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Mara -

The name derives from the Gaelic word for “sea,” but in Hebrew, it’s translated as “bitter” or “sorrow.” However, the darkest interpretation of Mara is found in Hindu tradition. The name means “death” in Sanskrit. Mara is the goddess of death and destruction.

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Douglas has its roots in dubh glas from Scottish Gaelic. It means “black water” or "dark stream.” It was used to describe murky waters and mystery.

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Melvin -

The name has its roots in the Norman name Melville, which comes from a French town called Malleville and translates to “bad town.” It turns out, Malleville had infertile land for farming. 

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Molly -

Molly has been one of America’s most popular names for many years. It comes from a Hebrew term that means “bitter.” Molly is also a nickname for the recreational drug Ecstasy/MDMA.

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Melanie -

Melanie has its roots in the Greek name Melas, which means “being dark” or “black.”

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Mallory -

Mallory has its roots in the Old French word malheure. It has a number of dark meanings, including “unfortunate,” “unlucky,” and “unhappy.”

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Brenna -

Brenna comes from the Irish Gaelic Braonáin. It means “sorrow” or “teardrop.”

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Courtney -

The name was originally a Norman surname: Courtenay. It comes from “domain of Curtenus” from the Latin curtus, which means “broken.” Curtenus was a Gallo-Roman landlord.

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Courtney -

There is, however, another theory about the origins of the name Courtney. The story goes that the name originated from the Old French court or cur (short) and nes (nose), essentially used in reference to someone with a “short nose.”

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Kennedy -

The name is actually an adaptation from the Irish clan Cinnéidigh. It has a number of meanings associated with it, namely “chief with a helmet,” and the less pleasant “misshapen head.”

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Emily -

Emily comes from the Ancient Roman Aemilius family. The roots of the name may have come from the Greek aimylos, which means “wily” or “persuasive,” or the Latin aemulus, which translates as “rival."

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Claudia -

Claudia derives from Latin and ancient Roman languages, and it can be translated as “lame” or “enclosure.”

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Mary -

Mary is one of the world’s most popular names, especially in Christian countries. Its roots come from Hebrew, and it means “bitterness,” “rebellion," or "wished-for child."

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Damian -

The name stems from the Greek Damianos, which means “to tame” or “subdue.” More recently, it’s associated with the antichrist child from the horror film ‘The Omen’ (1976).

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Tracy -

Tracy has a number of roots, including the Irish surname O’Treasaigh, the French-Norman surname Thrace or Thracian, and the Thracians of Southeast Europe also mentioned in Greek mythology. What do they all have in common? They are related to war and fighting.

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Portia -

Portia comes from the Latin porcus and it translates to “pig” or “hog.” Porcia is the feminine name of Porciusan, an ancient Roman clan that dealt with hogs.

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Tristan -

You may recognize the name from the medieval romance ‘Tristan and Isolde.’ Tristan stems from Celtic, meaning “tumult” or “outcry." The name was then influenced by the French word triste, which means "sad."

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Cesar -

You may recognize the name given to the emperors of the Roman Empire, which was spelled Caesar at the time. The Latin name actually means “head of hair” or “long-haired.”

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Jacob -

Jacob is a Biblical name. In ancient Hebrew, it was used to make reference to a “supplanter” or “overreacher,” but it also meant "to follow, be behind." The shortened form Jake is used by many people called Jacob.

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Lola -

Rooted in Spanish, Lola is a shorter variation of the name Dolores. It means “sorrow.” The name is a reference to the Virgin Mary; Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, which translates to “Our Lady of Sorrows.”

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Rue -

The English name Rue can be traced back to Greek and it means “herb” or “regret.”

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Calvin -

Calvin derives from the Latin word calvus, which translates to “bald” or “hairless.”

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Blake -

Blake derives from the Old English blæc, which means both “white” and "pale." Strangely enough, it can also mean “dark” or “black.”

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Belinda -

The roots of Belinda can be traced back to Babylonian mythology. It means “pretty one,” but also “beautiful snake.”

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Brody (or Brodie) - The name derives from a Scottish clan that produced whisky. The name translates to “ditch” or “muddy place.”

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Adrienne -

Adrienne is the French female version of the Latin Hadrianus, or Adrian; a name used to describe a man from a city called Hadria. Adrienne also means “dark.”

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Cecilia -

Cecilia comes from the Roman clan name Caecilius, which came to be associated with the word “blind,” because of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music, who was blind.

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Desdemona -

The name, popularized by William Shakespeare, can be traced back to Greek. It means "ill-fated" or "unlucky."

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Lilith -

Lilith derives from the Akkadian word lilîtu, which is feminine for "demon" or "spirit." The Hebrew name Lilith means "belonging to the night."

Sources: (Ranker) (She Knows) (Baby Center) (Babynology) (The Bump) (Mom.com) (Name Berry) 

See also: The most popular names the year you were born

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