Invented Girl Names
Invented girl names are as creative as they come. The only way to ensure that your daughter will have a one-of-a-kind name is to invent one yourself! Unless, of course, you invent too good of a name and it catches on... (ahem, Abrielle and Wrenley).
In addition to Abrielle and Wrenley, other invented girl names in the US Top 1000 include Kaylee, Milani, Haisley, Nevaeh, Jaliyah, Mazikeen, Novalee, and Skyla.
We tend to think of invented girl names as a modern phenomenon, but plenty of classic and well-established names are the result of someone's ingenuity. Shakespeare invented the name Jessica, for example. Other literary invented names for girls include Petula, Lucinda, and Wendy.
Many invented names come from TV and movies, such as Khaleesi and Jovie, and celebrities with invented names have been known to popularize the likes of Miley, Kimora, and Banksy.
Many made-up girl names are a combination of trendy prefixes and suffixes, such as Bryn-, Wren-, -ley, and -yah.
Below, see our entire collection of invented names for girls. You may also be interested in Invented Names for Boys, or our masterlist of Invented Baby Names.
- Ophelia
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"help"Description:
Ophelia is a beautiful name that has long been hampered by the stigma of Hamlet's tragic heroine—for whom he seems to have invented the name—but more and more parents are beginning to put that association aside. There is also a gutsy Ophelia in Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 Uncle Tom's Cabin, which seems to have had some influence on baby namers at the time.
- Abcde
Origin:
American invented nameDescription:
Taken from the first five letters of the alphabet, Abcde is a rare and polarizing invention. It made headlines in 2018, when a Southwest Airlines employee took a photo of five-year-old Abcde Redford's name and posted it on social media, mocking the name.
- Kayla
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"laurel, crown"Description:
Kayla is a modern invented name that emerged in the late 1950s. Despite its similarity to the name Michaela, Kayla most likely began as a combination of the then-popular name Kay and -la suffix. Alternatively, it may be a variation of the Yiddish name Kaila, which derived from the Hebrew name Kelila. Kayla can also be considered an Anglicization of the Gaelic surname MacCaollaidhe or MacCathail.
- Araminta
Origin:
Invented hybrid name from Arabella and AmintaDescription:
Araminta is an enchanting eighteenth-century invention familiar in Britain and just beginning to be discovered here. It was used in 1693 by William Congreve in his comedy The Old Bachelor, and in 1705 by the versatile Sir John Vanbrugh, architect of Blenheim Palace as well as a playwright, for his comedy The Confederacy.
- Kinsley
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"king's meadow"Description:
Kinsley, a name that straddles the line between cute and classy, continues to rise in popularity and is now one of the top girls' names starting with K. Kinsey is the name of the heroine of Sue Grafton's alphabet mysteries and Tinsley gives the name a high society spin.
- Brielle
Origin:
FrenchMeaning:
"hunting grounds"Description:
Though it sounds so modern, Brielle is, among other things, a traditional Cajun contraction of Gabrielle, but it has now spread far beyond that community. Brielle is also the name of a historic seaport in the western Netherlands.
- Jovie
Origin:
Modern invented nameDescription:
Name of the female lead played by charming actress Zooey Deschanel in the movie "Elf," Jovie definitely has a lively, jovial sound and makes a fresh twist on old (and new) favorites like Jody, Josie, and Jolie. May be considered a short form of Jovita, Jovena, and Jovana, all feminine forms of Jove, the Roman king of gods. If you're looking for a cute, friendly, but unusual girl name starting with J, Jovie may be just the ticket.
- Neveah
Origin:
Spelling variation of NevaehDescription:
In the beginning there was Nevaeh, created as a name by spelling the word heaven backwards. Except is was most commonly pronounced neh-VAY-ah, which kinda seemed like it should be spelling Neveah, at least if you didn't think about it too hard. While the properly-constructed Nevaeh has been among the Top 100 girls' names for a decade, Neveah lies just beneath the Top 1000, out of sight but not out of mind: More than 250 girls were given this backwards-misspelling in one recent year.
- Cosette
Origin:
French literary nicknameMeaning:
"little thing"Description:
Cosette is best known as the heroine of Les Miserables. In the Victor Hugo novel, Cosette was the nickname given to the girl named Euphrasie by her mother. Although Hugo invented the name, some etymologists believe it's a spin on Colette, originally a female short form of Nicolas.
- Nyla
Origin:
ArabicMeaning:
"winner, one who achieves"Description:
This name of an ancient Egyptian princess could make a fitting choice for a bicoastal child.
- Eowyn
Origin:
LiteratureMeaning:
"horse lover"Description:
A literary name created by J. R. R. Tolkien for a Lord of the Rings noblewoman of Rohan. Properly spelled with an accent over the first E – Éowyn – it would make an interesting choice for literature lovers or fans of names like Elowen and Evelyn.
- Khaleesi
Origin:
Modern invented nameDescription:
Khaleesi is an invented name introduced to the world by inventive and prolific author George R. R. Martin for his wildly popular Game of Thrones series—it's Dothraki for "queen" and is one of the titles of the character Daenerys. It entered the US Top 1000 in 2014.
- Vanessa
Origin:
Literary invention; also a species of butterflyDescription:
Vanessa was invented by writer Jonathan Swift for a lover named Esther Vanhomrigh—he combined the first syllable of her last name with the initial syllable of her first. Swift used it in the poem Cadenus and Vanessa in 1713. A century later, Johan Christian Fabricius used Vanessa as the name of a genus of butterfly.
- Jessica
Origin:
English, meaning unknownDescription:
When Jennifer was ready to give up her throne, her crown was passed to Jessica, who reigned for not one but two decades; Jessica was the top name of both the 1980's and 90's, never sounding quite as trendy as its predecessor, maybe because of its classic Shakespearean pedigree. Jessica has declined a bit in popularity but is still a popular choice.
- Mazikeen
Origin:
Invented nameMeaning:
"harmful spirits"Description:
Neil Gaiman invented this name for a character in his comic book Sandman. It can now be seen on the TV show Lucifer.
- Ashlyn
Origin:
Variation of Aislinn, IrishMeaning:
"dream"Description:
Though it relates to the Irish original, Ashlyn and its next most popular form, Ashlynn, owe more of their popularity as baby names in the US to the megastar Ashley, though all three have been dropping on the charts lately.
- Myra
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"sweet-smelling oil"Description:
As with many grandmother-y names, this choice may be coming back into style.
- Briella
Origin:
Short form of GabriellaMeaning:
"God is my strength"Description:
If you feel, as many parents do, that Gabby or Gabi is too harsh a short form for the mellifluous name Gabriella, try Brie, Brielle, or Briella.
- Aviana
Origin:
Variation of Avis, LatinMeaning:
"bird"Description:
Aviana is a name that's kinda like the megapopular Ava, and kinda like the popular Ariana, and not quite as widely appealing as either of them. But it's on everyone's scope now as the choice of actress Amy Adams for her new daughter -- ironic as she was quoted as saying she wanted a "normal" name. Turns out that Adams was born in Aviano, Italy, explaining the mystery. The first syllable of the name can be pronounced ah, ay, or (most commonly) to rhyme with have.
- Wendy
Origin:
Literary nameDescription:
Wendy was invented by Sir James Barrie in 1904 for the big sister charater in his play Peter Pan; he supposedly took it from the nickname Fwendy-Wendy that he was called by a young girl acquaintance. Wendy's heyday was once upon a time; it's now seen as bouncy and peppy—the perfect babysitter (or mom) name. It currently ranks at Number 854, a bit of a bump from its all time low of Number 936 in 2015.