Top 170 Boy & Girl Names That Mean "Dark" With Meanings

170 Names That Mean Dark for Boys and Girls

One of the first things parents need to do after welcoming their bundle of joy into the world is to give them a name. A name becomes their lifetime identity; hence, some thought must go into naming the child.

You should choose it so that your child lives up to the name. If darkness is something you fancy, we have a list of baby names which means dark.

Baby Boy Names That Mean Dark

Now, here we have all the boy baby names that carry the meaning of dark.

1. Adham

This cool boy’s name is of Arabic origin. It has a straightforward meaning of being a black stallion or a dark-complexioned stallion.

2. Blackburn

The name Blackburn is unique. It comes from an Old English origin and means a black brook or dark brook. It is one of the unique dark names for boys.

3. Blackwell

This name is rather uncommon and originates from Old English origins. It means black stone or dark stone.

4. Blagden

This rare name has its roots coming from the Old English language and comes from the Anglo-Saxon culture. It has the meaning of being a dark valley.

5. Blake

This fantastic name is trendy and means black or dark. It comes from the Old English culture and the word blac or blaac.

6. Bruno

German in origin, Bruno is a sturdy and unshakable boy’s name. The Old High German word brunna, which means “armour” or “coat of mail,” has much deeper roots than the colour earthy, which has long been linked with Bruno.

7. Caliban

Caliban is a boy’s name with a Romanian origin that means “black.”

8. Cary

This name comes from Gaelic origins and means the one who is dark-complected. It is one of the unique unisex names for babies.

9. Ciaran

The name Ciaran is as unique and rare as it sounds. It is of Irish origin and is a derivative of the word ciar, which means black or dark.

10. Coakley

This name comes from the Old English moniker and has the meaning of being a charcoal meadow or dark meadow.

11. Colburn

This name has been derived from the word coal, meaning a coal brook or a dark brook. It is also the name of a place near Catterick in North Yorkshire.

12. Cole

The name Cole is a unique name that comes from Middle English origins. It is trendy among Americans and has the meaning of being dusky or dark.

13. Colgate

This name comes from Old English roots and means a dark gate. It is also one of the most popular brands in the world.

14. Colley

It is a very uncommon name that comes from an Old English origin and means one who is dark-haired. It was a very famous surname in the 18th century.

15. Colton

Colton is a British-born boy’s name. Colton’s meanings include “coal town,” “swarthy individual,” and “settlement.”

16. Corbin

Corbin, of British descent for boys, is from the Anglo-Norman word corb, which means “crow.”

17. Darcel

Darcel is a perfect name with its roots coming from French culture. It has the meaning of being dark.

18. Dargan

It is a unique name that originates from Irish origins. It simply means one who is dark-haired. It comes from the word Deegan.

19. Delaney

The name comes from an Old French culture and holds the meaning of being black defiance or dark defiance.

20. Dolan

This Irish name might seem familiar but is unique and has the meaning of being one who is black-haired.

21. Donahue

It is another Irish-originated name that is unique in itself. It is an American variant of the name Donohoe. It simply means a dark fighter.

22. Donovan

The name comes from Gaelic roots and means being a dark or brown-haired chieftain.

23. Dooley

It is a very charming name that comes from Irish origins and comes from the Gaelic name Dubhlaoich. It has the meaning of being a dark hero.

24. Dougal

The name comes from the Gaelic name Dubhgall and the Irish culture. It signifies a person who is a dark stranger.

25. Douglas

This name has been popular for a very long time. It comes of Scottish origin and means black river.

26. Duncan

This name comes from the Gaelic-originated word Donnchadh. It is a very uncommon name and means being the dark-haired or the dark warrior.

27. Edhem

This name comes from Arabic as well as Bosnian origins. It is a very uncommon name and means being one who is dark-skinned.

28. Fiadh

The name Fiadh might appear to be of Arabic origin but is actually from Irish origin. It is a good and rare name. It means one who is of a dark complexion.

29. Finneas

The name has a Persian origin and has different meanings being the oracle. In Biblical, it means the son of Eli, and an Egyptian means dark-skinned.

30. Grimshaw

The name Grimshaw is unique and comes from Old English origins. It has the meaning of being dark woods.

31. Harkan

Harkan is a unique name that comes from Irish origin and comes from the Judaist culture. It means dark red.

32. Hadrian

Hadrian is a boy’s name of Latin origin, meaning “dark-haired”.

33. Hari

The name means Lion; One who forgives all sins

34. Hunapo

This fantastic name is a unisexual name that comes of Maori origin. It has the meaning of being hidden in darkness.

