Last Names That Mean Death

These last names that mean death come from many languages and include old nicknames, place names and words linked with graves, burial and resurrection, each listed with its origin, plus a note on famous false friends that only sound deadly.

81 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

Akatsuka 赤塚

Red mound; tsuka often means burial mound

Japanese
Anastasakis

Cretan form, son of Anastasios, a name meaning resurrection

Greek
Anastasi

From the name Anastasius, resurrection

Italian
Anastasiadis

Son of Anastasios, a name meaning resurrection

Greek
Anastasio

From the name Anastasius, resurrection

Italian
Anastasiou

Son of Anastasios, from anastasis, resurrection

Greek
Anastasopoulos

Son of Anastasios, a name meaning resurrection

Greek
Athanasakis

Cretan form, son of Athanasios, a name meaning immortal

Greek
Athanasiadis

Son of Athanasios, a name meaning immortal

Greek
Athanasiou

Son of Athanasios, from athanatos, deathless or immortal

Greek
Athanasopoulos

Son of Athanasios, a name meaning immortal

Greek

B

Barrow

Dweller by a grove (Old English bearu) or by a hill or burial mound (beorg)

English
Bessmertnykh

From Russian bessmertny, deathless or immortal

Russian

C

Cairns

Dweller by a cairn, a stone heap often raised over graves

Scottish
Churchyard

Dweller by a churchyard, the parish burial ground

English

D

Van de Kerkhof

From the churchyard or cemetery

Dutch
Death

Possibly a nickname for one who played Death in pageants

English
Deeth

Variant of Death, possibly a pageant role

English
Dethick

From Dethick, Derbyshire, death oak, likely a gallows tree

English
Durojaiye

Yoruba, stay to enjoy life, a plea against early death

African
Durosinmi

Yoruba, stay to bury me, a plea that a child outlive its parents

African

G

Grabarczyk

Son of the gravedigger, from Polish grabarz

Polish
Grabarz

Polish for gravedigger

Polish

H

Haug

Hill or mound, Old Norse haugr, a word also used for burial mounds

Nordic
Hauge

Norwegian farm name, from haugr, a hill or burial mound

Nordic
Haugen

The hill or mound, Old Norse haugr, a word also used for burial mounds

Nordic
Hautala

Finnish, from hauta, pit or grave

Nordic
Hautamäki

Finnish, pit or grave + hill

Nordic
Hautaniemi

Finnish, pit or grave + headland

Nordic
Hiratsuka 平塚

Flat mound; tsuka often means burial mound

Japanese
Howe

Dweller by a hill or burial mound, Old Norse haugr, or by a hill spur

English

I

Iizuka 飯塚

Rice mound; tsuka often means burial mound

Japanese
Ikudayisi

Yoruba, death has spared this one

African
Ikuforiji

Yoruba, death has forgiven this one

African
Ikumapayi

Yoruba, death, do not kill this one

African
Inuzuka 犬塚

Dog mound; tsuka often means burial mound

Japanese
Ishizuka 石塚

Stone mound, often a burial tumulus

Japanese

K

Kalma

Finnish for death or the grave

Nordic
Kerkhof

Dutch for churchyard or cemetery

Dutch
Kerkhoff

Variant of Kerkhof, churchyard or cemetery

Dutch
Kierkegaard

Danish for churchyard, which was the burial ground

Nordic
Kirchhof

Churchyard or graveyard

German
Kirchhoff

Churchyard, the German word also used for a graveyard

German
Kirkegaard

Churchyard or cemetery, a Danish farm name

Nordic
Kokumo

Yoruba, this one will not die again

African
Kosoko

Yoruba, no hoe left to dig a grave

African
Kozuka 小塚

Small mound; tsuka often means burial mound

Japanese
Kukoyi

Yoruba, death has rejected this one

African
Kurganov

From kurgan, a burial mound

Russian

L

Lowe

Often from Old English hlaw, a hill or burial mound; also other origins

English

M

Malomo

Yoruba, do not go again, said to a child feared lost

African
Mertvago

Possibly from Russian mertvyi, dead

Russian
Mogilevsky

From Mogilev, a city possibly named for mogila, burial mound

Jewish
Mogilnicki

Possibly from Mogilno, a place named for a burial mound

Polish
Mogilny

From mogila, grave or burial mound

Ukrainian
Mohyla

Ukrainian for grave or burial mound

Ukrainian
Mort

Possibly from Old French mort, dead, for a pale man

English
Della Morte

Italian, of death; possibly from a confraternity of burial

Italian
Mortimer

From Mortemer in Normandy, dead or stagnant pool

English

O

Ölmez

Turkish for undying or immortal

Turkish
Onizuka 鬼塚

Demon mound; tsuka often means burial mound

Japanese
Onwuasoanya

Igbo, death respects no one

African
Onwubiko

Igbo, death, I beg you

African
Onwuchekwa

Igbo, death, wait

African
Onwuka

Igbo, death is greater than all

African
Onwuzurike

Igbo, death, take a rest

African
Otsuka 大塚

Great mound, often an ancient burial mound

Japanese

R

Resurreccion

Resurrection, from the Christian feast

Filipino
Rotimi

Yoruba, stay with me, a plea against early death

African

S

Seelig

Variant of Selig, blessed; also said of the departed

Jewish
Selig

Blessed; in German selig also describes the departed

Jewish
Sexton

Church officer who dug graves and rang the bell

English
Shinozuka 篠塚

Bamboo-grass mound; tsuka often means burial mound

