Was the Name of the Vampire Count in Dracula, Varney?

25 March 2026

Was the name of the vampire count in Dracula, Varney? The answer is no, but I recently discovered it’s a question that thousands of people have been asking online. In his book Dracula, Bram Stoker never reveals the count’s first name. He always refers to him as Count Dracula, Dracula, or the count. Varney, is a vampire from an earlier work of fiction called Varney the Vampyre; or the Feast of Blood.

I was surprised to learn so many people want to know if Dracula was called Varney, and find it hard not to smile when I think about what the Count’s initials would have been if Stoker had decided to name him Varney Dracula. Thankfully, he didn’t, and, let’s face it, Varney would never pass as an East European name.

Had I not happened to check some stats provided by Bing Webmaster Tools, I would have remained blissfully ignorant of the confusion surrounding Count Dracula and Varney the Vampire. However, I am presently adding Varney the Vampire to my site, as an online book. The site also has a couple of additional pages about Varney the Vampire, including an FAQ, so when people use the search term “Was the name of the vampire count in Dracula, Varney?” pages from my site turn up in the search engine results pages (SERPs). So far, nobody has clicked through from the SERPs, but that’s not surprising. None of my pages answer the question. Why would they? I didn’t know anyone would be looking for this information. I do now. Hence, a blog post I never expected to write.

 

Who Is Dracula?

Dracula is a fictional character created by Bram Stoker. He is originally from Transylvania, but later moves on to fresh feeding grounds in England, where he lands at Whitby and begins putting his evil plans into motion.

 

Who Is Varney the Vampire?

Varney the Vampire (Varney the Vampyre) is a fictional character who appeared in a long run of British penny dreadful magazines. The magazines were later reprinted in a three-volume book. In the early chapters, Varney appears as Sir Francis Varney. Later he assumes a variety of identities including Baron Stolmuyer of Saltzburg and Colonel Deverill.

 

Why the Confusion?

It’s hard to speculate why anyone would confuse Varney with Dracula. Both are aristocratic, titled vampires who move in upper-class settings and prey on the “respectable” families who live near them, but to make this connection, you need to be familiar with both stories, and those who are, would know Varney and Dracula are not the same person.

Dracula is certainly the most famous of the two. The story has been dramatized countless times. People who are familiar with the story of Varney the Vampire are likely to be few and far between, but it’s possible a greater number of people will have heard the name Varney the Vampire, and, being unfamiliar with the story, presumed a possible connection to Dracula and then asked the search engines if the two vampires are one and the same.

 

Varney Vs. Dracula

If you have read neither book, and are considering reading one of them, begin with Dracula. It’s better written and easily the superior story. It’s also much shorter. Varney the Vampire is as much a period drama as it is a horror story, and is less likely to appeal to fans of the genre. Later, if you are curious, read Varney the Vampire. It may not be on the same level as Dracula, but it’s certainly not unbearable to read.

 

Additional FAQs About Dracula

1. Was Dracula a real person?

The short answer is no. However, although Stoker drew some of his inspiration from Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s story Carmilla, and may also have been influenced by Varney the Vampire, he drew further inspiration from historical accounts of Vlad III, the 15th-century Prince of Wallachia, better known as Vlad the Impaler.

2. What are Dracula’s powers?

In the original story, Count Dracula possesses a number of supernatural abilities. His powers include shapeshifting into animals and mist, commanding nocturnal animals, and manipulating the weather. He also has superhuman strength, has powers of hypnosis, and has telepathic capabilities that allow him to form a psychic link with his victims.

3. Does Dracula die in the sun?

Although this is certainly the case in a number of Dracula films, including Horror of Dracula (1958), that’s not the way it goes in the original book. In Stoker’s novel, sunlight merely weakens Dracula and limits his ability to use his supernatural powers. The “death by sunlight” trope actually appears to come from the film Nosferatu (1922).

4. How is Dracula killed in the book?

Although driving a wooden stake through a vampire’s heart is considered the gold standard way to kill the undead, that’s not how it happens in the novel. It ends with Quincey Morris plunging a Bowie knife into Dracula’s heart while Jonathan Harker uses a Kukri knife to cut off the vampire’s head. This two-man effort turns the count to dust.

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