Vampire Names
Every great vampire needs a name that sounds old, aristocratic and just a little dangerous. Below are more than 100 vampire names for stories, role-playing games, Halloween costumes and even black cats — from the classic counts of Gothic fiction to real Slavic and Romanian names, noble-sounding surnames and the blood-drinking creatures of world folklore.
Looking specifically for a countess, a bride of Dracula or a femme fatale? Our list of female vampire names goes much deeper. For other creatures of the night, see our werewolf names, demon names and dark names.
Vampire Names: browse all lists
Famous vampires from books, film and TV
Most modern vampire lore traces back to three 19th-century stories: Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819), Le Fanu’s Carmilla (1872) and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897). These are the names that shaped the genre.
| Name | Where it comes from | Why it stands out |
|---|---|---|
| Dracula | Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) | The original count; the name comes from Vlad III Drăculea, “son of the dragon” |
| Count Orlok | Nosferatu (1922) | Bald, rat-like and terrifying: the anti-romantic vampire |
| Carmilla | Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla (1872) | An anagram of her real name, Mircalla Karnstein |
| Lord Ruthven | John Polidori’s The Vampyre (1819) | The first aristocratic vampire in English fiction |
| Varney | Varney the Vampire (1845–47) | Victorian penny-dreadful villain with real staying power |
| Lestat | Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles | Flamboyant, French and endlessly quotable |
| Louis | Interview with the Vampire (1976) | The brooding, guilt-ridden vampire narrator |
| Armand | The Vampire Chronicles | Ancient vampire with a boyish face |
| Akasha | The Queen of the Damned (1988) | Rice’s mother of all vampires |
| Claudia | Interview with the Vampire | A child vampire, forever trapped at a young age |
| Edward Cullen | Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight | The vampire who sparkles in sunlight |
| Carlisle | Twilight | Gentle physician and head of the Cullen family |
| Aro | Twilight’s Volturi coven | Silky-voiced ruler of the vampire world |
| Spike | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Punk vampire, born William the Bloody |
| Drusilla | Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Dreamy, unhinged and very gothic |
| Damon Salvatore | The Vampire Diaries | The dangerous older brother |
| Eric Northman | Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries | Viking-era vampire turned nightclub owner |
| Selene | Underworld films | Death Dealer named after the Greek moon goddess |
| Alucard | Hellsing and Castlevania | “Dracula” spelled backwards |
| Barnabas Collins | Dark Shadows (1966–71) | TV’s first famous vampire leading man |
| Nandor the Relentless | What We Do in the Shadows | Ottoman warrior vampire played for laughs |
| Nadja | What We Do in the Shadows | Romani vampire with a doll that holds her ghost |
| Kurt Barlow | Stephen King’s ’Salem’s Lot | A purely evil master vampire |
| Eli | Let the Right One In | A vampire who looks like a twelve-year-old |
| Mavis | Hotel Transylvania | Dracula’s cheerful teenage daughter |
Male vampire names with dark and noble meanings
Real names that sound centuries old. Slavic and Romanian names are a nod to Transylvania, where Stoker set his story.
| Name | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Vladimir | “Great ruler” or “ruler of the world” | Slavic |
| Vlad | Short form of Vladislav, “glorious rule” | Slavic / Romanian |
| Mircea | From Slavic mir, “peace” or “world”; name of Vlad III’s father | Romanian |
| Radu | “Happy, glad”; name of Vlad III’s brother | Romanian |
| Bogdan | “Given by God” | Slavic |
| Casimir | “Destroyer of peace” | Polish |
| Dorian | “From Doris,” a region of Greece; recalls The Picture of Dorian Gray | Greek |
| Damien | “To tame, to subdue” | Greek |
| Lucian | From lux, “light” — deliciously ironic for a vampire | Latin |
| Valerian | “To be strong, healthy” | Latin |
| Ambrose | “Immortal” | Greek |
| Lazarus | “God has helped”; the man raised from the dead | Hebrew |
| Corvin | “Raven” (from corvus) | Latin |
| Alaric | “Ruler of all” | Gothic / Germanic |
| Sebastian | “Venerable, revered” | Greek |
| Cassius | Possibly “hollow” or “empty” | Latin |
| Mortimer | “Still water” or “dead sea” (Old French morte mer) | Norman French |
| Bram | Short for Abraham; honors Dracula author Bram Stoker | Dutch / Irish |
Female vampire names
Seductive, regal and a little cold. You’ll find hundreds more on our female vampire names page, and dark options on our dark girl names list.
| Name | Meaning | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Lilith | Commonly read as “of the night”; a night demon of Jewish folklore | Hebrew / Mesopotamian |
| Nyx | “Night”; the Greek goddess of night | Greek |
| Lenore | Form of Eleanor; the lost love in Poe’s poems | English |
| Ravenna | Italian city of Byzantine mosaics; evokes “raven” | Italian |
| Valeska | “Glorious rule” | Slavic |
| Ileana | Romanian form of Helen, possibly “torch” | Romanian |
| Anastasia | “Resurrection” | Greek |
| Morwenna | “Maiden” | Cornish |
| Seraphina | “Fiery ones” (from seraphim) | Hebrew |
| Vesper | “Evening, evening star” | Latin |
| Zora | “Dawn” — a wry choice for someone who can’t face it | Slavic |
| Octavia | “Eighth” | Latin |
| Sabina | Woman of the ancient Sabine people | Latin |
Vampire last names and noble houses
A good surname or house name makes any vampire feel like old money. Pair these with the first names above, or browse our fantasy last names and rich last names.
