Halloween, or All Hallows Eve, comes from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which saw people light bonfires and wear spooky costumes to scare off ghosts.
Nowadays, it’s more about trick-or-treating, carving pumpkins and eating sweets – and while this year might be a little different, you can still get into the spirit of it, especially if you’re pregnant.
That’s because the spookiest night of the year – October 31 – offers some unique naming opportunities for your baby witch, wizard, ghoul or goblin.
We have a wealth of baby name inspiration on HuffPost UK Parents. Here are 10 of the best monster monikers.
Wednesday
Wednesday, meaning ‘Woden’s day’ – or Mercury day – was made famous by spooky youngster Wednesday Addams in iconic movie The Addams Family.
Adam
Comes from the Hebrew word ‘adamah’, which means ‘the ground’ or ‘earth’. Also goes well with Wednesday, for obvious reasons – perfect if you have twins!
Bellatrix
Bellatrix comes from ‘bellator’, the Latin word for ‘warrior’. It’s also the name of the character played by Helena Bonham-Carter in the Harry Potter film series: Bellatrix Lestrange.
Angel
The name Angel comes from the Greek and means ‘messenger of God’. It’s also the name of the vampire, lover and ally to Buffy in hit TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Carrie
Carrie is an English name, often used as a short form for Caroline or Carolyn. But it’s also the name of Carrie White, lead character in Stephen King’s first horror novel, Carrie, published in 1974.
Casper
The name Casper, meaning ‘treasurer’, can be traced back as far as the Old Testament – but it’s also the name of one cute, white, chubby friendly ghost.
Freddy
A pet form of the name Frederick, meaning ‘ruler’ or ‘power’, it also conjures up the name for one of 1980s film’s scariest characters: Freddy Krueger.
Morticia
Another Addams Family favourite, Morticia comes from the Latin for ‘mortis’, meaning ‘death’. Morticia always wears black.
Merlin
Merlin comes from the Welsh, meaning ‘sea fortress’. It’s also the name of the famous wizard who was King Arthur’s mentor.
Sabrina
The name Sabrina comes from the Latin and was used to commemorate the River Severn. But it’s also the name of TV’s chirpiest teenage witch.
