Hey! I’ma young author writing a fantasy adventure book and I need a name meaning cruel for one of my female characters, who is, interestingly, a commander of [name_u]Love[/name_u].
Here is a snippet of her character, I just need a name to go with ehr surname, [name_u]Larkin[/name_u]:
“Why are you so… just horrid?” [name_m]Jacob[/name_m] exlaimed, waving his arms in the air.
She smirked, twirling a lock of black and blue hair that has fallen from her bun around her finger in that annoying manner. “It’s in my name, [name_m]Jacob[/name_m]. [name_u]Love[/name_u] is cruel, and so am I.”
Maybe move this to the writer’s corner?
I don’t think a name like that exists. Most names are intended to have positive meanings. However, you could use any word that means cruel and make it a name, like Saeva (latin) or Julma (finnish).
I did that (as I’ve said the “All About Nameberry” forum is for site/technical issues, not name advice).
Like Wandarine said, I don’t think there are any legitimate names that literally mean “cruel”. The closest I can think of is [name_f]Mara[/name_f], which means “bitter”, and [name_f]Mallory[/name_f], which means “bad luck”. ([name_u]Mal[/name_u] means “bad” if that would work better.) Oh, Lilith (meaning “ghost/night monster/demon”) might be a good option, too.
And, of course, there’s Cruella, if you don’t mind going a little Disney!
In addition to Cruella, I found Anaxarete, which means “cruel woman punished by the gods”
I can’t find much else for cruel, but I googled its synonyms and found bitter:
[name_f]Mary[/name_f] / [name_f]Marie[/name_f] / [name_f]Mieke[/name_f] / [name_f]Molly[/name_f] / [name_f]Mara[/name_f] (basically any diminutive of [name_f]Mary[/name_f]): “bitter”
Could a name related to the cold work? Cold-blooded is a synonym for cruel. So, like cruel love, could a cold heart (or something along those lines) work?
[name_u]Frost[/name_u]
[name_u]Winter[/name_u]
[name_f]Snow[/name_f]
[name_f]Neve[/name_f]: “snow”
[name_f]Eira[/name_f]: “snow”
Could sorrow work? It’s an antonym for love:
[name_f]Delores[/name_f] / [name_f]Lola[/name_f]: "lady of sorrows
[name_f]Trista[/name_f]: “noise or sorrowful”
[name_f]Deirdre[/name_f]: “sorrowful”
[name_f]Brenna[/name_f]: “descendant of the sad one”
[name_f]Malala[/name_f]: “sad, grieved”
This won’t really work in terms of name meaning, but I’ve learned that any name that contains “mal” is basically shorthand for evil since it relates to malice (think Maleficent or Malfoy):
[name_f]Mallory[/name_f]: “unfortunate”
[name_f]Malaney[/name_f] / [name_f]Malanie[/name_f] / [name_f]Malania[/name_f]: derive from [name_f]Melanie[/name_f], which means “black, dark”
[name_f]Malia[/name_f]: “bitter” (derives from [name_f]Mary[/name_f])
[name_f]Malou[/name_f]: “bitter; renowned warrior”
Maybe something related to war? Could work as an opposite for love:
[name_f]Marcia[/name_f]: “warlike”
[name_f]Kacie[/name_f]: “vigilant in war”
[name_u]Kelly[/name_u]: “war”
[name_f]Vigga[/name_f]: “war / battle”
Since [name_u]Larkin[/name_u] already means cruel, could her exchange with [name_m]Jacob[/name_m] work without her first name also relating to cruelty? I’m just asking in case non of these names appeal to you/ the character.
My personal favourite is [name_f]Malia[/name_f], since it’s pretty but means “bitter”. Plus, it begins with “mal”, so it’s obvious that her name means something similar to cruelty without the reader needed to look it up themselves.
Good luck!
I think [name_f]Emily[/name_f] means “rival”