Horror films have been ruining some perfectly good names for decades now. Or if you take it in stride, these films have made certain names cool.
Here are the top 10 names horror films have ruined … or made cool:
- Rhoda, “The Bad Seed,” 1956
Horror and thriller films featuring evil or demonic children date back to the 1956 release of “The Bad Seed.”
The child in the film, Rhoda, was a sadistic psychopath who eliminated people who were in her way or threatened her standing as an “innocent little girl.” She killed three people and a dog.
The name Rhoda is actually a biblical name and was also the name of a 1970s series, and reached popularity in 1902 as the number 255 girls name. After the early 1900s, the name’s popularity slowly declined, especially after the film’s release.
“The Bad Seed” was remade twice. The 2018 remake replaced “Rhoda” with “Emma,” which was the number one girl’s name in 2018. It has bounced between the top two popular girl’s names since then.
- Adrian/Andrew, “Rosemary’s Baby,” 1968
At the end of the iconic horror film “Rosemary’s Baby,” the satanic baby was granted his name by the cult: Adrian. Though his mother maintained his name was still Andrew.
Since he was just a baby by the end of “Rosemary’s Baby,” he garnered no kills, but was still infamous for being Satan’s son. But in the 1976 sequel “Look What’s Happened to Rosemary’s Baby,” he wreaks havoc on a variety of people as he sways between good and evil. He first embraces the name Adrian as the cult holds power over him, but then accepts his mother’s name as he breaks away.
Adrian was the number 124 most popular boy’s name in 1976, and has grown in popularity since the film’s release. In 2022, it was the number 63 most popular baby name.
Andrew was even more popular; it was the number 27 most popular boy’s name in 1976. It grew in popularity up until 2006, then it declined. It was the number 61 most popular boy’s name in 2022.
- Damien, “The Omen,” 1976
In “The Omen,” after losing a baby at a hospital in Italy, a British couple decided to adopt a baby and took him back to the U.K. to raise him. They named him Damien.
However, strange circumstances and deaths start to occur as he grows older. Damien killed many over the course of the five film series, the latest installment released in April.
The name Damien was the number 284 most popular boy’s name in 1976. The name has remained right around the same range as it was in 1976. It was the number 304 most popular boy’s name in 2022.
- Issac, “Children of the Corn” 1984
Multiple children are shown in “Children of the Corn,” but Issac, a boy preacher who touts stories of the deity “He Who Walks Behind the Rows,” is the ring leader.
Issac convinces all of the children of a small farming town to sacrifice any adult who arrives to “He Who Walks Behind the Rows,” his kill count is unknown, but most likely vast.
Since “He Who Walks Behind the Rows,” is not a popular name, Issac will have to do.
The name Issac is a Hebrew-derived and Biblical name. It was the number 694 most popular boy’s name in 1984. The name has bounced between number 400 and 700, but never reached high popularity. It was the number 686 most popular boy’s name in 2022.
- Henry, “The Good Son,” 1993
To be honest, the name “Henry” has been doomed for a long time, thanks to men like King Henry VIII, but “The Good Son” definitely did not improve the name’s reputation.
The film follows what happens after Henry’s cousin comes to stay with his family and notices his violent behavior.
Henry was the number 136 most popular boy’s name in 1993. The name rapidly increased in popularity after the film was released. It was the number seven most popular boy’s name in 2022.
- Samara, “The Ring,” 2002
“The Ring” was an American remake of the Japanese horror film “Ringu.” The remake was fairly exact to the original, except the young adult antagonist was replaced with a little girl, Samara.
Samara posed as an innocent, martyred little girl for the majority of the film, but by the end, everything changed.
The name Samara made its first appearance in the top 1,000 most popular girl’s names in 1997, and was the number 929 most popular girl’s name in 2002. It increased in popularity after the film’s release, but never rose above 200. It was the number 299 most popular girl’s name in 2022.
- Lilith/Lily, “Case 39,” 2009
“Case 39” is another film that initially follows the innocent little girl waif archetype, like “The Ring” and “The Bad Seed.”
To start off, the little girl’s name Lilith, or Lily for short, already foreshadowed her true nature, as “Lilith” is the name of the demon who’s present in a variety of religious lore.
However, she doesn’t have the same feminist-halo the original Lilith had.
The name Lilith did not appear in the top 1,000 popular girls’ names until 2010, a year after the film was released. It was the number 270 most popular girl’s name in 2022.
- Annabelle, “Annabelle,” 2014
While everyone thinks “Annabelle” is just a doll … she actually represents a little girl who died, as revealed in “Annabelle: Creation.”
Annabelle the conduit doll was originally shown in the 2013 “The Conjuring,” but the first “Annabelle” film was released in 2014.
The name Annabelle was the number 57 most popular girl’s name in 2014. However, in the years after the film was released, it dramatically dropped in popularity. It was the number 323 most popular girl’s name in 2022.
- Elias, “Goodnight Mommy,” 2014
This Austrian horror film, “Goodnight Mommy” brings twins into the evil child mixture … yippee.
Both twins aren’t who, or what, they seem to be, but one of them, Elias, takes it to another level.
Initially, Elias’ mother seems to be the issue, and to an extent she was, but by the end of the film Elias takes things into his own hands, in the completely wrong way.
The name Elias was the number 103 most popular boy’s name in 2014. After the release of the film, the name climbed to the number 43 most popular boy’s name in 2022.
- Brandon, “Brightburn,” 2019
The boy in “Brightburn,” when it came out, was thought to be the evil Superman, and evil he was.
As he experimented with his alien powers, he left many bodies in his wake, and the name Brandon was ruined.
The name Brandon was the number 141 most popular boy’s name in 2019. The name continued to decline in the years after the film was released. It was the number 211 most popular boy’s name in 2022.
Honorable mentions
The two honorable mentions include Megan from the 2022 “M3gan” and Esther from the 2009 “Orphan,” but neither antagonist was technically a child, one was an AI robot, and the second an adult acting like a child.
The name Megan first reached the top 1,000 most popular girl’s names in 1952. In the year 2022, the name was the number 729 most popular girl’s name, which was a steep decrease from its initial peak in 1985.
Esther is a religious name. It was also the number 260 most popular girl’s name in 2009. This was a steep decrease from its peaks in the early 1900s. It was the number 139 most popular girl’s name in 2022.
Ariana Powell can be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