Japanese
Smertin

From Russian smert, death, perhaps a protective nickname

Russian

T

Todt

Possibly from Middle High German tot, death or dead, or a short form of a name like Dietrich

German
Tsukada 塚田

Mound field; tsuka often means burial mound

Japanese
Tsukagoshi 塚越

Beyond the mound; tsuka often means burial mound

Japanese
Tsukahara 塚原

Mound plain; tsuka often means burial mound

Japanese
Tsukamoto 塚本

Base of the mound; tsuka often means burial mound

Japanese

U

Uspensky

From Uspeniye, the Dormition, the falling asleep of Mary

Russian

V

Voskresensky

From Voskreseniye, the Resurrection, a church name

Russian

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Results (6)

Athanasiou

Son of Athanasios, from athanatos, deathless or immortal

Greek
Ikumapayi

Yoruba, death, do not kill this one

African
Tsukahara

塚原

Mound plain; tsuka often means burial mound

Japanese
Kierkegaard

Danish for churchyard, which was the burial ground

Nordic
Onwubiko

Igbo, death, I beg you

African
Kalma

Finnish for death or the grave

Nordic

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Last names that mean death and their origins

Very few surnames mean death in a literal sense, which makes the ones that do stand out. The English surname Death, sometimes pronounced to rhyme with teeth, is probably a nickname for someone who played Death in medieval pageants or mystery plays, though some families derive it from Ath, a town in present-day Belgium. German Todt and Tod can come from the Middle High German word for death and may have begun the same way, as nicknames from plays or personal character.

Place names supply more examples. Mortimer comes from Mortemer in Normandy, from the Old French mort, dead, and mer, sea or lake, describing a stagnant stretch of water. Graves, which modern readers link with burial, usually comes from a word for a steward or from grove. In each case the dark meaning is either a literal description of landscape or a later association, which is typical of how death appears in surnames across Europe.

Why death appears in family names

Medieval towns staged religious plays with a cast of allegorical figures, including Death, the Devil, Pride and kings, and ordinary townsmen took the parts year after year. Neighbors often called an actor by his role, and some of those nicknames stuck and became hereditary. That is the most likely route for names like Death and Todt, and it explains how a word so grim could end up as an ordinary family name.

Other cultures took different paths. Many East Asian surnames are drawn from clans, places and virtues, so a name meaning death would have been considered unlucky and avoided. In Ireland and Scotland, surnames usually honor an ancestor rather than describing a quality, so death seldom appears at all and warlike meanings are much easier to find. This is why the list is light on literal meanings and rich in near meanings such as graves, burial mounds and resurrection.

False friends that only sound deadly

Many names look as if they mean death but do not. Mortensen is Danish and Norwegian for son of Morten, a form of Martin, and has nothing to do with the Latin mors. English Todd has no link to German Tod either. It comes from a northern word for a fox. Lichfield, a place and surname, is often said to mean field of corpses, but scholars trace it to an older British name meaning grey wood.

These false friends are worth knowing if you want a character name with dark symbolism. A villain named Todd will not carry a hidden meaning of death, while a Todt will. The meaning column in the list gives the real source of each name, so you can choose a name for its real history. As always, these meanings describe words, not people, and families with these names are no more morbid than anyone else.

Frequently asked questions

Are there real last names that mean death?

Yes, though they are rare. The English surname Death and the German Todt are usually traced to words for death, probably through nicknames for actors who played Death in medieval plays. Mortimer contains the Old French mort, dead, from a place name describing still water.

Is Death a real surname?

Yes. Death is an old English surname, found especially in the east and south of England. Some bearers pronounce it to rhyme with teeth, and some families have changed the spelling to De Ath or D'Eath. Its likely origin is a nickname from medieval pageants.

Does Mortimer mean dead sea?

Roughly, yes. Mortimer comes from Mortemer in Normandy, built from Old French mort, dead, and mer, sea or pool. The name described a stagnant body of water rather than the Dead Sea of the Middle East, and it came to England with Norman lords after 1066.

Does Todd mean death in German?

No. The English surname Todd comes from a northern dialect word for a fox, probably a nickname for a cunning person. The German word for death is Tod, and the surname Todt often comes from it, but the two names are unrelated despite the similar spelling.