic, ill-fated being
• Dracula (folk-linked to “dracul,” devil/dragon) – devil-son
• Banquo (literary, murdered and haunting) – ghost of betrayal
• Ophelia (literary, tragic drowning) – doomed innocence

FAQs

Do people actually name their children after bad luck?

Rarely on purpose — most of these meanings come from mythology, folklore, or old word roots rather than modern parents choosing them deliberately.

Why do some cultures avoid certain numbers or sounds in names?

Because those sounds are homophones for words like “death” or “misfortune,” especially in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.

Is it bad luck to actually give a child one of these names?

Most naming traditions consider meaning important, so many parents avoid names tied to sorrow, doom, or ruin, though plenty of these names are still used for their beauty alone.

Are raven and crow names always considered unlucky?

In most Western folklore, yes — but in some cultures, like parts of Native American and Norse tradition, ravens are seen as wise messengers rather than bad omens.

Can a name with a dark meaning still sound beautiful?

Absolutely — many of the names above (like Lilith, Morrigan, or Nyx) are popular precisely because they sound elegant despite their heavier meanings.

Do surnames carry bad-luck meanings too?

Yes, especially older European surnames tied to occupations or places associated with death, mourning, or hardship, like Graves or Coffin.