Names Categorized "death deities"

Achlys (Ancient Greek: Ἀχλύς) is a Greek female name meaning "mist, darkness." In Greek mythology, according to a poem by Hesiod, Achlys was one of the figures portrayed on the shield of the hero Heracles. She is describ...

Angerona is an ancient Roman goddess whose name and cult reflect themes of silence, secrecy, and the winter solstice. The name's etymology is uncertain, but it is possibly derived from Latin angor meaning "strangulation,...

Angra Mainyu is the Avestan name of the destructive spirit in Zoroastrianism, the primary adversary of the supreme deity Ahura Mazda. The name means "evil spirit" in Avestan, deriving from angra ("evil, destructive") and...

Anubis is the Latinized form of the Greek name Ἄνουβις (Anoubis), which itself comes from the Egyptian jnpw, possibly pronounced Anapa. The name coincides with a word meaning "royal child" or "prince" in Ancient Egyptian...

Atropos is a Greek feminine name derived from the word atropos, meaning "inevitable, inflexible." This name is formed from the negative prefix a ("without") and tropos ("turn, direction, manner"), literally translating t...

Awilix (also spelled Ahuilix, Auilix, and Avilix) is the name of a deity from the Postclassic Kʼicheʼ Maya, a civilization that flourished in the highlands of present-day Guatemala. The etymology of the name is uncertain...

Badb is a war goddess from Irish mythology, whose name derives from the Old Irish word for "crow" or "demon," rooted in a term meaning "battle, fight." In modern Irish, she is also known as Badhbh (pronounced approximate...

Charon (also spelled Kharon) is a name of Greek origin, most famously borne in mythology by the ferryman of the underworld. The meaning of the name Charon is uncertain; it possibly means "fierce brightness" in Greek, tho...

Clotho is the Latinized form of Klotho, a name meaning "spinner" in Greek. In Greek mythology, Clotho was one of the three Fates, or Moirai, who controlled human destiny. She was responsible for spinning the thread of li...

Ereshkigal is the ancient Sumerian name for the goddess of the underworld, derived from the elements 𒊩𒌆 (ereš) meaning "lady, queen," 𒆠 (ki) meaning "earth," and 𒃲 (gal) meaning "great." The name is traditionally underst...

Freya is the Anglicized spelling of the name of the Norse goddess Freyja, whose Old Norse name means "lady". In Norse mythology, Freyja is a member of the Vanir, a group of gods associated with fertility, wisdom, and the...

Freyja is the Icelandic and Old Norse form of Freya, the name of a major goddess in Norse mythology. Derived from Old Norse Freyja meaning "lady," the name is borne by the goddess of love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, go...

Hades is a masculine name of Greek origin, derived from the Ancient Greek Ἅιδης (Haides), itself from ἀϊδής (aides), meaning "unseen." In Greek mythology, Hades was the god of the underworld, a dark realm that also came...

Hecate (pronounced HEK-ə-tee) is a name of Greek origin, representing the ancient goddess Hekate (Ἑκάτη). The name is often linked to the Greek word ἑκάς (hekas), meaning "far off," though the etymology remains somewhat...

EtymologyHel is the Norse mythological name for both the goddess of the dead and the underworld she rules. The name derives from Old Norse hel, meaning "to conceal, to cover," a term that is cognate with the English word...

Klotho is the Greek name for one of the three Fates, or Moirai, in Greek mythology. Her name means "spinner" in Greek, and she was responsible for spinning the thread of life, determining when a person was born and what...

Lachesis is a feminine name of Greek origin, meaning "apportioner" in Greek. In Greek mythology, Lachesis was one of the Μοῖραι (Moirai), or Three Fates, who controlled the destiny of humans. Etymology and Role The name...

Libitina is the ancient Roman goddess of funerals, corpses, and death. Her name, often used as a metonym for death itself, has uncertain origins; it may derive from the Etruscan word lupu, meaning "dead." Alternatively,...

Louhi is a central figure in Finnish mythology, known as the powerful ruler of Pohjola and a death goddess. The name Louhi is a variant of Loviatar, which bears the same mythological associations. In Finnish folklore, Lo...

Loviatar is a name found in Finnish mythology. The meaning of the name is uncertain, though it is often connected to the Finnish word lovi ("notch" or "crack"), related to the concept of falling into a trance — langeta l...

Marama is a feminine given name of Māori and Polynesian origin. In the Māori language, the word marama means "moon, month", reflecting a deep cultural connection to celestial bodies. In Māori mythology, Marama is the nam...

Marzanna 2 is a Polish variant of the name Morana, rooted in Old Slavic mythology. The native form Morana derives from Old Slavic morŭ meaning "death, plague" [1], directly linking the name to its mythological bearer. In...

Melinoe is a figure from Greek mythology, a chthonic nymph or goddess associated with nightmares and madness. Her name is likely derived from Greek melinos (μήλινος) meaning "quince-coloured, yellow," itself from melon (...

Mictlantecuhtli (also spelled Mictlāntēcutli) is the Aztec god of the dead and king of Mictlan, the underworld. This name comes from Nahuatl, where Mictlan means "place of the dead" and tecuhtli means "lord," so the full...

Morana is a feminine name of Slavic origin, derived from the Old Slavic word morŭ meaning "death, plague". In Slavic mythology, Morana is the name of a goddess associated with winter and death, often depicted as a dark d...

Morrígan is a figure from Irish mythology whose name is commonly translated as either "great queen" or "phantom queen." The name derives from Old Irish elements: mór ("great, big") or mor ("demon, evil spirit") combined...

Mot (also spelled Maveth) is the name of the ancient Ugaritic god of death and the ruler of the underworld. The name derives from the Ugaritic word 𐎎𐎚 (mōtu), meaning "death". Mot appears extensively in the Ugaritic reli...

Naenia (also known as Nenia Dea) is a name of Latin origin, deriving from the word nenia meaning "incantation, dirge". In Roman religion, Naenia was the goddess of funerals and the protective power of the funerary lament...

Nephthys is the Greek name of an ancient Egyptian goddess, derived from Egyptian nbt-ḥwt (Nebet-Hut), meaning "lady of the house". This enigmatic epithet likely refers to her role as a protective deity associated with te...

Nijolė is a Lithuanian feminine given name of uncertain etymology. It is considered a pseudomythological name, invented in the 19th century by Polish-Lithuanian historian and writer Teodor Narbutt for his reconstruction...

Odin is the Anglicized form of the Old Norse name Óðinn, derived from óðr meaning “frenzied, furious, inspired.” The name ultimately comes from Proto-Germanic *Wōdanaz, often translated as “lord of frenzy” or “leader of...

Osiris is the Greek form of the ancient Egyptian name wsjr (reconstructed as Asar, Usir, and other forms), whose meaning remains uncertain. Proposed etymologies link it to wsr meaning "mighty" or to jrt meaning "eye," bu...