(Beware his many forms!)

Although, personally, I don't believe in the devil, I find it amusing that people are so reluctant to take responsibility for their actions that they invented a scapegoat. The theme is popular across a broad range of cultures and languages, so he has (she has?) accumulated a lot of names.  I thought it would be fun to collect a list of names (there are currently 57), so that you can select the most appropriate one when the need arises.  I wonder... does anyone or anything else have this many names?

All of these forms refer to only the head honcho- no littler demons, sprites, or minions here (sorry billg). I've got entries listed alphabetically, and also a small categorized index. Enjoy!
 
 

• Biblical / Hebrew
• Euphemisms (when you just can't bring yourself to say his name)
• Old ...
• Titles
• Non-Christian/Judeo/Greek/Roman Cultures

Old Boy	Old Gooseberry	Old Bendy
Old Ned	Old Nick	Old One
Old Scratch	Old Harry	Horny, Old Horny
Old Cloots	Old Serpent

 
 

Prince of Darkness	Prince of Demons	Prince of Devils
Prince of Pain	Monarch of Hell

 
 

	See Pentagram
Aeshmã Daevã	Evil spirit of Iranian myth.
Abaddon	From Hebrew for "destruction."
Aldormanndiobla	Anglo-Saxon.
Angel of the bottomless pit	Biblical, Revelations 9:11
Angel of deepness	Biblical, Revelations 9:11
Apollyon	The destroyer. From the Greek "to lose." Chief demon of the abyss.
the Archfiend
Asmodeus	Evil spirit of Persian legend. Asmodeus was driven away from Tobit's fiancee (throughout Tobit, I'm not entirely sure of the chapter references, I'm afraid) by the stink of burning fish. He hung around her, y'see, and killed all her husbands. Cause he's an awkward old bugger, when y'get down to it. [HWS]
Beelzebub (Beelzebul)	Originally god of Ekron. From Hebrew for "fly-lord." (2 Kings, 1:2).  Modern use comes from the New Testament (Matthew 12:24) in the sense of prince of devils.  Revised Standard Edition, 2 Kings, i 2: Now Ahazi'ah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Sama'ria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, "Go, inquire of Ba'al-ze'bub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness."  Revised Standard Edition, Matthew xii 24: But when the Pharisees heard it they said, "It is only by Be-el'zebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons." In Milton's Paradise Lost, Beelzebub is Lucifer's second-in-command who fights with him, falls with him, and bears the brunt of his angstful ranting throughout much of Book I. [HWS]
Belial	From the Hebrew words for "not" and "use."  Worthlessness or wickedness, often personified. Old testament, Deut 13:13
Old Bendy	The Devil, who will bend to anyone's inclination.
Beng	The Gypsy name for the devil. The Bengs often battle God, but are always defeated. They live in the woods where they conduct their evil businesses at night. (Encyclopedia Mythica)
Berith	The alchemists' devil who would change all metals into gold.  Interestingly enough, this is also the Jewish ceremony of circumcision.
Black Donald	A name given to the devil in Scottish folklore.  One of the disguises he can take is an old man in a black suit.
Old Boy
Clootie  (Old Cloots)	Scottish. The name comes from cloot, meaning one division of a cleft hoot.  There is a piece of land, called Clootie's Croft, that is left untilled or found untillable as a gift to the Devil. (Encyclopedia Mythica)
the Cloven Hoof	A reference to depictions of the Devil's feet.
Demogorgon	Apparently Latin for "divinity/demon" + "terrible". Dates from 5th century.
the Deuce	Two, the lowest throw possible with a pair of dice.
Devel	Middle English.
Devil	From the Anglo-Saxon, Greek, and Latin word meaning for "slanderer" or "adversary, procecutor". Used as a translation for the Hebrew word satan.  Definitions:  The personal supreme spirit of evil and unrighteousness.  The tempter and spiritual enemy of mankind; the adversary of God.  Leader of all apostate angels and ruler of hell.  The personification of evil.
Diablo	Spanish.
Diabolus	Late Latin.
Diabolos	Greek, meaning, literally, "slanderer."
the Dickins
Eblis	From Arab "iblis," chief of the spirits expelled from Paradise.
Ebru Labadon	As in Revelations 9:11 Wyclifite Bible Translations, circa 1380.
the Fallen Angel
the Foul Fiend
Frau Welt	The name that was given to the female supernatural paramour or fairy mistress of general European folk belief by medieval clerics; and according to them, the Devil. (Encyclopedia Mythica)
Old Gooseberry	A gooseberry can be a chaperon, possibly meaning an adult who pretends to pick gooseberries while keeping an eye on the younger people. But you'd think that this would keep youngsters out of trouble!
Hades	Originally used by Homer to name the god of the lower world. It was later changed to mean his kingdom.
Old Harry	Meaning "home ruler," or from the Anglo-Saxon "hergian" - to make war.
Ordog	A demonic creature from Hungarian mythology. It personifies the dark aspects of the world. Later it is identified with the devil. (Encyclopedia Mythica)
Hiisi	A Finnish forest-god whose cult was especially spread throughout eastern Finland. In later times he was degraded to a wood spirit, and his name even became a synonym for "devil". (Encyclopedia Mythica)
Horny, Old Horny	A English and Scottish euphemism for the Devil, presumably because of his horns.
Lucifer	Morning star. Latin. Applied by mystical interpretation of Is. xiv. 12 to Satan.
Mephistopheles	The ironic demon of Goethe's Faust. Earlier forms: Mephostophiles (1597) and Mephostophilis (1590) probably because it's so hard to spell. Origin unknown.
Monarch of Hell
Old Ned
Old Nick	17th century. May be from the German "Nickel," meaning goblin. Also means copper-nickel, a deceptive ore.
Old One
Pentagram	The two up-pointed ends of the star represent Satan's horns.
Pluto	Greek god of the Underworld.
Prince of Darkness
Prince of Demons	Biblical. Revised Standard Edition, Matthew 12:24 says:  But when the Pharisees heard it they said, "It is only by Be-el'zebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons."
Prince of Devils	Biblical. KVJ, Matthew 12:24 says:  "But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils."  (Devils refered to minor demons.)
Prince of Pain
Rodger	An old term for thief or devil (as in the pirate ship, the Jolly Rodger)
Satan	From Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, meaning "to plot against" or "the adversary."
Old Scratch	Altered form of earlier "Scrat." From the Old Norse "Skratte" for goblin.
Old Serpent
Son of the Morning	A reference to Lucifer, the morning star.
Supay	The evil spirits of the Quechua-speaking Incas of Peru. It was also the name of the God of Death and lord of the Incan underworld. Today the Catholic Indians of Peru and Bolivia apply the word to the Devil. (Encyclopedia Mythica)
Velnias	Ancient Lithuanian term. (Encyclopedia Mythica)
Velns	Ancient Latvian term.

 

A most excellent site: Encyclopedia Mythica, where you'll find not only Supay and his friends, but also sort of ogres and goblins. Also, the many devils - the minor minions who help in the day-to-day operations of hell, or are specialists in particular types of mischief.

Thanks to [HWS] for her contributions.

Legal info (of course!): Please don't use this commercially, otherwise damn you! ©1998-2001 John Maushammer