CHERNOBOG m Slavic MythologyMeans "the black god" from Slavic
cherno "black" and
bogu "god". Chernobog was the Slavic god of darkness, evil and grief.
COLA m Anglo-SaxonOld English byname meaning "charcoal", originally given to a person with dark features.
COLBY m EnglishFrom a surname, originally from various English place names, derived from the Old Norse nickname
Koli (meaning "coal, dark") and
býr "town".
COLE m EnglishFrom a surname that was originally derived from the Old English byname
COLA.
CORBIN m EnglishFrom a French surname that was derived from
corbeau "raven", originally denoting a person who had dark hair. The name was probably popularized in America by actor Corbin Bernsen (1954-).
DONNDUBHÁN m Ancient IrishComposed of the Gaelic element
donn "brown" combined with
dubh "dark" and a diminutive suffix.
DOUGAL m Scottish, IrishAnglicized form of the Gaelic name
Dubhghall, which meant "dark stranger" from
dubh "dark" and
gall "stranger".
DOUGLAS m Scottish, EnglishAnglicized form of the Scottish surname
Dubhghlas, meaning "dark river" from Gaelic
dubh "dark" and
glais "water, river" (an archaic word related to
glas "grey, green"). Douglas was originally a place name (for example, a tributary of the River Clyde), which then became a Scottish clan name borne by a powerful line of earls. It has been used as a given name since the 16th century.
DUBHÁN m IrishIrish name derived from
dubh "dark, black" combined with a diminutive suffix.
DUBHSHLÁINE m Ancient IrishOld Irish name derived from
dubh "dark, black" and either
slán "defiance" or
Sláine, the Gaelic name of the River Slaney.
DUBHTHACH m Ancient IrishOld Irish name derived from
dubh "dark, black" in combination with a second element of unknown meaning.
DUNSTAN m English (Rare), Anglo-SaxonFrom the Old English elements
dunn "dark" and
stan "stone". This name was borne by a 10th-century saint, the archbishop of Canterbury. It was occasionally used in the Middle Ages, though it died out after the 16th century. It was revived by the Tractarian movement in the 19th century.
EMERY m & f EnglishNorman form of
EMMERICH. The Normans introduced it to England, and though it was never popular, it survived until the end of the Middle Ages. As a modern given name, it is likely inspired by the surname
Emery, which was itself derived from the medieval given name. It can also be given in reference to the hard black substance called emery.
FEARDORCHA m IrishMeans "dark man" from Gaelic
fear "man" and
dorcha "dark".
ISRA f ArabicMeans "nocturnal journey", derived from Arabic
سرى (sara) "to travel at night".
KARA (2) m Ottoman TurkishMeans "black, dark" in Turkish. This was sometimes used as a byname by Ottoman officials, figuratively meaning "courageous".
KRISHNA m Hinduism, Indian, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarati, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, NepaliMeans "black, dark" in Sanskrit. This is the name of a Hindu god believed to be an incarnation of the god
Vishnu. He was the youngest of King Vasudeva's eight children, six of whom were killed by King Kamsa because of a prophecy that a child of Vasudeva would kill Kamsa. Krishna however was saved and he eventually killed the king as well as performing many other great feats. In some Hindu traditions, Krishna is regarded as the supreme deity. He is usually depicted with blue skin.
LAYLA f Arabic, EnglishMeans "night" in Arabic. This was the name of the object of romantic poems written by the 7th-century poet known as Qays. The story of Qays and Layla became a popular romance in medieval Arabia and Persia. The name became used in the English-speaking world after the 1970 release of the song 'Layla' by Derek and the Dominos, the title of which was inspired by the medieval story.
LEILA f Arabic, Persian, English, GeorgianVariant of
LAYLA. This spelling was used by Lord Byron for characters in 'The Giaour' (1813) and 'Don Juan' (1819), and it is through him that the name was introduced to the English-speaking world.
LILITH f Semitic Mythology, Judeo-Christian LegendDerived from Akkadian
lilitu meaning "of the night". This was the name of a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish tradition she was
Adam's first wife, sent out of Eden and replaced by
Eve because she would not submit to him. The offspring of Adam (or
Samael) and Lilith were the evil spirits of the world.
MAURUS m Late RomanLatin name meaning "dark-skinned, Moorish". This was the name of numerous early saints, most notably a follower of Saint Benedict.
MELANIE f English, German, DutchFrom
Mélanie, the French form of the Latin name
Melania, derived from Greek
μελαινα (melaina) meaning "black, dark". This was the name of a Roman saint who gave all her wealth to charity in the 5th century. Her grandmother was also a saint with the same name.
... [more] NYX f Greek MythologyMeans "night" in Greek. This was the name of the Greek goddess of the night, the daughter of Khaos and the wife of Erebos.
ORPHEUS m Greek MythologyPerhaps related to Greek
ορφνη (orphne) meaning "the darkness of night". In Greek mythology Orpheus was a poet and musician who went to the underworld to retrieve his dead wife Eurydice. He succeeded in charming Hades with his lyre, and he was allowed to lead his wife out of the underworld on the condition that he not look back at her until they reached the surface. Unfortunately, just before they arrived his love for her overcame his will and he glanced back at her, causing her to be drawn back to Hades.
PHOENIX m & f English (Modern)From the name of a beautiful immortal bird that appears in Egyptian and Greek mythology. After living for several centuries in the Arabian Desert, it would be consumed by fire and rise from its own ashes, with this cycle repeating every 500 years. The name of the bird was derived from Greek
φοινιξ (phoinix) meaning "dark red".
SEYMOUR m EnglishFrom a Norman surname that originally belonged to a person coming from the French town of Saint Maur (which means "Saint
MAURUS").
SULLIVAN m EnglishFrom an Irish surname that was derived from
Ó Súileabháin meaning "descendant of Súileabhán". The name
Súileabhán means "little dark eye" in Irish.
YIN f & m ChineseFrom Chinese
银 (yín) meaning "silver, money",
音 (yīn) meaning "sound, tone" or
荫 (yīn) meaning "shade, shelter, protect", as well as other Chinese characters pronounced similarly.
ZELOPHEHAD m BiblicalPossibly means either "first born" or "shadow from terror" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament, Zelophehad is a man who dies while the Israelites are wandering in the wilderness, leaving five daughters as heirs.