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Vampire names: 200+ famous, female and male vampire names

203 names · Updated · By The Nomezo Editors · Save to Pinterest

The best vampire names come from the legends themselves, like Count Dracula, Carmilla and Lord Ruthven, or from old given names with dark meanings, such as Vesper (evening) and Ambrose (immortal). Good names for vampire guys range from old-world Casimir and Lucian to modern picks like Soren Vex, while female vampires suit Selene or Nyx.

Below are 200+ vampire names in eleven groups. The first three are real: vampires from classic fiction, creatures from world folklore and the historical people behind the myth, each with a short, accurate note. Then come real female and male given names with fitting meanings, followed by clearly labeled invented names for female and male vampire characters, modern vampire names for guys, gothic last names, funny names and cute picks for costumes and pets.

Can't decide? Shuffle 6 random picks

  • Seraphina

    From Hebrew seraphim, fiery ones; regal and burning

  • Millarca

    Another anagram alias of Le Fanu's vampire countess

  • Desdemona

    Greek for ill-fated, Shakespeare's tragic heroine

  • Severin

    Latin for stern; cool, aloof and courtly

  • Batrick Swayze

    Nobody puts this vampire in a corner

  • Fangs Christian Andersen

    Tells bedtime stories that end at dawn

Find a vampire name on this page

Narrow 203 names by section, number of words, length or first letter, or search the notes.

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Famous vampire names from classic stories

The vampires who built the legend, from 1800s fiction and early film.

  1. Count Dracula: Bram Stoker's Transylvanian nobleman, first published in 1897
  2. Carmilla: Sheridan Le Fanu's 1872 vampire, 25 years before Stoker
  3. Mircalla Karnstein: Carmilla's true identity, a long-dead Styrian countess
  4. Millarca: Another anagram alias of Le Fanu's vampire countess
  5. Lord Ruthven: Aristocrat vampire of John Polidori's 1819 tale The Vampyre
  6. Sir Francis Varney: Star of a sprawling 1840s penny dreadful serial
  7. Clarimonde: Undead beauty of Théophile Gautier's 1836 story La Morte amoureuse
  8. Lucy Westenra: Mina's friend who becomes a vampire in Stoker's novel
  9. Count Orlok: The rat-like vampire of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu
  10. Gorcha: Undead father in Aleksey Tolstoy's tale The Family of the Vourdalak, written in 1839
  11. Brunhilda: Revived wife in the early German tale Wake Not the Dead
  12. Countess Dolingen: Vampire whose tomb appears in Stoker's story Dracula's Guest
  13. Lady Geraldine: Mysterious, vampire-like guest in Coleridge's poem Christabel
  14. Count Vardalek: Hungarian vampire of Eric Stenbock's 1894 story
  15. Harriet Brandt: Heroine of Florence Marryat's 1897 novel The Blood of the Vampire

Vampires from world folklore

Real creatures from vampire legends around the world, with where each story comes from.

  1. Strigoi: Restless dead of Romanian folklore who rise to drain the living
  2. Moroi: Ghostly vampire of Romanian folklore, often paired with the strigoi
  3. Upir: Early Slavic word for a blood-drinking undead
  4. Vrykolakas: Greek undead said to rise and wander villages at night
  5. Jiangshi: Chinese hopping vampire that drains life energy, or qi
  6. Aswang: Shape-shifting night creature of Philippine folklore
  7. Manananggal: Philippine creature whose upper body flies off at night
  8. Penanggalan: Malay floating-head vampire said to fly by night
  9. Pontianak: Malay and Indonesian female spirit linked to banana trees
  10. Langsuyar: Malay flying vampire woman with long hair and nails
  11. Baobhan Sith: Scottish Highland spirit in green who drains travelers
  12. Abhartach: Irish legend of a dwarf tyrant in County Londonderry who kept rising from his grave
  13. Adze: Ewe vampire from Ghana and Togo that takes firefly form
  14. Asanbosam: Iron-toothed tree dweller of Akan folklore in Ghana
  15. Impundulu: Lightning bird of Xhosa and Zulu lore with a taste for blood
  16. Soucouyant: Caribbean night hag who sheds her skin and flies as a fireball
  17. Tlahuelpuchi: Blood-drinking shape-shifter from Tlaxcala, Mexico
  18. Nachzehrer: German undead said to chew its shroud in the grave
  19. Lamia: Child-stealing monster of Greek myth, later a vampire figure
  20. Empusa: Shape-shifting Greek spirit linked to the goddess Hecate
  21. Vetala: Spirit that inhabits corpses in old Sanskrit story collections
  22. Lugat: Albanian undead that rises from the grave at night
  23. Shtriga: Albanian witch-vampire said to feed on the sleeping
  24. Dhampir: Balkan folklore's child of a vampire, gifted at hunting them
  25. Wurdalak: Literary Russian word for a vampire, spread by an 1830s Pushkin poem
  26. Peuchen: Flying serpent of Chilean folklore said to drain blood
  27. Mullo: Romani folklore's returning dead, often bent on settling scores
  28. Kyuketsuki: Modern Japanese word for vampire, literally blood-sucking demon

