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Names That Mean Dark

89 names

Dark-meaning names often describe hair, eyes or complexion, and many come from Irish and Greek. Keira, Kiera, Ciara and Kieran all trace to the Irish word ciar, dark or black, and Ciara was the name of an early Irish saint. Donovan comes from an Irish surname meaning dark chieftain, and Sullivan from one often explained as dark eyes. Melanie and Melany come from Greek melas, black, the same root as melancholy.

Blake is a curious case, since its Old English roots could mean either black or pale and shining, depending on the word. Blakely builds a softer place-name form on it. Colby comes from a Norse place name linked to a word for coal. Mauricio comes through Spanish from a Latin name linked to North Africa.

Some choices lean toward mythology and nature. Kali is a Hindu goddess whose name relates to Sanskrit words for black and time, so it carries weight in Hindu tradition. Raven names the glossy black bird, and Jett the black gemstone once polished for mourning jewelry. When considering these names, think about the images they call up. Some feel mysterious and bold, while Keira or Donovan read simply as warm, familiar names with an interesting history.

Most popular right now

Blake Boy
BLAYK
“black or pale” · English
#316
Melanie Girl
MEH-luh-nee
“dark, black” · Greek
#142
Keira Girl
KEER-uh
“little dark one (from Ciara)” · Irish
#622
Donovan Boy
DON-uh-vun
“dark brown” · Irish
#496
Jett Boy
JEHT
“jet, a black gemstone” · English
#169
Blakely Girl
BLAYK-lee
“dark clearing” · English
#191
Kali Girl
KAH-lee
“the black one” · Sanskrit
#323
Colby Boy
KOHL-bee
“from an English place name” · English
#615
Sullivan Boy
SUH-lih-vuhn
“descendant of the dark-eyed one” · Irish
#314
Raven Girl
RAY-vuhn
“raven, the black bird” · English
#404

All 89 names

Sorted by current popularity. US rank uses 2025 data for the name's most common sex; the trend compares births with five years earlier. Tap a column heading to re-sort.