35. Itzal

Itzal is a boy’s name of Basque origin, meaning “Shadow.”

36. Jett

The name means free or black stone

37. Kerry

Kerry is a Gaelic-originated name that the Irish culture has derived. It simply means one who is dark-haired.

38. Keir

Keir is closely related to the Irish Ciarán, a Gaelic masculine name that means “dark.”

39. Kieran

This name is the Irish form of the Gaelic name Ciaran, which is in itself a derivative of the word Ciar. It has the meaning of being dark-haired or black-haired.

40. Kolby

The name Kolby comes from Old English or Old Norse origins, meaning being dark-haired.

41. Lonan

Lonan is an Irish baby boy name that means “blackbird.” This is the name of a number of early Irish saints, which is a suitable Logan/Conan substitute.

42. Manu

The name means Wise, Attractive, Ruler of the earth, Founder father of human beings.

43. Maurice

A traditional name with Latin roots is Maurice. This name has been woven into people’s lives for generations. It is associated with illustrious saints and Roman soldiers. The name means dark-skinned.

44. Maury

This name has a Latin origin and is a unique name in itself. It simply means one who is dark-skinned or has a dark complexion.

45. Merle

Men and women both use the given name Merle. The French term merle, which means blackbird, impacted the name, a version of Merrill or Muriel.

46. Midnight

The name Midnight is primarily a gender-neutral name of American origin that means the middle of the night

47. Morris

This name is a shortened version of the name Maurice. It comes from the Latin name Mauritius and the word Maurus. It means dark or dusky.

48. Nigel

Nigel, a name with Celtic roots, is derived from Niall, which means “champion.” The Latin word niger, which means “dark,” is another source of its roots.

49. Night

The gender-neutral American name Night, which means Evening, is of American origin.

50. Orpheus

The meaning of the boy’s name Orpheus, which is of Greek origin and means “the blackness of the night,”

51. Perran

Perran is a boy’s name that means “little dark one.”

52. Shyam

Shyam is a boy’s name that means “dark, black, and blue.” One of the other names for the Hindu deity Krishna is Shyam.

53. Smith

Derived from the Anglo-Saxon verb smitan, which means “to strike or smite,”

54. Sullivan

This gorgeous name is originated from the Gaelic culture and comes from the name O’Súilleabháin. It has the meaning of being dark-eyed.

55. Tynan

The name comes from Gaelic origins and holds the meaning of being dark. It is a very unique and rare name in itself.

Baby Girl Names That Mean Dark

Baby Girl Names That Mean Dark

Here is a concise list of dark names for girls and their meanings.

1. Abnus

This girl’s name comes of Persian origin and has its roots in Islamic culture. It merely means dark-coloured wood that does not sink.

2. Achlys

The name Achlys comes of Greek origin and means darkness. It comes among the unique dark baby names.

3. Adreanna

Adreanna is a derivative of the name Adria and comes from French origins. It means being dark.

4. Alma

The name Alma comes of Arabic origin and means one with dark red lips.

5. Amaya

Spanish and Japanese are the primary origins of the feminine name Amaya. Though a variation of Amaia, which means “the end,” the name is most well known as a place of immense significance in Spain.

6. Blaque

The name has English roots and means dark.

7. Brangwen

This lovely name is derived from Welsh culture and means one who is dark and pure.

8. Bruna

The name Bruna is unique and rare in its way. It comes from German and Italian origins and means the same. It means merely dark-haired.

9. Brunetta

This name is lovely, as well as unique. It is one of the top baby names meaning dark.

10. Chiara

This pretty name is of Irish origin and has the meaning of being dark.

11. Ciara

The name Ciara comes from the name Ciar that means dark. It has an Irish background and is a rare name.

12. Ciarda

Ciarda name comes of Gaelic origin and comes from the Scottish culture. It has the meaning of being dark.

13. Corvina

This name comes from a Latin origin. It means one who has dark hair.

14. Darcy

The name Darcy is the feminine version of Darcel. It has a French background and means the dark one.

15. Devlin

The name Devlin has Celtic roots and has the meaning of being a little dark.

16. Ebony

Ebony is a very uncommon and rare name from African culture. It has the meaning of being a mysterious beauty.

17. Eleena

The name Eleena has Spanish origin. It simply means one who shines in the darkness.

18. Garnet

This name has Irish roots and has been derived from the English language. It means a dark red gemstone.

19. Gethwine

This rare name comes from the Welsh origin and means the one with the dark skin. It is a unisexual name so that it can be used for baby boys as well.