Real people and recorded cases behind vampire legends

History is stranger than fiction. These real figures, recorded cases and local legends shaped the vampire myth.

  1. Vlad Dracula: Wallachian prince, killed around 1476, who lent Stoker a name
  2. Vlad Dracul: Father of the Impaler, named for the Order of the Dragon
  3. Mercy Brown: Rhode Island woman exhumed in 1892 by family and neighbors who feared she was a vampire
  4. Gerard van Swieten: Empress Maria Theresa's doctor, sent to investigate vampire reports, who declared them superstition
  5. Elizabeth Báthory: Hungarian countess, 1560 to 1614, later tied to blood legends
  6. Jure Grando: Istrian villager recorded as a vampire after his 1656 death
  7. Petar Blagojević: Serbian villager at the center of a famous 1725 vampire report
  8. Arnold Paole: Serbian hajduk whose case sparked an official 1732 vampire report
  9. Sava Savanović: Folk-legend vampire of a Zarožje watermill, made famous by an 1880 story
  10. Croglin Grange Vampire: Cumberland legend told in Augustus Hare's memoirs, The Story of My Life
  11. Highgate Vampire: London cemetery legend that caused a media stir in 1970
  12. Bram Stoker: Irish author who created the most famous vampire in 1897
  13. John Polidori: Byron's doctor, whose 1819 The Vampyre is often called the first modern vampire story

Female vampire names

Real given names with dark, elegant or night-themed meanings, good for a vampire heroine or villain.

  1. Vesper: Latin for evening, the hour a vampire wakes
  2. Nyx: Greek for night, after the primordial goddess of night
  3. Selene: Greek for moon, named for the Titan moon goddess
  4. Seraphina: From Hebrew seraphim, fiery ones; regal and burning
  5. Dolores: Spanish for sorrows, a name with built-in drama
  6. Morwenna: Cornish for maiden, with a misty, ancient sound
  7. Scarlett: English surname for a seller of scarlet cloth; blood-red glamour
  8. Ottilie: Wealth, fortune; a German name with a gothic-novel feel
  9. Esmeralda: Spanish for emerald, for a green-eyed countess
  10. Isadora: Greek for gift of Isis; dramatic and old-world
  11. Desdemona: Greek for ill-fated, Shakespeare's tragic heroine
  12. Milena: Gracious, dear; Slavic, soft with Old World charm
  13. Valentina: Strong, healthy; Latin romance with a bite
  14. Theodora: Greek for gift of God, the name of a Byzantine empress
  15. Ludmila: Slavic for gracious to the people; a Russian classic
  16. Bianca: Italian for white, for the palest member of the coven
  17. Svetlana: Russian name meaning light, a bold pick for the sun-shy

Male vampire names

Real given names for a vampire count, from Latin, Greek and Slavic roots, each with its meaning.

