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Names To Run Away From: Biblical Names
A form of Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Names from The Bible tend to imposing and vaguely supernatural.

See also Demons Or Angels and Religious Names.

Cain is a very popular example, to the point that it has its own page. See Name of Cain.

See also Biblical Bad Guy when you've actually got the real deal making an appearance.


Examples:

    open/close all folders 

    Absalom 
In Jewish tradition, the name Absalom is considered banned or at least bad luck to give to a child, given that the character led a revolt against his father. Doubles as an Ironic Name since it literally means "father of peace."

Comic Books
  • There used to be a Doctor Who spin-off comic called "Abslom Daak, Dalek Killer".

Literature
  • The Canterbury Tales have a Butt Monkey character with this name, but that's probably more in reference to him being "pretty" (as was the Biblical character) than because of ill-omens associated with the name.
  • Cry The Beloved Country features Absalom Kumalo, son of an African preacher who ultimately ends up killing a man (to be fair, it was something of an accident).

Live-Action TV

Video Games
  • There is also a Pokémon named Absol, which is considered a bad omen due to its attraction to catastrophe.

    Adam 
Anime
  • The first, and by far the most powerful angel in Neon Genesis Evangelion. The mere act of waking up this being wiped out half the population of earth and changed most of the major landmass. Oh, and when Adam woke up it's four wings were large enough to be visible from space.

Literature

Live-Action TV
  • Adam, Frankensteinian Magitek demon-bot on Season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
  • Adam Monroe/Takezo Kensei, of Heroes who true to his name is the forerunner of all of the other superpowered people.

Video Games

    Delilah 
The notorious seducer who betrayed Samson. While Samson's name suggests a violent killer, Delilah's tends to suggest a temptress and an evil woman

Comic Books
  • Spider-Man villain the Rose (Jacob Conover) employed a cybernetic female enforcer named Delilah, both as a bodyguard and an assassin. (Unlike her namesake, she seemed to have Undying Loyalty towards him.)

Western Animation
  • In the second season of Gargoyles, Thailog makes a fused clone of Demona and Elisa Maza, naming her Delilah.

    Eden 
Film
  • One of the two villains from The Proposition is named Eden Fletcher. His first name kind of gets him on here. Since he's an evil decadent type, and, better yet, a Smug Snake his name makes perfect symbolic sense.

Live-Action TV

Video Games Real Life

    Gog and/or Magog 
Comic Books

Literature

Live-Action TV
  • The Magog are a race of horrific aliens in Andromeda.
  • Mesogog. Mix of "Gog" and "Mesozoic".
  • Escape has two guns, each named after the duo.

Video Games

    Lazarus 
Any medical experiment named "Project Lazarus", run by a Dr. Lazarus, or building "the Lazarus Device" will be intended to cheat death or even return the dead to life. Bringing back the dead and cheating death is Meddling In God's Domain, and almost certainly go horribly wrong and punish all involved.

Film

Live-Action TV
  • Doctor Who: The Tenth Doctor's incident with a Dr. Lazarus. The episode title was "The Lazarus Experiment."
  • Sanctuary had the Lazarus virus and while it only infected abnormals not human, the infected nonetheless became hazardous to human health as a result of the disease. Among abnormals it was also lethal.

Video Games
  • Shepard is revived by the "Lazarus Project" in Mass Effect 2 with no ill effects. However, the Project is simply the reason s/he survives being killed and remains the player character, rather than a significant plot point.
  • Archbishop Lazarus of Tristram from Diablo. If Big D isn't running the show, he is. Then again, Big D is always running the show. Still, the guy's a bastard.
  • Father Lazarus, a Forsaken (read: undead) priest trainer in World of Warcraft.
  • Referenced in Command & Conquer with the stealth tank, which uses the Lazarus Shield to camouflage itself.
  • Lazarus in Deus Ex Human Revolution is a radio host, focusing on conspiracy theories. Most of the time he's right.
  • The Big Bad in the obscure PSX driving combat game Auto Destruct.
  • Averted by the Lazarus Concordance, the elders of the Lost Land in the Turok series.

Western Animation

Real Life
  • Eliezer Yudkowsky may not be evil, but as a transhumanist, one of his main projects is trying to find a way to live forever.

    Moloch 
A Biblical god/demon who according to his enemies went in for child sacrifice by fire.

Comic Books
  • A (former) crime boss in Watchmen, though he's well past his prime in most of the scenes featuring him.

