It’s time for the Great Halloween Baby Names 2017 opening round contest.
What, you might ask, is Halloween Baby Names 2017?
If you’re a long-time reader you know that Appellation Mountain already hosts two annual contests. We play March Madness every spring, with the most popular names on the site facing off for the title. In July, we hold the New Names Showdown, with names new to the US Top 1000 vying for the prize.
So how ’bout the Fall?
Time to feature fictional creatures.
Think Halloween and baby names, and you’ll quickly list dozens of great names worn by things that go bump in the night. Werewolves and ghouls and monsters of all sorts have worn some truly fabulous names, but we’re starting with two of the biggest categories: Witches versus Vampires.
Because witch names skew feminine, this contest is just for girls’ names.
Vote for your very most favorite in both categories: Witches AND Vampires.
You’ll vote for your favorite name in each category: Witches and Vampires. The top four favorites in each category advance to the Quarter Finals next week, when they’ll face off based on the results of this week’s match. On October 28th, the most popular witch name takes on the most popular vampire name for the title of Halloween Baby Name of 2017.
Ready, set, vote!
Halloween Baby Names 2017 Opening Round: Witches
Hermione – This ancient name brings to mind whip smart witch Hermione Granger of Harry Potter fame.
Millie (Mildred) – The anti-Hermione, Mildred Hubble ranks at the bottom of her class at Miss Cackle’s Academy for Witches, but we love her anyway.
Piper – Which of the Charmed witches’ names to use? Piper, Phoebe, Prudence and half-sister Paige all have their merits, but middle sister Piper enters the ring this time.
Sabrina – From comic strips to the small screen, Sabrina the Teenage Witch has more than five decades’ worth of spellbinding to make this name magic.
Tabitha – Another television witch, Tabitha was the daughter of mortal Darren and other-worldly Samantha on 1960s sitcom Bewitched.
Thessaly – Neil Gaiman gave us an ancient witch by this name in Sandman. The author borrowed her name from the region in ancient Greece known for witches.
Willow – Another television witch, red-headed Willow helped Buffy the Vampire Slayer bring down the forces of evil for seven seasons.
Winifred – In 1993, Disney gave us the Sanderson sisters in Hocus Pocus. She’s the oldest of the three sisters, and the ringleader in 1693 – and three hundred years later, too.
Vote for your favorite!
Halloween Baby Names 2017 Opening Round: Vampires
Amelie – The grande dame of The Morganville Vampires, Amelie features in the long-running book series as the founder and protector of the safe haven for the undead.
Claudia – Anne Rice gave us the chilling child vampire in her smash hit Interview with the Vampire. A young Kirsten Dunst played the part.
Drusilla – One of the villains from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Drusilla was Victorian young lady turned creature of the night.
Elena – The main character in the CW’s The Vampire Diaries doesn’t start out undead. But the girl-next-door’s life is flipped upside down – again and again – over the course of the long-running series.
Esme – Matriarch to Twilight’s Cullen clan, Esme has transformed from JD Salinger literary rarity to rising favorite thanks in part to the supernatural blockbuster.
Lucy – The classic Dracula gives us Lucy Westerna, though adaptations of the tale have changed her name and other significant details. In the original, she’s the count’s first victim in London.
Mavis – Hotel Transylvania offers a very different take on the Dracula tale. It’s told from the monsters’ point-of-view, and it stars a perky teenage vampire called Mavis. Voiced by Selena Gomez, the movie has served to reinvigorate the formerly fusty name.
Sophie-Anne – True Blood stands as one of the most successful supernatural series of recent years, and Sophie-Anne LeClerq reigned as the series’ vampire queen for three unforgettable seasons.
Vote for your favorite!
Ooh, or Margarita (Master and Margarita), Serafina (His Dark Materials) or Jadis (Chronicles of Narnia)?
Hermione, Tabitha and Thessaly are all amazing! I went for Hermione, after much deliberation.
So many great HP witch names: Minerva, Demelza, Ginevra, Luna, Pomona, Celestina, Lavender, Bellatrix, Fleur… plus many many more.
And how about Eglantine, from Bedknobs and Broomsticks? I was fascinated by that one as a child!
I know, Katinka! It was tough to narrow it down to just eight in BOTH categories.
Love Eglantine.
Esme is also a witch’s name, or nickname anyway! Esmerelda Weatherwax of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is one of my all time favorite witches.
So, are we supposed to vote based on which ones we like better as a name for a baby human, or which we like better as a name for a witch/vamp? I have kids named Millie and Winifred, but I wouldn’t think of either of those as a particularly witchy name. (If I did, I wouldn’t have used them.)
I voted for Elena and Hermione.
Not been on your blog for a while but I wasn’t disappointed when I returned, fantastic feature, wonderful list of names!
So many great names! I had a really hard time choosing just one from each category..I have to say though, I think Salem should have been a contender..
How fun!