  1. Ambrose: Greek for immortal, the most fitting meaning a vampire could want
  2. Mortimer: Norman place name meaning still or dead water; quietly ominous
  3. Lucian: From a Latin root for light; ironic for a creature of night
  4. Damian: From a Greek word meaning to tame; calm and controlled
  5. Vladimir: From Slavic words for rule and great, later read as peace; a prince's name
  6. Casimir: Slavic for destroyer of peace, a name with real menace
  7. Bogdan: Slavic for given by God, common in Poland and Russia
  8. Alaric: Gothic for ruler of all; the king who sacked Rome in 410
  9. Sebastian: From Sebaste, a city whose Greek name means venerable; polished and courtly
  10. Adrian: Latin for from Hadria, a town that named the Adriatic Sea
  11. Victor: Latin for conqueror; classic for a gothic antihero
  12. Constantine: Latin for steadfast, the name of Roman emperors
  13. Magnus: Latin for great, long favored by Nordic kings
  14. Osric: Old English for god ruler; rare and ancient
  15. Valerian: From Latin meaning to be strong; a Roman emperor's name
  16. Cyprian: Latin for from Cyprus; also used in Poland
  17. Severin: Latin for stern; cool, aloof and courtly
  18. Leopold: Germanic for bold people, with Habsburg-court elegance
  19. Dmitri: Devoted to Demeter, the Greek harvest goddess; a Russian classic

Invented female vampire names

Original full names for vampire queens, countesses and heroines. All invented for this page.

  1. Countess Velmira Nightveil: Hosts midnight balls in a castle with no mirrors
  2. Lady Sanguina Rosethorn: Sweet as a rose, sharp as its stem
  3. Nocturna Vale: A quiet vampire who prefers moonlit gardens
  4. Duchess Morvessa Bloodlace: Old money, older lace and a very old grudge
  5. Elvaria Moonshroud: Pale, poised and fond of foggy nights
  6. Mistress Carmisande: A nod to Le Fanu's famous vampire, with extra flourish
  7. Vesperine of the Black Lake: A lakeside vampire queen from a forgotten fairy tale
  8. Lady Crimsonne Hallow: Red velvet gowns and a hollow, echoing laugh
  9. Ravessa Duskbloom: Blooms only after sunset, like night jasmine
  10. Countess Lunaria Velvetine: Soft-spoken, silver-haired and three centuries old
  11. Obsidia Thornwell: Glossy black hair and a thorny reputation
  12. Valkyra Nightsong: A warrior vampire who sings before every battle
  13. Lady Nyxella Coldheart: Icy, elegant and secretly sentimental
  14. Mirvane Bloodveil: Hides behind lace veils at every candlelit party
  15. Seluvia Graymist: Drifts through the fog like a rumor
  16. Baroness Ebonetta Crowmantle: Keeps a pet crow and a very long memory
  17. Princess Lilivane of the Crypt: Royal blood, in every sense of the phrase
  18. Isembra Ashenveil: Wears gray silk and speaks only in riddles

Invented male vampire names

Original names for vampire counts, lords and brooding loners. All invented for this page.

  1. Count Vasmir Duskmoor: A brooding noble who owns the whole foggy heath
  2. Lord Malrik Coldhaven: Cold manners, colder castle, surprisingly warm library
  3. Baron Vexlan Grimward: Guards his crypt like a dragon guards gold
  4. Prince Corvane Ashmere: Raven-dark heir to a lake of ashes
  5. Count Velkar of the Hollow Hills: Rules a village that only appears at night
  6. Duke Sanguis Nocturne: Latin for blood plus a night song; pure drama
  7. Lord Kasimor Nightbane: A vampire hunter turned vampire, with regrets
  8. Morvain the Pale: Has not seen sunlight since the Middle Ages
  9. Count Zarvok Ebonreach: Long arms, longer reach, longest grudge
  10. Lord Severan Bloodwell: Draws on a bottomless family fortune
  11. Malachar Grimsworth: A scholar vampire who alphabetizes his coffins
  12. Count Draxos Vantor: Short, sharp and very hard to forget
  13. Sir Vorlan Nightgrave: A knightly vampire who still polishes his armor
  14. Baron Lucavar Strigescu: Romanian-flavored, with a nod to the strigoi
  15. Prince Azrevan of the Ember Tower: A fiery-tempered royal who cannot stand candles
  16. Lord Thessaron Gloomvale: Melancholy poet who writes sonnets to the moon

Vampire names for guys

Modern first-and-last names for a guy vampire in a novel, game or roleplay. The pairings are invented for this page, though some surnames, like Graves and Frost, are real.