Literature

Live-Action TV
  • The techno demon on Buffy.

Video Games
  • A boss in the Mortal Kombat series.
  • Mortimer and Randolph Moloch, twins in the Stormwind Stockade.
    "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Randolph Moloch, and I will be killing you all today."

Web Comics
  • Moloch von Zinzer really sounds like a name to run away from, but compared to some of the other characters he's a fuzzy-wuzzy teddy bear.
    • More of an Unfazed Everyman / Action Survivor at this point. And definitely not Agatha's minion. There's also a lampshade hanging on his name, when a religious character asks if he's aware of the meaning. Moloch replies that his parents picked it from the Bible, but didn't read the details too closely.

    Nimrod 
An ancient conqueror mentioned only once in Genesis. Given that the first half sounds like a Portmaneau of "numb" and "dim," and what "rod" can mean, this name's level of badass may have decayed a bit by now. (Bugs Bunny calling Elmer Fudd "Nimrod"note  certainly didn't help.)

Comic Books

Live-Action TV
  • A subversion in the Doctor Who episode "Ghost Light". Nimrod is the name of the original Big Bad's Neanderthal butler, and a worshipper of the actual Big Bad, a Physical God known only as Light, but he's a good guy.
    • The Whoniverse has another Nimrod - an Ax Crazy undead government agent hell-bent on world domination by Britain, and complete control of Britain by his organization, the Forge, which should be itself put around here given its Orwellian type of evil and willingness to abuse alien tech.
  • In the two-part episode, "White Light" of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers Season 2, Lord Zedd creates a monster literally named Nimrod the Scarlet Sentinel.

Tabletop Games

    Samson 
The guy who killed an entire army with the jawbone of an ass.

Comic Books

Live-Action TV
  • An excellent zig-zag of the trope is Samson from Carnivŕle, who is the dwarf manager of the carnival. He isn't particularly evil or physically imposing, but he was once a weightlifter and is certainly closer to the supernatural elements of the show than other characters.

  • Samson Gray, Sylar's father on Heroes.

Western Animation
  • Brock Samson from The Venture Brothers The man is a walking TERROR. He once proposed weaponizing a jawbone, which (combined with his oft-mocked mullet) are subtle little Shout Outs to the original.

    Zillah 
The wife of Lamech (descendant of Cain). No relation to 'Zilla, the Fan Nickname for the American Godzilla.

Anime and Manga
  • However, as Toei so capably showed us, Zillah without the H is a horrible failure.

Literature
  • Poppy Z. Brite's Lost Souls's character. Interestingly, Brite's Zillah is male.
  • The third book in Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quartet, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, revolves around women of a particular line all named "Zillah/Zylle/Zyll". Zillah is actually the middle name of Meg's mother in law, who sets the events of the story into motion and is central to the conflict.

    Others 
Anime
  • Tobias, the "dreaded" competitive Darkrai trainer from Pokémon.

Film
  • Subverted in Diggstown with Gabriel Caine, who, while he is a con man, is still basically good and is unquestionably one of the heroes of the story.
  • Jezebel, in Jacob's Ladder.

Literature

Live-Action TV
  • Carnivŕle, fittingly enough for a show about Biblical catastrophes and superpowered beings, has many Biblical names, but not among the villains. The only Biblical connection on the dark side is Tommy Dolan, his first name being an excellent and prophetic reference to "doubting Thomas".
  • The fourth season of Heroes featured as its Big Bad one Samuel Sullivan, a Dark Messiah who promised to lead the "specials" to a promised land where they would be free of persecution. In the Bible, Samuel is the prophet who essentially founded the Kingdom of Israel.

  • LOST has a lot of Biblical names. Ironically, the show's resident Magnificent Bastard is named Benjamin. This should refer to Jacob, too, now that Ben has started to turn into the real powers' Butt Monkey.

  • Arnold Judas Rimmer from Red Dwarf

Newspaper Comics

Video Games Web Comics

Western Animation
  • Also on Jimmy Two-Shoes, Lucius' girlfriend is named Jez, though the connection is never explicitly stated.
  • Parodied on Aqua Teen Hunger Force, when Meatwad attempts to name what appears to be a mini-Shake that appeared on their doorstep:
    "I'm gonna name you Jesus...Ezekiel...Jesus. And that's from the Bible."
  • David Xanatos, the father of multiple trope categories?

Demons Or AngelsNames to Run Away From Really FastShady Names

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