Raven

Raven does not really symbolize death, it symbolizes more the end of one thing and the beginning of another... a conclusion and a new start.

In espionage circles, a "Raven" is a male agent who regularly employs sexual seduction in his tactics. A "swallow" is the female equivalent.

Attested as a male name in 12th century England. http://dmnes.org/name/Raven.

The last name Raven (which I have) is actually derived from Scottish descent and has a very cool meaning. Not death. It means dark haired person and it was chosen because of the relationship of Odin the Nortic god because he had two ravens as advisers to tell him what was going on in the world.

In Native American myth the Raven is seen as something entirely more positive. It is looked at for its wisdom even though it can be a trickster. My daughter is Native American and named Raven.

Some people above have complained that Raven was "trendy" because of "That's So Raven." This is not the case. Raven-Symone's impact on the use of the name came years before when she was a very young child actress playing the character Olivia on "The Cosby Show." The real boom in the name began in 1990 when she started on "Cosby". Raven's peak year as a girl's name in the USA was 1993. "That's So Raven" didn't begin until 2003, and by that time the name was falling in use and that show did nothing to revive it.

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It's also clear that the character Raven Alexander on the soap opera "Edge of Night" really began the regular use of Raven as a girl's name in the USA. The character was created in 1976. In 1975 there were 17 girls born in the USA named Raven, and in 1976 there were 100. In 1977 there were 299 and it made the SSA top thousand for the first time.

Although the name Raven itself doesn't mean death, the bird of its namesake is often associated with death. This is most because the Raven is a known scavenger feeding off of dead animals, they also have a sense when an animal is weak and dying and will often hang around a dying animal waiting for its demise. So whenever a large flock of ravens is seen it usually, not always though, means something/someone is about to die. In ancient, ancient times bodies of criminals put to death were left to the ravens as well as other scavengers, they also seem to have stayed around for the killing of the criminal. The bird also has a habit of hanging around cemetaries. So it is no wonder why ravens are seen as a bad omen and associated with death and why the name provokes some negativity.
I actually like the name, for me it provokes a feeling of mystery and a connection to nature.

The Norwegian variant is Ravn, a masculine name.
The entry states that the raven was the sacred bird of Odin. Sacred is not necessarily correct, but they were undoubtly associated with him. Odin had two ravens, Hugin and Mugin. Both flew out into the world each morning and returned in the evening to tell Odin what they had seen. [noted -ed]
Ravens are also assosiated with The Morrigan in Celtic mythology. One of the forms The Morrigan took was that of a raven.
Not surprisingly in the Norwegian armed forces the raven is assosiated with Intelligence.
Two ravens form the Norwegian Intelligence Services, The Intelligence Batalion and the Defence School of Intelligence & Security's insignier.

The raven, along with many other animals, were considered signs of death during times of superstition.

Means: courage, wisdom, leadership, trickster or cunning.

Those are not the meanings of the name, it's what could be associated with the Raven bird.