  1. Caspian Blackthorne: A brooding heir who never seems to age past twenty-five
  2. Ronan Duskwood: Rides a motorcycle, but only after sunset
  3. Jasper Vane: Sharp suits, quiet charm and a centuries-old secret
  4. Lucan Ashby: A moody poet who has outlived every one of his readers
  5. Elias Crowe: Keeps a pet raven and a very old diary
  6. Julian Graves: A polished heartbreaker with a family crypt in the garden
  7. Soren Vex: Short, cool and trouble the moment he walks in
  8. Nico Bloodworth: The charming one who throws the best midnight parties
  9. Gideon Shade: A hunter's worst nightmare, and secretly their best informant
  10. Ansel Gravewood: Grew up in a cemetery forest and never quite left
  11. Talon Rook: Quick, sharp and always perched on the highest roof
  12. Maddox Raven: A modern rebel in a leather jacket with no reflection
  13. Silas Grimm: Serious stare, terrible puns and a taste for midnight walks
  14. Kai Sable: A one-syllable first name with a sleek, dark surname
  15. Ezra Coldwell: Calm, quiet and older than he will ever admit
  16. Rafe Duskmere: Lives by a misty lake and appears only at twilight
  17. Declan Frost: Icy stare, gentle soul and a fondness for snowstorms
  18. Orion Eventide: Named for a star pattern and the evening hour he wakes
  19. Dex Nightwood: A laid-back vampire who skateboards empty streets at 3 a.m.
  20. Theo Darkmoor: The boy next door, if next door is a haunted manor

Vampire last names

Invented gothic surnames that sound like old money and older castles. Pair any of them with a name above.

  1. Bloodmoor: A family seat on the bleakest moor in the county
  2. Ashgrave: For an ancient line that has risen from the ashes
  3. Grimhallow: Grim, hallowed and very hard to visit
  4. Duskmorrow: A clan that wakes when everyone else goes to bed
  5. Crimsonvale: A red valley where no one goes after dark
  6. Moonbane: For vampires who distrust even moonlight
  7. Hollowmere: A lakeside castle with an echoing great hall
  8. Cryptwell: Comfortable, well kept and underground
  9. Velvetcourt: Plush, polished and politically dangerous
  10. Nightwhisper: A family famous for secrets told after dark
  11. Ravenmoor: Wild heath, black birds and a locked tower
  12. Mournwood: For a melancholy family in a gloomy forest
  13. Blackspire: The tallest, darkest tower in the valley
  14. Thornhallow: Roses outside, trouble inside
  15. Vexmoor: A troublesome dynasty with a temper
  16. Corvanescu: Romanian-style surname built on corvus, Latin for raven
  17. Gravelle: Sleek and quietly sinister, with a grave hidden inside
  18. Sangrel: From sang, French for blood, with a heraldic ring
  19. Nocturnis: Latin-flavored and made for creatures of the night
  20. Gloamwood: From gloaming, an old word for twilight

Funny vampire names

Pun-loaded names for costumes, group chats and vampires who refuse to take themselves seriously.

  1. Count Snackula: Always peckish, never for garlic bread
  2. Fangela: A sweetheart with an extra-pointy smile
  3. Vlad the Impatient: Cannot wait for sunset, not even once
  4. Bitey McBiteface: The internet's favorite naming style, now with fangs
  5. Nosferatu-tu: A ballet-loving vampire in a pink tutu
  6. Edgar Allan Bite: A brooding poet who only writes about the night
  7. Count Dracu-latte: Runs the only café open after midnight
  8. Batrick Swayze: Nobody puts this vampire in a corner
  9. Count Garlicula: Has truly baffling taste in seasoning
  10. Baron von Bloodbank: Handles everyone's savings, a little too eagerly
  11. Doug the Undead: A very ordinary vampire who files his taxes early
  12. Nightshift Nigel: Works nights, obviously, and loves it
  13. Bram Snoker: Spends the entire day asleep in his coffin
  14. Count Drowsula: Wakes at sundown, then takes a nap anyway
  15. Countess Coffinella: A fairy-tale princess story, but with a coffin
  16. Sir Fangs-a-Lot: Polite, chivalrous and extremely pointy
  17. Fang Gogh: Paints only in crimson and starry-night blue
  18. Bloodwig van Beethoven: Composes moody organ music at midnight
  19. Sunblock Steve: Wears SPF 1,000, just in case
  20. The Count of Monte Crypto: Keeps his treasure in a very fancy tomb
  21. Dracularry: Just Larry. He happens to be a vampire
  22. Fangs Christian Andersen: Tells bedtime stories that end at dawn

