Invented Girl Names
Updated Sun May 04 2025
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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 Pamela, 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, ordered by their current popularity on Nameberry.
RELATED:
- Ophelia
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"help"Description:
Floral, elegant, and bold, Ophelia re-entered the US Top 1000 in 2015 after more than 50 years off the charts. It has risen more than 700 spots since then and shows no signs of slowing down. Now in the US Top 300, could Ophelia one day become the next Olivia or Amelia?
- Miranda
Origin:
LatinMeaning:
"marvellous, admirable"Description:
Miranda, a shimmeringly lovely, poetic name that was invented by Shakespeare for the beautiful and admirable young heroine of his play, The Tempest, is still a recommended choice even though its popularity peaked in the 1990's, partially as an antidote to Amanda. But while Amanda now sounds dated, Miranda retains a good measure of its charm.
- Araminta
Origin:
Literature, compound of Arabella and Aminta, GreekMeaning:
"loveable; unyielding + defender; unfading"Description:
Araminta is a poetic and enchanting eighteenth-century invention with plenty of elegance and a touch of old-fashioned clunkiness. It first appeared in William Congreve's 17th century comedy The Old Bachelor and then again in 1705 when it was used by architect and playwright Sir John Vanbrugh in his play The Confederacy.
- 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.
- Brielle
Origin:
Short form of Gabrielle, French, Cajun, Hebrew, CelticMeaning:
"god is my strength; hunting grounds"Description:
Though it sounds modern, Brielle is, among other things, a traditional Cajun contraction of Gabrielle, and the name of a historic seaport in the Western Netherlands, also known as Brill. Today, it is used more widely as a nickname for Gabrielle and as a stand-alone name that fits in easily with Isabelle, Briana, and Brinley. In a recent year, it appeared in the US Top 200, ranking above the longer form and used nearly four times as often.
- Jessica
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"behold or wealthy"Description:
When Jennifer finally gave up her Number 1 place on the girls' popularity list, her crown was passed to Jessica, who reigned for not one but two decades. Jessica was the Number 1 name in both the mid-1980s and 1990s, never sounding quite as trendy as its predecessor, maybe because of its classic Shakespearean pedigree.
- 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.
- Wendy
Origin:
English, Celtic, WelshMeaning:
"friend or white"Description:
It is popularly claimed that the name Wendy was invented by Sir James Barrie in 1904 for the big sister character in his play Peter Pan, which was followed by the classic novel in 1911. Barrie supposedly took it from the nickname "fwendy-wendy", that he was called by a young girl acquaintance.
- Nyla
Origin:
Arabic, Sanskrit, Irish, modern inventionMeaning:
"winner, one who achieves; hero; cloud; wind, air; dark blue"Description:
Bright, spirited, and playful, Nyla shares sounds with the popular Isla, Lila, Layla, and Delilah, making it feel fresh and in style. A name with a number of possible origins, it made a brief, anomalous appearance on the US charts in 1941, before disappearing again for the next 60 years. It has been back in the US Top 1000 since 2001, and is currently on the rise, given to around 1230 girls each year.
- Kayla
Origin:
HebrewMeaning:
"crown, wreath; fortress; who is like God?"Description:
Kayla is a modern invented name that emerged in the late 1950s. It may have been inspired by the similar sounding Michaela, though it could equally have come about as a combination of the then popular name popular name Kay and the familiar -la suffix.
- Kinsley
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"king's meadow"Description:
Light and glittery, but with plenty of spirit, Kinsley has risen quickly into the US Top 100. Balanced between preppy and cutesy, it feels like a fresh alternative to Kelly, Kaitlyn, or Kimberly.
- Geraldine
Origin:
German and French, feminine variation of GeraldMeaning:
"ruler with the spear"Description:
Though twin brother Gerald is still in baby name limbo, Geraldine is in line to follow the path of Josephine to imminent revival—even though Gerry is not as spunky a nickname as Josie.
- Melinda
Origin:
English combination nameMeaning:
"beautiful honey"Description:
In the eighteenth century there was a poetic fad for names with the 'inda' sound, and, along with Belinda, Clarinda, Dorinda and Florinda, Melinda was one of those created at that time. It came into non-literary use in the 1840's, peaking in the U.S. in the late 1960s and 1970s: Melinda was a Top 100 name from 1967 to 1980. It began to fade as nickname Mindy ascended. Nowadays, however, Melinda feels more contemporary than cousins Melissa, Mindy, Belinda and Linda.
- Lucinda
Origin:
English, Spanish, and Portuguese variation of LuciaMeaning:
"light"Description:
Lucinda, an elaboration of Lucia created by Cervantes for his 1605 novel Don Quixote, is a pleasingly pretty alternative to Lucy. It was subsequently used by Moliere in his play The Doctor in Spite of Himself' (1666). More in tune with the times than Linda, Belinda and Melinda, it could be used to honor someone with one of those dated names.
- Enola
Origin:
English literary name and place name, CherokeeMeaning:
"alone; black fox"Description:
Enola has a lot of potential as a name: it includes the stylish 'nola' sound; it follows a similar letter pattern to the likes of Elora, Elara, and Elodie; it has a hint of Nevaeh about it, given that it is "alone" spelled backwards; it's familiar but not popular. For many decades, however, it was known only in relation to the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the Enola Gay, and has been understandably avoided.
- Lorna
Origin:
English literary nameDescription:
One of those names like Pamela, Vanessa and Wendy, Lorna was invented for a particular literary character--the protagonist of the 1869 novel Lorna Doone by R. D. Blackmore--and then perpetuated as the name of a shortbread cookie. The author claimed to have based it on the Scottish place-name, Lorn. In baby name limbo for quite some time, it was chosen by Judy Garland for her younger daughter, Lorna Luft. Lorna Simpson is an important contemporary American artist.
- Marlo
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"driftwood"Description:
Marlo first came to prominence as a perky, pretty nickname name that seemed to have been invented by or for Marlo Thomas, who was born Margaret. But Marlow and Marlowe are English surnames meaning driftwood, are more popular forms of the name, giving it historical depth and a nature meaning. And Marlo is the most truly gender-neutral, given to about 100 babies of each sex last year.
- Myra
Origin:
GreekMeaning:
"sweet-smelling oil"Description:
As with many grandmother-y names, this choice may be coming back into style.
- Anaya
Origin:
Arabic, BasqueMeaning:
"care, concern; the end"Description:
Anaya is a spelling variant of Inaya , a name that derives from the Arabic word "inayah", meaning "care, concern, help". It is an indirect Qur'anic name, and the strictly feminine form of the unisex Inayat.
- Jovie
Origin:
Modern inventedMeaning:
"jovial"Description:
Jovie has a lively and cheerful sound and makes a fresh twist on old (and new) favorites like Jody, Josie, and Jolie. It could be considered a short form of Jovita, Jovena, and Jovana - all feminine forms of Jove, the Roman king of gods - but it could equally work as a stand alone name.
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