Male witch names come from five places: the gods and myths, the night sky, the stones and trees and wild things, the witches and wizards of story, and old names whose meanings happen to be magical. Here are sixty witchy boy names with the origin and meaning of each, whether you're naming a baby, choosing a craft name for yourself, or naming a character.
Every origin below is the name's real linguistic root. Where a name has two possible roots, or where a popular meaning is folklore rather than etymology, the entry says so.
What a Male Witch Is Called
A male witch is called a witch, because the word has never belonged to one gender, and most men in the craft use it for themselves.
"Warlock" is the word people expect, and it is the wrong one for most practitioners. It comes from the Old English wǣrloga, which means "oath-breaker" or "deceiver," and many witches hear it as an insult. A few men have reclaimed it on purpose. "Wizard" belongs to fantasy and to ceremonial magic more than to witchcraft, and "Wiccan" names a member of the religion of Wicca, whatever their gender. The Witches or Wiccans page covers that difference, and How to Become a Witch is written for anyone starting out.
So the names below are witch names. If you came looking for male warlock names, these are the same names.
Male Witch Names From Gods and Myth
Male witch names from mythology are the names of gods, Titans, and legendary beings, and they are the classic source of pagan boy names and craft names.
| Name | Origin | Meaning and Magic |
|---|---|---|
| Aion | Greek | Aion means "age" or "eternity." He was the Hellenistic god of unbounded time, shown standing inside the wheel of the zodiac. |
| Ares | Greek | Ares is the Greek god of war . The root of the name is uncertain, and it is often linked to a Greek word for "ruin." It suits courage and protection work. |
| Atlas | Greek | Atlas means "the one who bears" or "endures." He was the Titan who holds up the sky, and his name is a name for strength that doesn't quit. |
| Bran | Welsh and Irish | Bran means "raven." Brân the Blessed was the giant king of Welsh myth whose head went on speaking and guarding Britain after his death. |
| Janus | Roman | Janus comes from the Latin word for "doorway." He is the two-faced god of thresholds, beginnings, and endings, and January is named for him. |
| Morpheus | Greek | Morpheus means "the shaper," from the Greek word for "form." He is the god who shapes dreams, and his name is a natural choice for a dreamworker. |
| Odin | Old Norse | Odin comes from a word for "frenzy" and "inspiration." He is the Allfather, god of wisdom, poetry, and magic, who hung nine nights on the world tree to win the runes. |
| Phoenix | Greek | Phoenix means "crimson." It is the firebird that burns and rises from its own ashes, and it is the name for anyone who has started over. |
| Vanir (Van) | Old Norse | The Vanir are the Norse family of gods tied to fertility, foresight, and seiðr magic, among them Freyr and Freyja. The root of the word is uncertain. Van is the everyday short form. |
| Zephyr | Greek | Zephyr is Zephyros, the god of the gentle west wind that brings spring. It is an air name. |
Male Witch Names From the Sky and Stars
Male witch names from the sky are the names of constellations, stars, and the sun, and they suit a child born under a particular sign or a witch who works by the heavens.
| Name | Origin | Meaning and Magic |
|---|---|---|
| Draco | Latin, from Greek | Draco means "dragon" or "serpent." It is the constellation that coils around the north celestial pole, and most people know it from Draco Malfoy. |
| Leo | Latin | Leo means "lion." It is the fixed fire sign of the zodiac, ruled by the Sun. |
| Orion | Greek | Orion is the giant hunter of Greek myth, set among the stars as the brightest constellation of winter. The root of the name is uncertain. |
| Sirius | Greek | Sirius means "glowing" or "scorching." It is the Dog Star, the brightest star in the night sky, and its rising marked the flooding of the Nile in ancient Egypt. Readers also know Sirius Black. |
| Sun | English | Sun is the sun itself, from Old English. It carries light, vitality, and every solar correspondence at once. |
Male Witch Names From Stone, Tree, and Wild Things
Male witch names from nature are the names of stones, metals, trees, herbs, birds, and elements, and each one carries the correspondences of the thing it names.