Cute vampire names for kids, pets and costumes

Sweet, not scary, picks for a toddler's costume, a black cat or a pet bat plush.

  1. Little Fang: For the tiniest vampire in the trick-or-treat line
  2. Batsy: A sweet name for a pet bat plush
  3. Vampy: Short and sweet for a costume or a cat
  4. Count Cuddles: A vampire who only wants hugs
  5. Bitsy Bat: Tiny, flappy and adorable
  6. Countess Cupcake: Sweetest member of the vampire court
  7. Drakey: A tiny vampire nickname for a toddler in a cape
  8. Fangsy: For a kitten with tiny pointy teeth
  9. Moonbeam: Glows softly, like a nightlight
  10. Velvet Paws: For a black cat in a little red-lined cape
  11. Batling: A baby bat, and a baby vampire, all in one
  12. Lil' Drac: Tiny cape, big attitude
  13. Capey: For a pet who loves wearing a tiny cape
  14. Midnight Muffin: A sweet treat that only comes out after dark
  15. Count Pipsqueak: Small in size, huge in drama

How to pick the right name

Match the name to the era

A vampire turned in medieval Wallachia sounds different from one turned in Victorian London. Slavic names like Casimir and Ludmila suit an old-world count; Latin and English names like Ambrose and Vesper suit a gothic-novel setting.

Let the meaning wink

Readers love a name with a hidden joke. Ambrose means immortal, Lucian comes from a word for light, and Desdemona means ill-fated. Pick one and let attentive fans find it.

Borrow from folklore, not just Dracula

Vrykolakas, the adze and the baobhan sith are real vampire legends that few stories use. They make great clan names, titles or villain names.

Say it in a whisper

A good vampire name sounds just as menacing whispered as shouted. Soft consonants and long vowels, like Velmira or Morvain, work well.

Vampire names: 203 ideas from Nomezo

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Vampire names: folklore, history and fiction in order, the famous vampires you can't borrow, and vampire names on real babies

By The Nomezo Editors · Updated October 25, 2026 · How we research names

Vampires reached European newspapers in the 1720s and 1730s, through official reports of Serbian villagers rising from their graves. Fiction followed in 1819 with Polidori's The Vampyre, published as a tale by Lord Byron, and Count Dracula arrived in 1897.

Some vampire names now live on real people: 4,836 US baby girls were named Elena in 2025, its highest rank ever, and 19,574 Americans carry the surname Cullen. The finder above narrows the names by section, length or first letter, or searches the notes.

  1. Step 1Real, legend or invented?The sections say which.
  2. Step 2Get the history rightVlad was a prince, not a vampire.
  3. Step 3Avoid owned charactersEdward Cullen and Lestat belong to their authors.
  4. Step 4Pick a real surnameHarker, Graves and Cullen are real.

Folklore, history or fiction? The vampire timeline

  • Dracula was nearly Count Wampyr. Stoker swapped that working name for one he found reading Romanian history, and his notes never mention Vlad III by name (Wikipedia).
  • Báthory's blood baths are a later legend. The story first appeared in print in 1729, more than a century after her death, and the trial testimony published in 1817 never mentions blood baths (Wikipedia).
  • Nosferatu survived a court order. Stoker's widow sued, a court ordered every copy destroyed, and some prints survived; the film has been in the public domain worldwide since 2019, so Count Orlok is free to use (Wikipedia).
Key dates in the vampire legend
YearWhat happened
1725An Austrian official reports that Petar Blagojević of Kisilova killed nine villagers after his death; a Vienna newspaper prints it
1732The Arnold Paole report, dated Belgrade, January 26, spreads vampire belief across Europe
1819Polidori's The Vampyre appears, credited to Lord Byron
1845–47Varney the Vampire, a penny dreadful, is the first story to give a vampire fang-like teeth
1871–72Le Fanu's Carmilla is serialized, 25 years before Dracula
1897Bram Stoker's Dracula
1922Nosferatu, an unauthorized Dracula film

Sources: Wikipedia: Petar Blagojević, Arnold Paole, The Vampyre, Varney the Vampire, Carmilla and Nosferatu.

