The name Akeldama is transliterated from Aramaic, meaning 'field of blood' (hakel = field, dema = blood). It is the name given to the field purchased with the thirty pieces of silver Judas received for betraying Jesus, the site where Judas met his end. It appears only in Acts 1:19.
Akeldama is one of the most somber place names in the New Testament. Matthew 27:7-8 records that after Judas returned the thirty pieces of silver, the chief priests used the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners — and it was called 'the Field of Blood.' Acts 1:18-19 records that Judas himself died there. Both accounts fulfill Zechariah 11:12-13 (thirty pieces of silver thrown to the potter) and Jeremiah 32 (Potter's Field). The field purchased with blood money, named 'Field of Blood,' where a betrayer died — this geography of shame stands in stark contrast to the places of resurrection and restoration in the Gospel story. Yet even Judas's betrayal served God's sovereign purpose (Acts 2:23).