
Image Credit: Omar Lopez
Autumn is here and the nights are drawing in. It's September and October will soon be here. Pumpkin spice latte is in every coffee shop and Halloween decor fills the shops.
So are you expecting a Halloween baby? Is your little one due in October as the leaves turn brown and pumpkins ripen, the days get shorter and the nights get colder?
Perhaps you are a fan of all things spooky, ghoulish and magical, are you looking for some ideas for Halloween themed baby names?
Maybe you are fascinated by the supernatural, or you are just expecting a baby in October and want something suitable to the season! Or maybe you just love all things weird, gothic and uncanny!
Here are 55+ Halloween inspired baby names, perfect for October babies and especially for babies born around Halloween on the 31st October.
Here is a collection of baby names for boys and girls related to magic, horror and all things spooky with references from literature, TV, films and popular culture. There are witches and wizards, monsters and ghosts.
Here are lots of ideas for baby names for Halloween, including famous (and infamous) witches, wizards, ghosts and vampires, magicians and lovers of all things ghoulish.
The popular 1960s TV series Bewitched was a comedy series about a witch, Samantha, who fell in love with an ordinary man and longed to live the classic white-picket-fence life of a housewife.
However her mother Elvira, a witch was not so happy about the idea! As Samantha tried (mostly) to be normal and not use her magic, her mother did her best to thwart her.
Glinda and Elphaba are the two witches who are the protagonists of the musical Wicked by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman.
The show tells the back story of the two witches who appear in the story of The Wizard of Oz, originally a book by L. Frank Baum which was turned into an Oscar winning movie starring Judy Garland in 1939.
The Twilight books by Stephenie Meyer are another huge literary phenomenon that have moved from the written word to a hugely successful movie franchise.
As a bonus, the name Jacob can also reference Jacob Marley, one of the ghosts to appear to Scrooge in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol.
Vlad the Impaler was the real life historical character who was the bloodthirsty and brutal ruler of Wallachia, which is now Romania.
Impaling was his favourite form of execution.
Victor Frankenstein was the creator of the horrible humanoid monster in Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein.
The monster he created is not named in the book, as if to emphasise his lack of humanity and his rejection by society.
Casper the Friendly Ghost appeared in 55 theatrical animated cartoon series of the same name, comic books, several TV series as well as a live action/computer generated movie in 1995.
He is a pleasant, personable and translucent ghost.
Igor is the name often given to a sidekick in horror or gothic movies, most commonly as Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant.
The Addams family was a hugely popular American 1960s TV series about a family in love the ghoulish and macabre.
It continues to be popular due to a series of live action movies in the 1990s, a stage musical, a recent animated Addams Family movie and the hugely popular Netflix series Wednesday.
The Munsters, like the Addams Family was 1960’s American comedy TV series about a family with a love of all things spooky and gothic.
Wolves and werewolves are a common feature of fairy stories and horror stories. Wolf as a name means loyalty, courage, and wisdom.
1990s TV Series Buffy The Vampire Slayer starring Sarah Michelle Geller and David Boreanaz brought vampire stories to a whole generation of teens, as these high school kids battled demons after discovering that their school was built on a hellmouth.
The character Angel went on to have a spin-off series of his own. Many of the popular characters have cool names that could inspire children’s names.
Freddy Kruger was the main character in the A Nightmare On Elm Street horror movie franchise.
Short for Frederick, the name actually means "peaceful ruler" or "peaceful power", quite a contrast from it's horror film reference!
Aziraphale and Crowley are the protagonists in Neil Gamian's Good Omens.
Aziraphale is an angel while Crowley is a demon. Both have lived on Earth as representatives of Heaven and Hell since the dawn of time, and are best of friends.
The Halloween movie franchise was headed up by the terrifying Michael Meyers. Michael is still a popular name which means "one who is like God" - another big contrast from it's famous horror character.
This unusual name is taken from Ichabod Crane, protagonist in the Tim Burton movie Sleepy Hollow, based upon Washington Irving's short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
For a Halloween baby Jack is a good name, whether your inspiration is from a Jack-a-Lantern or Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Jack is the diminuative form of the name John, but nowadays is often used as a given name.
Merlin was the legendary wizard and confidante to the king in the court of King Arthur. The legend of Merlin has inspired dozens of TV series, films and books.
It is a name of Welsh origin and means "sea fortress" or "hill by the sea".
Blair is a good gender-free name which references the massively successful low budget movie The Blair Witch Project.
The name is actually of Scottish origin and means field, plain or meadow, and there are many places in Scotland which include the name Blair.
Sabrina The Teenage Witch starring Melissa Joan Hart, was a teenager who discovers she has magical powers on her 16th birthday. She tries to use her powers for good, while her magical relatives try to encourage her to be bad.
Originally a comic, the stories have been made into both live action and animated TV series.
In Greek mythology, Hecate was the goddess of witchcraft and magic. Hecate is also the only one of the three witches in Macbeth to be named.
Hecate means "she who works her will", so clearly the name for a powerful woman.
Harry, Hermione and Ronald are the three most obvious names that a Harry Potter fan could take from the Harry Potter books.
However there are lots more to choose from; here are more Harry Potter Baby Name Ideas, including popular choices such as Luna, Bellatrix, Draco and many more of your favourite characters.
Shakespeare has added so much to the English language and for fans of the spooky his play Macbeth has several supernatural happenings. Banquo’s Ghost appears to remind Macbeth of his wrongdoings.
The classic English names Edward and Henry were the first names of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in the of classic Gothic horror novel by Robert Louis Stephenson
Sam and Dean were the names of the Winchester brothers in the long-running TV series Supernatural, where Sam and Dean were vampire hunters, following in their father’s footsteps.
The series ran for 15 seasons from 2005 to 2020.
The Omen film series follow the story of Damien, a baby whose parents adopted him, unaware that he is in fact the antichrist.
The name means to tame, subdue or conquer.
Circe was a Greek goddess famed for her magical ability to turn humans into animals. Strongly independant, she was banished to live alone on an island because of her wish to practice sorcery.
Stephen King’s first bestseller was the tale of Carrie, the abused daughter of an ultra-religious mother whose rage turns to telekinetic powers which allow her to wreak havoc at her prom.
Mona The Vampire was an animated TV series about a ten year old girl with a vivid imagination who called herself a vampire to fight the supernatural foes that inhabited her town.
Marie Laveau was know as the New Orleans Queen of Voodoo, and was highly revered for her skills with voodoo, magic, and medicinal herbs.
A popular name, it is a variation on the name Mary and is widely used in France.
Coraline is the main character in the dark fantasy book of the same name by Neil Gamian, which was made into an animated movie in 2009 by Tim Burton (who else?).
These four names are the main characters of the TV series The Vampire Diaries. Set in the town of Mystic Falls, Virginia, the story revolves around a group of teenagers and vampires whose town is steeped in the supernatural.
Azazel is a biblical name, referring to a fallen angel, or a scapegoat.
According to Hebrew myth, Lilith is the Mesopotamian storm demon and is responsible for diseases and death. She is also thought to be a baby-stealing demon.
Do any of these ideas grab you for naming your October baby?
Whatever name you are thinking about giving your little one, here are tips for choosing a name for your baby - so that you don't accidently give your kid a name they'll hate!