Famous modern vampires: for reference, not reuse

Well-known vampires from books, TV and games
VampireFromFirst appeared
Lestat de LioncourtAnne Rice, Interview with the Vampire1976
AlucardKonami's Castlevania III1989
Damon and Stefan SalvatoreL. J. Smith, The Vampire Diaries1991
Edward CullenStephenie Meyer, Twilight2005

These characters belong to their creators: fine as a costume or a pet's nickname, but avoid them in a published story or game. Classic vampires like Dracula, Carmilla and Lord Ruthven are long out of copyright. See also Wikipedia: Lestat de Lioncourt, Edward Cullen.

Vampire names on real babies

  • The Twilight effect. Bella went from 1,664 US girls in 2005 to 5,136 in 2010, its best rank ever (No. 48), and Isabella was the No. 1 girls' name in 2009 and 2010.
US babies with vampire names, 2025
NameUS babies, 2025Note
Elena4,836 girls (No. 42)Its highest rank ever
Damon604 boys (No. 501)Peaked at No. 104 in 1976
Mina491 girls (No. 597)Stoker's heroine
Renesmee138 girlsInvented for Twilight; first recorded in 2009
Alucard17 boysFirst recorded in 2006
Lestat14 boysFirst recorded in 1995
Carmilla6 girlsMost in 1921, with 15

Source: US Social Security Administration, births 1880 to 2025.

Vampire last names that are real surnames

Surnames from vampire fiction and how many Americans carry them
SurnamePeople in the USVampire link
Graves80,533A real surname that sounds the part
Cullen19,574Twilight's vampire family
Varney8,173Varney the Vampire
Stoker6,048Dracula's author
Harker5,173Jonathan and Mina Harker
Salvatore4,874The Vampire Diaries
Ruthven598Polidori's Lord Ruthven
Helsing302Van Helsing
Báthory113The blood countess legend

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020. Westenra and Karnstein are not on the list, which covers surnames held by at least 100 people.

Sources

Frequently asked questions

What is a good vampire name?

Classic picks are Dracula, Carmilla and Lord Ruthven. For an original character, pair an old-world first name like Ambrose, Vesper or Casimir with a gothic surname such as Ashgrave or Bloodmoor.

What are some female vampire names?

Carmilla, Clarimonde and Lucy Westenra are famous literary vampires. As real given names, Vesper (evening), Nyx (night), Selene (moon) and Desdemona (ill-fated) all have fitting meanings.

Who was the first vampire in modern fiction?

Lord Ruthven, from John Polidori's 1819 story The Vampyre, is usually called the first vampire of modern English fiction. Carmilla followed in 1872 and Count Dracula in 1897.

Was Dracula a real person?

Count Dracula is fictional, but Bram Stoker borrowed the name of Vlad III Dracula, a 15th-century prince of Wallachia. Dracula meant son of Dracul, a title his father took from the Order of the Dragon.

What are good vampire names for guys?

Old-world given names like Ambrose, Casimir and Lucian suit a classic vampire count. For a modern guy vampire, try an invented name such as Soren Vex, Ronan Duskwood or Caspian Blackthorne.

Was Vlad the Impaler a vampire?

No. Vlad III was a 15th-century prince of Wallachia. Bram Stoker borrowed the name Dracula from his reading on Romanian history, but his working notes never mention Vlad by name, and he first planned to call his villain Count Wampyr.

Are vampire last names like Cullen real?

Many are. The 2020 US Census counts 19,574 people named Cullen, 5,173 named Harker and 6,048 named Stoker. Graves, with 80,533 people, is a real surname that sounds like a vampire's.

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