My Favourite 'Witch' Names
Wednesday, June 27, 2007 at 08:14PM So some of my inspiration for baby name suggestions comes from thinking about individual names as part of a set of names. Some of these sets are really obvious like Celtic names or Biblical names. But some are more style based sets like Modern names or Exotic names. For example I have a set of Goddess names that might inspire witches!
This is not a new concept, a few modern baby name books like The Baby Name Wizard by Laura Wattenberg and Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana by Linda Rosenkrantz and Pamela Redmond Satran, are particularly cool because they group and categorise names in sets. This means if you really like the French name Lisette, but your girlfriend has already used it, then you can more easily find another French name like Estelle or Lucille which might be options for you to choose from.
Anyway there isn't any one book that fully hits the mark for me. Both the two books mentioned above are really fantastic, but they have strong American focus. There are serious cultural differences that make some of their suggestions really discordant with an Australian perspective on baby names.
In an effort to share my ideas about baby names I am starting a bunch of 'My Favourite' categories. The first one is My Favourite 'Witch' Names. Which is not necessarily particularly Australian; rather more just me.
My idea of 'Witch' names are those names that we would fight over as girls when we were pretending to start our own pretend Witches Coven; we would cast spells to make boys fall in love with us and make warts grow on Mrs Cornhill's nose. Anyway there were always a bunch of cool names and a few less stylish names that noone would ever want to have. I have fond memories of this set of names. :)
My Favourite 'Witch' Names
- Samantha - A classic witch name know to almost everyone, Samantha is the witch from the 1960's TV show 'Bewitched'.
- Abigail - The second of the first two girls to be 'bewitched' in Salem, sparking off the Salem Witch Trials.
- Cassandra - The mythical Greek character who prophesied the fall of Troy, yet all thought she was mad and would not believe her prediction.
- Elizabeth - The first of the first two girls to be 'bewitched' in Salem, sparking off the Salem Witch Trials.
- Tabitha - The daughter of Samantha in the TV show 'Bewitched'.
- Hecate - The goddess of childbirth.
- Sabrina - The teenage witch.
- Agatha - A mysterious medieval woman of unknown origin, the wife of Edward the Exile, heir to the throne of England in the eleventh century.
- Anastasia - the literal translation of this name is 'she who shall rise up again', it is a suitably mysterious meaning for a witch name.
- Miranda - the castaway daughter in Shakespeare's The Tempest, she is fairly naive but very mystifying.
- Endora - the mother of Samantha in the TV show 'Bewitched', is the 'classic' wicked witch name.
- Zelda - one of the aunts in Sabrina the teenage witch
- Hildegarde - an old-fashioned name that just vibrates as a witches name. Hilda is also an aunt in Sabrina the teenage witch.
- Mildred - a name that just goes with Toads and Cauldrons. Mildred Hubble is the main character in the Worst Witch books.
- Gertrude - Hamlet's mother.
- Maud - A royal name and just really witchy!
- Esperanza - A Spanish name that means 'hope', has a foreign sound and fits well with the other classic witchy name Esmerelda.
- Agnes - The most dull of all witch names, yet a witch name nevertheless.
- Etheldreda - It might be a bit sacrilegious to suggest this name, but it is a saints name that became the basis for the word 'tawdry' and as such has the mysterious background required for a good witch name.
- Wanda - A Polish princess who drowned herself to prevent war, or perhaps as a sacrifice to pagan gods.
- Ursula - Another saint with an interesting story, St Ursula was apparently killed by the Huns when travelling with 11,000 virginal hand maidens who were all slaughtered along with her.
- Esmerelda - the name of the powerful witch character in Terry Pratchett's 'Witches' books, although she goes by the short form of Esme.
Please feel free to suggest your own Witch names and I will incorporate them into my list!
Tara
Tara
If you are looking for more inspirational witch names check out this subsequent post of mine on the power of Goddess names.
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Reader Comments (41)
Ooh, Perdita is one of my favourite witch names. I don't know the official meaning, but Perdita is the less nice half of Agnes Nitts' character in the Discworld books.
Good one Ginchy! :) Perdita is great. I will look it up and list it.
Tara
Was Perdita also the name of the wet-nurse Dalmation in 101 Dalmations?
Tara you forgot Glenda the Good Witch of the (?) North (?)
Sara,
I think Perdita was the wet nurse in 101 Dalmations, also the mum of some lost puppies too. I think she was a liver spotted Dalmation if I remember rightly?
I deliberately left of Glinda (i think it was Glinda?) the good witch... because I don't like Good Witch names PMSL. Names like Glinda, Aurora, Twinkle, Buttercup just CANT BE great witch names ROFL. They are dull dull dull. Don't you agree?
LOL
Tara
what about my M.I.L's name? hahahaha nah just kidding, I think Athena whn i think of witches!
But, but, but you've got Samantha - surely the goodest witch of all!! ;)
Scariest witch of all time has to be the Blair Witch. Did the witch have a name? I think she did, off to google it..
Elly was the Blair Witch's name - surely that has to go on the list!
Argh the Blair witch was REALLY scary, even just the idea of the Blair witch was so scary I didn't watch the film! Yep, I pay that. Samantha was good but she was Naughty and that is the key! Sexy witches are the best.
I didn't put Samantha's mother Endora either... she annoyed me LOL. But I guess that is a pretty good witch name?
Tara
What about Hermione? One of the most well known witches of our current literary environment.
I love the name Tabitha - very witchy but also biblical, same with Abigail. Both names I've thought about using.
As a Bewitched show fan, I must correct your Esmerelda listing. She's was Samamtha's forgetful aunt. Her mother was the fantastic Endora.
Karen,
I stand corrected!!!!
Tara
I named my cat after my favorite witch...Elphaba for the book "Wicked: The life & time of the wicked witch of the west" Elphaba was derived by the book's author from the name of the original Wizard of Oz author L.F. Baum.
Actually Esmerelda was Samantha's cousin on bewitched (played my Elizabeth Montgomery/Samantha in a black wig and more wild/revealing clothes) The forgetful aunt was adorable Aunt Clara! The mother was mean Endora!
Hi guys, Sorry but a couple of corrections. Esmerelda was the slightly off kilter housekeeper, played by Alice Ghostly while Samantha's cousin (played also by Elizabeth Montgomery) was named Serena.
ooh thanks for the clarifications gang! I will fix the original post to update it. :)
Loving Clara, Endora and Serena!
Tara
Morgana
Fata Morgana or Morgan Le Fay the original wicked witch queen the orignal mirror mirror on the wall who is the fairest of us all witch
i think Griselda is a good witch's name, ooh and Medea too!!!
Orla, Zelda and Luella are good names too
Brunhilda is a classic witch name and I believe that's where the name "Hilda" in the Sabrina series came from. Also, Sarah, Mary, and Winifred Sanderson from Hocus Pocus. And last but not least, Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty!
And Hazel!!
thanks for all the fantastic name suggestions everyone who has commented! I am preparing a couple of more in depth explorations of witch names, so stay tuned!
You need to do a little more homework Tara. Esmeralda was NOT the name of Samantha's mother in "Bewitched". Her name was Endora. I am a huge fan of the show and even named a car "Endora". Please make the correction. I checked out your website looking for a name for a new car. By the way, I also had a car named Esmeralda!
Sue! You are so right. I have been corrected before on that and it is oversight that I haven't fixed it yet! Off to do that now.
I love the idea of a car named Endora and a car named Esmeralda. What is you short list for the new car?
Tara
I have a small collection of witches and want to name all of them. I am stumped on one that is a kind looking rabbit. Any suggestions ?