| Name | Origin | Meaning and Magic |
|---|---|---|
| Aspen | English | Aspen is the aspen tree, from Old English. Its leaves tremble in the slightest breeze, and folklore calls it the whispering tree. |
| Copper | English, from Latin | Copper is the metal, named for Cyprus, where the Romans mined it. In alchemy it is the metal of Venus, which makes it a name of love and conductivity. |
| Forest | English, from Latin | Forest means "woodland." It is a plain green-witch name, and the older spelling Forrest is the surname. |
| Jasper | Persian | Jasper means "treasurer." Tradition gives the name to one of the Magi, the wise men whose title is the root of the word "magic." It is also the name of the protective stone, which has a separate Greek root. |
| Jet | English, from Greek | Jet is the black gemstone, which is fossilized wood. It is named for an ancient town in Asia Minor, and it has been worn for protection and mourning for centuries. |
| Moss | English | Moss is the plant, from Old English. It was also a medieval English form of Moses. It is a quiet, earthy name. |
| Oakley | English | Oakley means "oak clearing." The oak is the sacred tree of the druids, of Thor, and of Zeus. |
| Raven | English | Raven is the bird, from Old English. Odin kept two ravens, Thought and Memory, and the raven belongs to the Morrígan in Irish myth. |
| River | English, from Latin | River comes from the Latin word for "bank." It is a water name, for flow, feeling, and cleansing. |
| Rowan | Irish, and Old Norse | Rowan is two names in one. The Irish name Ruadhán means "little red one." The rowan tree, from a Norse word, is the most famous protective tree in British folklore, planted by doors and carried against enchantment. |
| Sage | English, from Latin | Sage is two words that share a spelling. The herb comes from the Latin salvia, "to heal." The wise person comes from the Latin sapere, "to be wise." |
| Wild | English | Wild comes from Old English and means what it says. It calls up the Wild Hunt, the spectral riders of northern European folklore. |
| Wind | English | Wind is the element of air, from Old English. It is the name for breath, change, and messages. |
| Wren | English | Wren is the small brown bird. Celtic folklore calls it the king of all birds, and Ireland still keeps Wren Day on December 26. |
Male Witch Names From Witches and Wizards of Story
Male witch names from story are the names of witches, wizards, and their companions in legend, books, film, and television, and several of them are much older than the stories that made them famous.
| Name | Origin | Meaning and Magic |
|---|---|---|
| Ambrose | Greek | Ambrose means "immortal." The earliest tellings of the Arthur legend call Merlin "Merlin Ambrosius," and Ambrose Spellman is the warlock cousin in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. |
| Blair | Scottish Gaelic | Blair means "plain" or "field." It became a witch name through The Blair Witch Project. |
| Blaise | French, from Latin | Blaise comes from the Roman name Blasius, which may mean "lisping." In Arthurian legend Blaise is Merlin's teacher, the man who wrote down his deeds. The University of Rochester's Camelot Project collects the Arthurian texts. |
| Caleb | Hebrew | Caleb is usually read as "whole-hearted" or "faithful," and its literal root is the Hebrew word for "dog." Caleb Danvers is the young warlock of the 2006 film The Covenant. |
| Ender | Turkish | Ender means "very rare." Most readers know it from the novel Ender's Game, which is science fiction rather than magic. |
| Geralt | Polish, from Germanic | Geralt is a form of Gerald, "rule of the spear." Geralt of Rivia is the monster hunter of The Witcher, who works simple spells called signs. |
| Gomez | Spanish | Gomez is a surname meaning "son of Gome," from a Visigothic word for "man." Gomez Addams made it the name of the devoted, delightfully macabre father. |
| Kingsley | English | Kingsley means "the king's meadow." Kingsley Shacklebolt is the calm, powerful wizard of the Harry Potter books. |
| Lucius | Latin | Lucius means "light." Lucius is the hero of Apuleius's The Golden Ass, who is turned into a donkey by witchcraft and saved by the goddess Isis. Readers also know Lucius Malfoy. |
| Owen | Welsh | Owen is the Welsh Owain, probably "well-born" or "youth." Owain is a knight of Arthur's court who commands a flight of ravens in the Welsh tales. |
| Rand | English, from Germanic | Rand is short for Randolph, "shield-wolf." Rand al'Thor is the hero of The Wheel of Time, a man who can channel magic. |
| Salem | Hebrew and Arabic | Salem means "peace," from the same root as shalom. It is the Massachusetts town of the 1692 witch trials, which the University of Virginia documents in its Salem Witch Trials archive, and Salem is the talking cat in Sabrina the Teenage Witch. |
| Wyatt | English | Wyatt comes from an Old English name meaning "brave in war." Wyatt Halliwell is the firstborn witch son in Charmed. |
| Xander | Greek | Xander is short for Alexander, "defender of men." Xander Harris is the loyal friend, with no powers at all, in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. |
Old Names With Magical Meanings
These male witch names are ordinary given names and word names whose meanings carry something a witch would want: blessing, direction, the hunt, the stag, the dragon, or the sign itself.
| Name | Origin | Meaning and Magic |
|---|---|---|
| Asher | Hebrew | Asher means "happy" or "blessed." By sound it also recalls the ash, the world tree of Norse myth, though the two words are unrelated. |
| Cleigh | English | Cleigh is a modern respelling of Clay, from the Old English word for clay. It is an earth name: the stuff that is shaped. |
| Damian | Greek | Damian means "to tame" or "to master." Saint Damian and his twin, Cosmas, are the patron saints of healers. The boy in The Omen spells it Damien. |
| Devin | Irish | Devin is an Irish surname linked to Gaelic words for "poet" and for "fawn" or "little stag." Either reading suits a witch. |
| Drake | English | Drake comes from the Old English draca, "dragon." It is also the word for a male duck, which is a different root. |
| Easton | English | Easton means "east settlement." In a cast circle, east is the quarter of air and of dawn. |
| Grayson | English | Grayson means "son of the steward." Many people choose it for the color, and grey is the color of the space between. |
| Holden | English | Holden means "hollow valley." It is a sheltered, hidden-place name. |
| Hunter | English | Hunter is the occupation. It calls up Herne the Hunter, the antlered rider of English folklore, and the Horned God of modern witchcraft. |
| Killian | Irish | Killian is the Irish Cillian. It is usually read as "little church," and another reading links it to a word for "strife." It belonged to a seventh-century Irish saint. |
| Luca | Italian, from Greek | Luca means "man from Lucania," a region of southern Italy. It has long been linked by sound with the Latin lux, "light," though that is not its root. |
| Oliver | French | Oliver is usually linked to the olive tree, the emblem of peace. Some scholars trace it instead to a Germanic name meaning "elf army." |
| Omen | English, from Latin | Omen means "a sign of what is coming." It is the diviner's word, used here as a name. |
| Quinton | English, from Latin | Quinton comes from the Roman name Quintus, "fifth." Five is the number of the pentacle's points. |
| Sahir | Arabic | Sahir is two Arabic names in English spelling. One means "wakeful" and is the common given name. The other, sāḥir, means "magician." |
| Trance | English, from Latin | Trance comes from a Latin word meaning "to cross over." It is the state a witch enters for journeying and deep work. |
| Weston | English | Weston means "west settlement." In a cast circle, west is the quarter of water and of sunset. |
Witchy Boy Names for a Baby
The witchy boy names that work best for a baby are the ones that sound at home on a class list and carry their magic quietly in the meaning, such as Asher, Jasper, Leo, Rowan, Owen, Oliver, Sage, Wyatt, and Wren.
A baby's name has to last through a school, a job interview, and a life that may or may not include the craft. The names in that list pass without comment anywhere, and each one still holds something: a blessing, a protective tree, a wise herb, a lion, a knight with ravens. If you want something bolder, Atlas, Orion, Phoenix, Odin, and Zephyr have all become familiar enough that a child won't spend his life spelling them. The sister list of witch names for girls follows the same sources.
How to Choose a Male Witch Name for Yourself
To choose a craft name, pick a name whose meaning matches the witch you are becoming, say it out loud for a few weeks before you commit, and check where it comes from before you claim it.
A craft name, also called a magical name, is the name a witch uses in circle, in a coven, or in their own practice. Some witches keep it private, some use it everywhere, and plenty of witches never take one. If you want one, here is how people choose.
- Start from what you work with. A green witch might be Rowan, Moss, or Sage. A diviner might be Omen or Janus. A witch who works by the stars has Orion, Sirius, and Leo.
- Read the meaning, not just the sound. Every name above has its root listed for this reason.
- Say it out loud. Introduce yourself with it in the mirror. A craft name you feel silly saying won't last.
- Check the source. The names of Greek, Roman, Norse, and Celtic gods are widely used by modern pagans. A god's name is still a god's name, so choose one because you honor that god, not because it sounds good. Names from living closed traditions are best learned about from practitioners within the tradition before you take one.
- Live with it before you announce it. Traditional Wicca gives a name at initiation. A solitary witch can take one at a full moon, a birthday, or the day it finally feels like theirs.
Male Witch Names FAQ
What Is a Male Witch Called?
A male witch is called a witch. The word has never been limited to women, and most men in the craft use it. "Warlock" comes from an Old English word meaning "oath-breaker," and many witches consider it an insult.
What Are Good Male Witch Names?
Good male witch names include Ambrose, Bran, Jasper, Rowan, Odin, Orion, Sage, Salem, Wren, and Zephyr. Each comes from myth, nature, the stars, or a story about witches, and each has a meaning a witch can work with.
What Are Some Unique Male Witch Names?
Unique male witch names from this list are Aion, Vanir, Jet, Omen, Trance, Sahir, Blaise, Cleigh, Wind, and Moss. They are rare as given names, and every one has a real origin.
What Are Witchy Boy Names for a Baby?
Witchy boy names that suit a baby are Asher, Jasper, Leo, Rowan, Owen, Oliver, Sage, Wyatt, and Wren. They sound ordinary on a class list and carry their magic in the meaning.
What Are Pagan Boy Names?
Pagan boy names are names drawn from pre-Christian gods and myths, such as Odin, Ares, Atlas, Janus, Bran, Orion, Morpheus, and Zephyr, along with nature names like Rowan, Oakley, and Raven.
What Are Male Warlock Names?
Male warlock names are the same names as male witch names, because a male witch is a witch. Names with a darker edge from this list are Draco, Lucius, Damian, Omen, Raven, Jet, and Salem.
What Is a Craft Name?
A craft name, or magical name, is the name a witch uses in ritual, in a coven, or in private practice. It is chosen for its meaning, and it may be kept secret or used openly.
Can You Use a God's Name as a Witch Name?
Yes, many modern pagans use the names of Greek, Roman, Norse, and Celtic gods, and names like Odin and Atlas are now common baby names. Choose a god's name because you honor that god. Names from living closed traditions are best learned about from practitioners within the tradition first.
What Name Means Witch or Magician for a Boy?
Sahir is the closest on this list. The Arabic word sāḥir means "magician," though the common given name Sahir means "wakeful." Jasper carries it indirectly, as the traditional name of one of the Magi, whose title is the root of the word "magic."
A witch name is a small spell you cast every time you say it. Pick the one whose meaning you want to grow into, and say it like you mean it.
