Cruella De Vil. The classic character name is so luxuriantly villainous, it’s like a bubble bath of wickedness.
The scourge of 101 Dalmatians, Cruella raised self-indulgence to an art form. She plotted to kill a whole family of lovable dogs just for the sake of her wardrobe. And if you had any doubt about her fiendishness, or her fashion sense, her name alone would set you straight.
Cruella De Vil boils down to “Cruel Devil,” but gets there in style. The feminine elaboration Cruella feels sumptuous, and the French sound of the surname reinforces the image. In the era of Dalmatians author Dodie Smith, the term de Ville (“of the town”) signaled luxury. Smith herself drove a vintage Rolls-Royce Sedanca de Ville, a car that looks suspiciously like Cruella’s. For extra bonus menace, “Count de Ville” was an alias used by none other than Dracula in Bram Stoker’s novel.
The decadent depravity of Cruella epitomizes a style I’ll call Villainess Baroque. If she is the queen of the genre, her court includes Morticia, matriarch of the “altogether ooky” Addams Family, and Maleficent, curser of Disney’s Sleeping Beauty. Those two contenders can even claim a fashion feat Cruella never achieved: they’ve crossed over into real-life baby naming. Morticia has made periodic appearances in U.S. baby name statistics since the mid-1960s, when the original Addams Family TV series aired. Maleficent has been popping up since a 2014 film elevated the dark fairy to top billing.
The names owe their existence to Hollywood, but the golden rule of celebrity-inspired baby names still holds. It’s not about the fame, it’s about the name. The elegant malevolence of the characters paired with their names to strike a chord with parents. For all its campy humor, Villainess Baroque style is as alluring as it is amusing. Even if you’d never choose such a name for a baby, I dare you to read through this name list without cracking a sinister smile.
When multiple characters share a name, I have chosen the earliest appearance. Names marked with a * have been given to five or more U.S. baby girls in a single year.
| NAME | MEDIA ORIGIN | CHARACTER DEBUT |
| Vultura | Perils of Nyoka | 1942 |
| Eviless | Wonder Woman | 1942 |
| Sinistra | The Beyond | 1951 |
| Cruella | The Hundred and One Dalmatians | 1956 |
| Maleficent* | Sleeping Beauty/Maleficent | 1959 |
| Morticia* | The Addams Family | 1964 |
| Satana | The Astro-Zombies | 1968 |
| Vulnavia* | The Abominable Dr. Phibes | 1971 |
| Syrene* | Beyond Atlantis | 1973 |
| Evillene | The Wiz | 1975 |
| Nocturna | DC Comics | 1983 |
| Mortella | She-Ra: Princess of Power | 1985 |
| Morbidia | The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo | 1985 |
| Apparitia | Filmation’s Ghostbusters | 1986 |
| Virulina | Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light | 1987 |
| Mesmira | Conan the Adventurer | 1992 |
| Hexina | Hexed | 1993 |
| Scorpina | Mighty Morphin Power Rangers | 1993 |
| Hypnotia | Iron Man: the Animated Series | 1994 |
| Despera | VR Troopers | 1995 |
| Nefaria | Masked Rider | 1995 |
| Barbarocious | Warriors of Virtue | 1997 |
| Sedusa | The Powerpuff Girls | 1998 |
| Bellatrix* | Harry Potter | 2000 |
| Warmonga | Kim Possible | 2007 |
Eight decades into its history, the style may have been pushed to its limits. If you had to name a new over-the-top villainess, what would you choose?
9 Comments
Vampira must be spinning in her grave to be left out of this article.
She is arguably one of creators of this style. She pre-dates most if these other examples and was a major contributor to the popularity and look of this archetype. Maila Nurmi (the actress who played Vampira) was the real-life model for Maleficent.
I’m so glad you brought up Vampira! I went back and forth on including her and perhaps should have, but she seemed a bit different as a persona rather than a character in a story. The fun fact I learned in my research is that Vampira was created when Nurmi attended a costume party dressed as the then-unnamed Morticia character in Charles Addams’ cartoons, and a producer liked the look.
Wow! This is quite a list. The local district attorney is named Satana.
Some classic-sounding ones:
Torturella
Tormentella
Tormentina
Terrorina
Atrocitina – sounds like a villain in a kids cartoon that regularly breaks the 4th wall
Decimatrix – for a villain in a kids Math show.
If I were trying to make it like a modern baby name as well…
Mala
Malia
Evillyn
Slay
Slaya – villainess antihero? Maybe something like Slaya DiMorte could be a modern equivalent of Cruella De Ville.
“Decimatrix – for a villain in a kids Math show”
Standing ovation for this one!
I just watched One Battle After Another and although I wouldn’t characterize her as a villain, Perfidia is a name that feels like a fit with this group.
Do you think the current trend towards simpler, softer, and more nature-inspired baby names (like Luna, River, Willow) makes these “villainess baroque” names stand out even more as daring, counter-cultural choices, or has it pushed them even further to the fringes?
I always thought Phobia would make a good villain name. It just has such a negative and extreme vibe.
Elvira and Narcissa came to mind immediately for me, but then I supposed that they would be more accurately described as appropriations of existing names that fit the villainess style.