20. Ginevra

Ginevra is an Italian baby girl name which means “white wave, white shadow.” A nice substitute for Jennifer fans.

21. Guinevere

Welsh in origin, the name Guinevere is a female given name that is spelt Gwenhwyer. Most people are familiar with this lovely name because of the 12th-century fairy tale of King Arthur removing the sword from the stone.

22. Inola

Inola is a girl’s name that means “black fox.” 

23. Jennifer

It is a girl’s name. Jennifer might also mean “the good one.”

24. Jemisha

This unusual-sounding name has Indian roots derived from the Sanskrit language. It means the queen of darkness.

25. Jenna

He gets his name from Jenny, taken from Jennifer, Guinevere’s anglicised name. In the 1970s, this name first appeared on lists of popular baby names. The name translates literally as white wave or white shadow.

26. Kakarauri

This name has its origins coming from the Maori culture. It signifies darkness or dusk.

27. Kali

The name means the divine mother.

28. Kerry

This name Kerry comes from the English culture. It means one who is dark-haired.

29. Krishna

The word “Krishna” comes from the Sanskrit adjective “Kṛṣṇa,” which basically means “black,” “dark,” “dark blue,” or “the all-attractive.”

30. Kiera

The female is given the name Kiera. It is an Anglicised variant of Ciara, a saint from the seventh century whose name in Irish means “black” or “dark haired.”

31. Kyra

It is a perfect and unique name of Indian origin and means little dark. It is among the names that mean dark.

32. Laela

This beautiful name comes from Arabic origin. It means one with dark hair.

33. Layla

An old Arabic name with multiple meanings is Layla. Layla typically means “night” or “dark.”

34. Leila

In Hebrew and Arabic, the word Leila or Laila means night” or “dark“, and the name is often given to girls born during the night, signifying “daughter of the night”.

35. Lilith

Lilith, meaning “belonging to the night,” comes from the Akkadian word lilîtu, the feminine form of a word meaning “demon” or “spirit.” 

36. Lila

The name means beauty. It is considered to be most suitable for girls.

37. Mahogany

The name Mahogany is a very unique and rare name. It comes from Spanish roots and means a dark red-coloured wood.

38. Melania

Due to its Greek ancestry, the name Melania is commonly found in mythology. The goddess of ghosts and spirits was named Melania (sometimes spelt Melinoe).

39. Melanie

Melanie is a feminine name derived from the Greek μελανία (Melania), meaning “blackness” and “dark”.

40. Maureen

The name Maureen comes from an Arabic background. It has a straightforward meaning being one who is dark-skinned.

41. Mindy

This name originates from the English language and has the meaning as dark or gentle.

42. Morrisa

This name is as unique as it sounds. It comes from the English language and means a dark one.

43. Myrtle

This uniquely unusual name comes from English origins and means dark.

44. Narine

This fantastic name comes from Greek culture and has been derived from the name Nerine. It means a dark person.

45. Neesha

The name Neesha is an African American name that has been derived from the Sanskrit language. It means dark or night.

46. Nisha

This name comes from the Indian origin and means dark or night. It is one of the unique names that mean darkness.

47. Nox

This name has Latin origin and means dark or gloomy night or dusk.

48. Peta

“Golden eagle, or rock, stone” is the meaning of the girl’s name Peta, which is of Spanish, Greek, and Native American origin.

49. Rajani

Rajani is a female name with Sanskrit roots, which means “black, of the night.”

50. Raven

The meaning of the name Raven according to English Baby Names, is “dark-haired” or “smart.”

51. Ravyn

This English-originated name has a straightforward meaning of being a blackbird or dark.

52. Risna

This unique name comes of Indian origin and has the meaning of being wise or dark-haired.

53. Sable

The gender-neutral Slavic name Sable is associated with wealth and expensive tastes. The name is also associated to the colour “black,”

54. Sierra

This name is an English derivative of the name Ciaran which means dark.

55. Zilla

The name Zilla is girl’s name of Hebrew origin meaning “shadow”

Parenting is a significant phase of one’s life. It comes with lots of happiness and responsibilities at the same time. Thus we wish you and your child a great life ahead.

Parenting is a significant phase of one’s life. It comes with lots of happiness and responsibilities at the same time. Thus we wish you and your child a great life ahead.

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Gauri Ratnam completed her Masters in English Literature from the University of Pune. She began her journey as a German translator soon after completing her graduation, but later moved on to pursue her passion for writing. Having written for both digital and print media in a varied range of industries, she has the ability to write relatable and well-researched content, benefical for anyone seeking advice or direction.