Beautiful baby girl names that mean ‘dark’

When you think of dark baby names, you may think of names that are only suitable for the kids of The Addams Family. But you can find many beautiful names that have dark meanings or connotations—without venturing into campy territory.

All the names here mean “night” or “dark,” or they’re related to these elements in some way. For example, the pretty name Amaya means “night rain.” Others refer to that great black bird, the raven, and still others envelop the natural darkness of a few items, such as Ebony and Melantha.

If you treasure the beauty of a glorious darkness or are simply looking for a baby name that’s a little off the beaten track, try on one of these dark baby names for girls for size.

• Amaya: This Basque name means “night rain”
• Brenna: A popular Gaelic name, Brenna means “raven, black-haired”
• Carey: With root words that mean “black,” this name has Gaelic origins
• Cari: This is another form of the name Carey
• Ciara: A gorgeous (and uberpopular) Irish name, Ciara means “black”
• Collis: This unusual name comes from Old English and means “dark-haired”
• Corvina: Meaning “raven,” this name has Latin roots
• Darcy: This quirky, cute name has Irish origins and means “dark”
• Devany: Meaning “dark-haired,” this name has Irish roots as well
• Duana: A unique Irish name, Duana means “dark”
• Ebony: This is the name of a gorgeous black wood
• Hamna: An Arabic name, this means “dark grape”
• Indigo: This is the name of a deep, dark blue dye
• Jetta: This name comes from the name of a black, shiny gemstone called jet
• Kali: A Sanskrit name that means “black”
• Kerrin: Another Irish name, this means “dark”
• Kiara: This is another form of the name Ciara
• Kieran: A unisex baby name, Kieran means “little dark one”
• Krishna: A Hindu baby name, Krishna is associated with the god Vishnu—and means “black”
• Laila/Leila: This gorgeous Arabic name means “night beauty”
• Lela: A Kiswahili name, this means “black beauty”
• Lila: This is another Arabic name that means “night”
• Lilith: Meaning “belonging to the night,” this dark baby name comes from a Babylonian word
• Melanie: A traditional, familiar name, this means “black, dark”
• Melantha: This Greek name means “dark flower”
• Nerissa: From the Italian language, this name means “black-haired”
• Nisha: This adorable baby name means “night” and has Hindi roots
• Nyx: Meaning “night,” this name has Greek origins
• Raven: The name of an impressively large black bird
• Sable: This name has Slavic roots and means “black”
• Samara: Meaning “night talk,” this name has Hebrew and Arabic roots
• Zelda: This terrific baby name comes from Old German and means “dark battle”

Looking for more baby name inspiration? Check out our favorite celebrity baby names: