Names Categorized "grief"

Achlys f Greek Mythology
Means "mist, darkness" in Greek. According to a poem by Hesiod, she was one of the figures portrayed on the shield of Herakles. She is described as a wraithlike woman personifying death and sorrow.

Addolorata f Italian
Means "grieving" in Italian, from the title of the Virgin Mary, Maria Addolorata. It is most common in southern Italy. It is the equivalent of Spanish Dolores.

Ajax m Greek Mythology (Latinized)
From the Greek name Αἴας (Aias), perhaps deriving from Greek αἰαστής (aiastes) meaning "mourner" or αἶα (aia) meaning "earth, land". In Greek mythology this was the name of two of the heroes who fought for the Greeks in the Trojan War: the son of Telamon and the son of Oileus. When the armour of the slain hero Achilles was not given to Ajax Telamonian, he became mad with jealousy and killed himself.

Angrboða f Norse Mythology
Means "she who brings grief" in Old Norse, derived from angr "grief" and boða "to forebode, to proclaim". According to Norse mythology Angrboða was a giantess (jǫtunn) and the mother of three of Loki's children: Fenrir, Jörmungandr and Hel.

Asiya f Arabic, Urdu
Possibly from Arabic أسي (ʾasiya) meaning "to be distressed, to be grieved". According to Islamic tradition this was the name of the wife of the pharaoh at the time of Moses. She took care of the infant Moses and later accepted monotheism.

Branwen f Welsh, Welsh Mythology
Means "white raven" from Old Welsh bran "raven" and gwen "white, blessed". According to the Second Branch of the Mabinogi she was the daughter of Llŷr. After she was mistreated by her husband Matholwch, the king of Ireland, she managed to get a message to her brother Brân, the king of Britain. Brân launched a costly invasion to rescue her, but she died of grief shortly after her return.

Chernobog m Slavic Mythology
Means "the black god" from Old Slavic čĭrnŭ "black" and bogŭ "god". According to a few late sources, Chernobog was a Slavic god of misfortune.

Deirdre f English, Irish, Irish Mythology
From the Old Irish name Derdriu, meaning unknown, possibly derived from der meaning "daughter". This was the name of a tragic character in Irish legend who died of a broken heart after Conchobar, the king of Ulster, forced her to be his bride and killed her lover Naoise.... [more]

Delora f English
Altered form of Dolores.

Delores f English
Variant of Dolores.

Deloris f English
Variant of Dolores.

Dido f Roman Mythology, Greek Mythology
Meaning unknown, probably of Phoenician origin. Dido, also called Elissa, was the queen of Carthage in Virgil's Aeneid. She threw herself upon a funeral pyre after Aeneas left her. Virgil based the story on earlier Greco-Roman accounts.

Dolores f Spanish, English
Means "sorrows", taken from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, meaning "Our Lady of Sorrows". It has been used in the English-speaking world since the 19th century, becoming especially popular in America during the 1920s and 30s.

Dolors f Catalan
Catalan form of Dolores.

Dores f Portuguese, Galician
Portuguese and Galician form of Dolores.

Ekundayo f & m Yoruba
Means "tears become joy" in Yoruba.

Gediminas m Lithuanian
Possibly from the Lithuanian roots ged- "to mourn, to long for" and min- "to think, to remember, to mention". This was the name of a 14th-century Grand Duke of Lithuania.

Heledd f Welsh
Meaning unknown. This is the narrator of the medieval poem Canu Heledd, which laments the loss of her family, including her brother Prince Cynddylan, and the destruction of the kingdom of Powys in the 7th century.

Jabez m Biblical
Means "sorrow" in Hebrew. This is the name of a character in the Old Testament who is blessed by God.

Líadan f Irish (Rare)
Possibly from Old Irish líath meaning "grey". According to an Irish tale this was the name of a poet who became a nun, but then missed her lover Cuirithir so much that she died of grief. The name was also borne by a 5th-century saint, the mother of Saint Ciarán the Elder.

Lola f Spanish, English, French
Spanish diminutive of Dolores. A famous bearer was Lola Montez (1821-1861; birth name Eliza Gilbert), an Irish-born dancer, actress and courtesan.

Lolicia f English (Rare)
Elaborated form of Lola.

Lolita f Spanish
Diminutive of Lola. This is the name of a 1955 novel by Vladimir Nabokov.

Mahzun m Turkish (Rare)
Means "sad" in Turkish.

Malalai f Pashto
Means "sad, grieved" in Pashto. This was the name of a Pashtun woman who encouraged the Afghan forces during the 1880 Battle of Maiwand against the British.

Mara 1 f Biblical, Biblical Hebrew, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Means "bitter" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is a name that Naomi calls herself after the death of her husband and sons (see Ruth 1:20).

Naenia f Roman Mythology
Means "incantation, dirge" in Latin. This was the name of the Roman goddess of funerals.

Nanna 1 f Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Norse Mythology
Possibly derived from Old Norse nanþ meaning "daring, brave". In Norse mythology she was a goddess who died of grief when her husband Balder was killed.

Nekane f Basque
Means "sorrows" in Basque. It is an equivalent of Dolores, coined by Sabino Arana in his 1910 list of Basque saints names.

Niobe f Greek Mythology
Meaning unknown. In Greek mythology Niobe was the daughter of Tantalos, a king of Asia Minor. Because she boasted that she was superior to Leto, Leto's children Apollo and Artemis killed her 14 children with poison arrows. In grief, Niobe was turned to stone by Zeus.

Pausanias m Ancient Greek
From the Greek word παυσανίας (pausanias) meaning "reliever of sorrow", itself from παῦσις (pausis) meaning "stopping" and ἀνία (ania) meaning "grief, sorrow". Notable bearers include the kings Pausanias of Sparta (5th century BC) and Pausanias of Macedon (4th century BC), as well as a 2nd-century geographer.