Death Note names thirteen Shinigami and ranks every one of them. The ranking comes from the official guidebook Death Note 13: How to Read, which gives each death god a number from 1 to 13. Lower is stronger. Ryuk, the one everybody knows, sits at 6.
That ladder is the most useful thing in the franchise if you're naming your own Shinigami. It shows which name shapes Ohba and Obata gave to power, and which they gave to the also-rans.
The Full Shinigami Roster
Ranked Shinigami first, in guidebook order. Spellings follow the Viz English editions, with the common alternate romanization noted where fans search for both.
| Name (rank) | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Nu (1) | A rock-like body covered in eyes. Likes the feeling of others' repentance, hates sound. |
| Armonia Justin Beyondormason (2) | Jewel-covered golden skeleton on a skull throne; the King's advisor. |
| Daril Ghiroza (3) | Stacks human skeletons to pass the time. Likes metal accessories. |
| Rem (4) | Gives Misa a notebook, then dies killing L and Watari to protect her. |
| Zellogi (5) | Feathered headdress, a hook for a left hand. Curious about humans. |
| Ryuk (6) | Drops his notebook out of boredom and follows Light. Loves apples. |
| Gook (7) | Cattle-skull head, long horns. Gambles constantly and badly. Also "Gukku". |
| Sidoh (8) | Loses his notebook to Ryuk, comes to Earth for it, is terrified of Mello. |
| Midora (9) | Salamander-like; bribes the King with 13 apples in The C-Kira Story. Also "Meadra". |
| Deridovely (10) | Bone mask, linen wrappings, a scythe: the classic reaper look. |
| Calikarcha (11) | Eight eyes and a beak; the design draws on Balinese bird masks. |
| Kinddara Guivelostain (12) | Stitched head, sharp teeth. Likes violence, dislikes thinking. |
| Gelus (13) | Stitched, one-eyed doll. Dies saving Misa. Called "Jealous" in other translations. |
Three more sit outside the ladder. The live-action film Light Up the NEW World (2016) adds its own.
| Name | Who they are |
|---|---|
| Shinigami King | Shinigami Daiō, "the Old Man" to the others. No name, no rank, stats listed as immeasurable. |
| Arma | White, feathered, film-only. Holds the only white Death Note. |
| Bepo | Golden, six fingers per hand, film-only. Makes the eye deal with Sakura Aoi. |
Nu and Kinddara Guivelostain barely appear at all. Nu turns up on the spine of How to Read and in the second anime opening. Kinddara is on the spine of manga volume 12 and nowhere else. Both are fully named and ranked anyway.
Long Names Don't Mean Power
Look at the top of the ladder. The strongest ranked Shinigami is called Nu. One syllable, two letters.
The long, aristocratic names are spread across the ladder rather than stacked at the top. Armonia Justin Beyondormason is 2nd and Daril Ghiroza 3rd. But Kinddara Guivelostain is 12th, one place above Gelus.
A long name buys an air of age. It doesn't buy rank.
One or two syllables, closes hard or abruptly
- Nu (1)
- Rem (4)
- Ryuk (6)
- Gook (7)
- Sidoh (8)
Three or four syllables, one word
- Zellogi (5)
- Midora (9)
- Deridovely (10)
- Calikarcha (11)
Two or three words, no given-name/surname logic
- Armonia Justin Beyondormason (2)
- Daril Ghiroza (3)
- Kinddara Guivelostain (12)
So name length is a costume choice. Pick it for the character's personality and let the rank come from what they do.
What Armonia Justin Beyondormason Is Made Of
The second-ranked name is the one fans quote when they want a name that sounds ancient. Break it down and it's built from familiar parts.
Three registers in one name: lofty, mundane, then nonsense
The parts are a reading, not something the guidebook explains. But the shape is plain. A grand word, then something you'd hear at a bus stop, then a mashed compound. Placing "Justin" in the middle stops it from sounding like generic fantasy.
The audio drama just calls him Justin. Fans call him "Justin the Jewel Skeleton". Even the longest name in the realm gets shortened.
The Design Comes First
Every ranked Shinigami has a body you could pick out of a lineup. Calikarcha's eight eyes, Gook's cattle skull, Deridovely's linen wrappings. Each one also has a single like and dislike: blueberries and sunlight for Calikarcha, soft things and humidity for Zellogi.
That is what makes the names stick. "Zellogi" is a fairly plain word. "Zellogi, the one with the hook hand who hates humidity" is a character.
Rules That Touch a Shinigami's Name
Names are the mechanism of the whole series, and the realm's rules lean on them. From the manga's own rules pages:
- The eyes read names: Shinigami see a human's name and lifespan just by looking at their face.
- Names stay secret: a Shinigami must not tell a human the names or lifespans it sees.
- Writing feeds them: each name a Shinigami writes adds the victim's remaining life to its own.
- Love kills them: lengthening a favoured human's life turns the Shinigami to dust, as with Gelus and Rem.
One thing the rules never say is that a Shinigami is immune to having its own name written. Fan wikis repeat that claim, but it isn't a stated rule. If your story needs it, make it your own invention.
Building Your Own
- Choose blunt, rolling or ceremonial on purpose
- Give them one like and one dislike
- Hide one ordinary word inside a long name
- Let a short name belong to a powerful one
- Add a surname with a family behind it
- Use Japanese given names: those are for humans
- Borrow Ryuk's apples or Sidoh's chocolate
- Assume a longer name ranks higher
The Death Note name generator has a Shinigami mode that writes in the blunt and ceremonial shapes. It is told not to reuse canon names. If "shinigami" brought you here from the other series, Bleach's soul reapers name their swords on a different system; the Bleach name generator covers zanpakuto.
Thirteen ranked death gods, and the strongest one has the shortest name.
Common Questions
What are the names of the Shinigami in Death Note?
The ranked ones are Nu, Armonia Justin Beyondormason, Daril Ghiroza, Rem, Zellogi, Ryuk, Gook, Sidoh, Midora, Deridovely, Calikarcha, Kinddara Guivelostain and Gelus. The Shinigami King has no personal name. The 2016 film adds Arma and Bepo.
Who is the strongest Shinigami in Death Note?
The Shinigami King, whose stats are listed as immeasurable. Among the ranked ones, Nu is rank 1, with Armonia Justin Beyondormason second. Ryuk is only sixth.
Is Gelus the same Shinigami as Jealous?
Yes. The katakana is Jerasu. Viz's English edition uses Gelus, while most other translations read it as Jealous.