Name Sex Meaning Origin US rank 2025 5-yr trend
Blake Boy black or pale English 316 ↓ -40%
Melanie Girl dark, black Greek 142 ↓ -18%
Keira Girl little dark one (from Ciara) Irish 622 ↓ -29%
Donovan Boy dark brown Irish 496 ↓ -27%
Jett Boy jet, a black gemstone English 169 ↑ +79%
Blakely Girl dark clearing English 191 → -4%
Kali Girl the black one Sanskrit 323 ↓ -20%
Colby Boy from an English place name English 615 → +4%
Sullivan Boy descendant of the dark-eyed one Irish 314 ↑ +41%
Raven Girl raven, the black bird English 404 → +3%
Melany Girl dark Greek 399 ↑ +73%
Kieran Boy little dark one Irish 389 ↑ +46%
Mauricio Boy Moorish, dark-skinned Spanish 664 → -3%
Kiera Girl dark Irish 1,097 ↓ -14%
Ciara Girl dark Irish 1,408 ↓ -18%
Douglas Boy dark stream Scottish 807 ↓ -8%
Maurice Boy Moorish, dark-skinned Latin 1,020 ↓ -19%
Duncan Boy brown or dark warrior Scottish 1,124 ↓ -12%
Dwayne Boy little dark one Irish 1,565 ↓ -40%
Krish Boy short form of Krishna; dark Sanskrit 1,277 → -1%
Melani Girl form of Melanie; dark Greek 1,056 ↓ -9%
Kyren Boy modern form of Kieran; little dark one American (modern coinage) 584 ↑ +221%
Kierra Girl dark; variant of Ciara American (modern coinage) 3,364 → -4%
Deegan Boy from an Irish surname; dark head Irish 2,024 ↓ -26%
Jet Boy jet, the black gemstone English 1,246 ↑ +17%
Melania Girl black, dark Greek 1,172 → +3%
Kyran Boy variant of Kieran; little dark one Irish 2,133 ↓ -25%
Mauro Boy Moor; Italian form of Maurus Italian 1,490 → -1%
Donavan Boy variant of Donovan; dark brown Irish 2,426 ↑ +8%
Duane Boy dark Irish 2,578 ↓ -35%
Morris Boy form of Maurice, 'a Moor' English 1,762 ↓ -7%
Dewayne Boy dark American (modern coinage) 2,457 ↓ -15%
Krishna Unisex black, dark Sanskrit 2,120 ↑ +35%
Ebony Girl ebony, a dark wood English 5,452 ↓ -21%
Jhett Boy variant of Jett, jet black American (modern coinage) 1,715 ↓ -22%
Kerrigan Girl dark-haired; from an Irish surname Irish 4,608 ↓ -41%
Ciaran Boy little dark one Irish 1,609 ↑ +52%
Lamya Girl dark-lipped Arabic 7,704 ↓ -56%
Ravyn Girl variant of Raven American (modern coinage) 2,639 ↑ +12%
Keara Girl variant of Ciara, dark Irish — ↓ -100%
Blakeley Girl surname meaning dark meadow English 2,547 ↑ +11%
Donavin Boy variant of Donovan, dark Irish 9,130 ↓ -70%
Melannie Girl variant of Melanie, "black, dark" Greek 6,473 ↓ -22%
Donavon Boy variant of Donovan, dark Irish 5,673 → 0%
Siara Girl variant of Ciara, "dark" Irish 2,406 ↑ +121%
Deagan Boy variant of Deegan; black-haired Irish 5,665 ↓ -36%
Keiran Boy variant of Kieran; little dark one Irish 5,727 ↓ -38%
Melony Girl variant of Melanie, dark Greek 7,032 → 0%
Kera Girl variant of Keira, dark-haired Irish 11,430 ↓ -38%
Sully Unisex short form of Sullivan; dark eyes Irish 3,371 ↑ +67%
Carey Unisex Irish surname; dark Irish 6,519 ↑ +8%
Melonie Girl variant of Melanie; black, dark Greek 10,628 ↓ -69%
Ciarra Girl variant of Ciara, dark-haired Irish — new
Keirra Girl variant of Kiera, "little dark one" Irish — ↓ -100%
Donaven Boy variant of Donovan, "dark chieftain" Irish 9,959 ↓ -22%
Melaina Girl dark, black Greek 10,626 ↓ -40%
Sable Girl black; the fur-bearing animal English 2,717 ↑ +178%
Eboni Girl variant of Ebony, a dark wood American (modern coinage) — ↓ -100%
Donivan Boy variant of Donovan, 'dark chieftain' Irish 12,531 ↓ -44%
Shadow Unisex shadow, shade English 6,091 ↑ +7%
Keaira Girl variant of Kiara or Keira, 'dark' Irish — ↓ -100%
Dolan Boy dark challenger Irish — ↓ -100%
Melaney Girl variant of Melanie, dark American (modern coinage) — ↓ -100%
Melanee Girl variant of Melanie, dark American (modern coinage) — ↓ -100%
Doyle Boy dark foreigner Irish 7,815 ↓ -9%
Keron Boy variant of Kieran, little dark one American (modern coinage) — ↓ -100%
Dawayne Boy variant of Dwayne American (modern coinage) — ↓ -100%
Mellanie Girl variant of Melanie, dark American (modern coinage) 16,469 ↓ -64%
Bruna Girl brown Italian 5,589 ↑ +100%
Kishan Boy dark, black Hindi 7,978 → 0%
Keir Boy uncertain, possibly dark Scottish 10,207 ↓ -42%
Kerwin Boy from an Irish surname, related to dark Irish 13,025 ↓ -38%
Maury Boy short form of Maurice English 8,678 ↑ +50%
Melaine Girl variant of Melanie, dark Greek — ↓ -100%
Dwain Boy variant of Dwayne, little dark one Irish — ↓ -100%
Ceara Girl variant of Ciara, dark Irish — new
Dwaine Boy variant of Dwayne, dark Irish — ↓ -100%
Ebonie Girl variant of Ebony, dark wood English — new
Douglass Boy variant of Douglas, dark water Scottish — new
Dwyane Boy variant of Dwayne, dark Irish — ↓ -100%
Duwayne Boy variant of Duane, dark Irish — new
Dwane Boy variant of Dwayne, little dark one Irish — new
Doug Boy short form of Douglas Scottish — new
Marice Boy variant of Maurice Latin — new
Dow Boy dark, from a Scottish surname Scottish — new
Murrell Boy surname, possibly from Morel, dark English — new
Ebone Girl variant of Ebony English — new
Doyal Boy variant of Doyle, dark stranger Irish — new
Duaine Boy variant of Duane Irish — new