| Surname | Meaning / association | Vibe |
|---|---|---|
| Țepeș | Romanian for “Impaler,” Vlad III’s nickname | Historical, brutal |
| Drăculești | The noble house founded by Vlad II Dracul | Authentic Wallachian |
| Báthory | Hungarian noble family of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, the “Blood Countess” of legend | Chilling |
| Karnstein | Carmilla’s family name | Classic literary |
| Blackwood | English, “dark wood” | Gothic manor |
| Ravenscroft | English, “raven’s farmstead” | Moody and old |
| Thorne | English, “thorn bush” | Sharp, elegant |
| Holloway | English, “sunken road” | Quiet menace |
| Graves | English, possibly from grove or a steward (greave) | Morbidly perfect |
| Crowe | English, “crow” | Dark, simple |
| Hawthorne | English, “hawthorn hedge” | Literary |
| Lockwood | English, “enclosed wood” | Stately |
| Sinclair | From the French Saint-Clair | Aristocratic |
| Montague | Norman French, “pointed hill” | Old-world nobility |
| Cavendish | English place name in Suffolk | Titled, wealthy |
| Van Helsing | Dracula’s famous hunter | For a vampire hunter, not a vampire |
Vampires from world folklore
Long before Dracula, almost every culture had its own night creature that fed on the living. These names make striking choices for monsters, pets or game characters.
| Creature | Culture | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Nosferatu | Romanian / German literature | A word popularized in the 1800s as “vampire”; origin debated |
| Strigoi | Romanian | Troubled souls risen from the grave |
| Moroi | Romanian | A living or undead vampire-like being |
| Upir | East Slavic | The Slavic root of the word “vampire” |
| Vrykolakas | Greek | A restless undead creature |
| Lamia | Greek | Child-devouring monster, later a seductive vampire figure |
| Empusa | Greek | Shape-shifting demoness who fed on young men |
| Strix | Roman | A blood-drinking bird of ill omen |
| Dearg-due | Irish | “Red blood sucker,” a vengeful female revenant |
| Baobhan sith | Scottish Highlands | Beautiful fairy woman who drains hunters’ blood |
| Jiangshi | Chinese | The “hopping vampire” that steals life energy |
| Aswang | Filipino | Shape-shifting ghoul of Philippine folklore |
| Manananggal | Filipino | Winged creature that separates from its lower body |
| Penanggalan | Malay | A floating head that hunts at night |
| Vetala | Indian | Spirit that inhabits corpses |
| Asanbosam | Ashanti (Ghana) | Iron-toothed creature that hangs from trees |
| Adze | Ewe (Ghana and Togo) | Takes the form of a firefly |
| Soucouyant | Caribbean | An old woman who sheds her skin to become a ball of fire |
| Tlahuelpuchi | Tlaxcala, Mexico | A shape-shifting blood-drinker |
| Camazotz | Maya | The “death bat” of the Popol Vuh |
Original vampire character names
Need a name nobody has used? These invented full names mix old-world first names with brooding surnames. Great for tabletop campaigns, novels and gaming handles — and for more villains, see our villain names.
| Name | Style / vibe | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Valdric Nightmoor | Grim and ancient | A castle-bound elder vampire |
| Severin Ashvale | Cold, cultured | A scholar of forbidden books |
| Cassian Mourne | Romantic, tragic | A brooding love interest |
| Isolde Veyra | Elegant, icy | A vampire countess |
| Lucan Grimsley | Victorian and sly | A London gentleman with secrets |
| Mirela Draganescu | Authentically Romanian | A Transylvanian noblewoman |
| Ezekiel Crowhurst | Puritan gone dark | A 17th-century revenant |
| Nerissa Vane | Sleek, seductive | A modern nightclub queen |
| Aurelio Sangre | Spanish, “blood” | A Spanish vampire lord |
| Rowena Blackmere | Gothic, windswept | A lady of the moors |
| Thaddeus Wraithe | Eerie and bookish | An undead librarian |
| Octavian Nocturne | Grand, theatrical | A vampire opera patron |
How to choose a great vampire name
- Go old-world. Slavic, Romanian, Hungarian and Latin names instantly suggest centuries of history.
- Use a title. “Count,” “Countess,” “Lord” or “Lady” turns an ordinary name into a vampire name in one word.
- Play with irony. Names that mean light, sun or dawn (Lucian, Zora) are a clever twist for a creature that fears daylight — see names that mean light.
- Borrow from the night. Names tied to darkness and the moon suit vampires perfectly; try our names that mean night.
- Match the era. A Victorian vampire sounds different from a medieval warlord or a 1980s punk — pick names from the period your character was turned.
- Avoid the obvious. Dracula and Edward are instantly recognizable; tweak or combine names if you want something original.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most famous vampire name?
Dracula, from Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, is by far the best-known vampire name. Stoker borrowed it from Vlad III of Wallachia, known as Vlad Drăculea.
Was Dracula a real person?
Count Dracula is fictional, but his name came from Vlad III Drăculea (1431–1476), a Wallachian prince famous for impaling his enemies. There is no evidence the real Vlad drank blood.
What does the word “vampire” mean?
The English word comes, via German and French, from Slavic words like upir. Its deeper origin is uncertain, and scholars still debate it.
What is a good name for a female vampire?
Carmilla, Lilith, Drusilla, Nyx and Valeska are classic choices. For many more, browse our dedicated list of female vampire names.
What is a good vampire name for a pet?
Short names work best for pets: Vlad, Nyx, Spike, Mavis, Bram, Orlok or Drac are all easy to call and fun for black cats and dogs.