Invented Girl Names

A trendy choice that takes a little from Riley and a little from Kayleigh, to create the rather appealing meaning, "beam of light in the meadow".

In Disney's Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Kida is a warrior princess from the lost city of Atlantis. Her full name in the film is Kidagakash, which was created for the film. Read more about Kida and other Disney Princess Names in our featured blog.

Itzayana, one of the fastest-rising girls' names of 2016, feels like a distant cousin of the ultra-popular Isabella.

Superfans of auteur Wes Anderson may now consider Zissou as a baby name option, ever since Kieran Culkin and Jazz Charton used it for their daughter (birth name Kinsey Sioux). It's a clear homage to Anderson's film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, chronicling the journey of a Jacques Cousteau-like oceanographer avenging his partner's death-by-jaguar-shark.

Jaycee is a modern invented name, likely inspired by the similar sounding Casey and Macy.

Yalitza burst onto the scene in 2019, the year following the film Roma, starring the indigenous Mexican actress Yalitza Aparicio. Her name is a modern Mexican invented name, styled after the similar name Yaritza. -itza is a common diminutive suffix found in names such as Maritza, a nickname for Maria.

Ultimately, many parents attracted to Tinley's appealing -inley rhythm may decide they can do better with the first syllable than "tin" and move on to Finley, Brinley, or Kinley.

Jaleah is a less popular spelling of Jaliyah, which is likely a variation of the popular Aliyah. From Hebrew, the name Aliyah means "ascent" while the Ja- beginning often connotes God, so the meaning might be "God's ascent." As an Arabic name, Aliyah means "lofty" or "exalted" while Ja- is a popular prefix used in the African American community, so Jaliyah - or Jaleah might be a twist on a more popular choice, or a way to honor an Aliyah.

Credit, of course, to the artist for inventing this secretive pseudonym, but we actually have Hilary Duff to thank for Banksy as a baby name. Banksy is Duff's nickname for her daughter Banks, born in 2018. Banksy debuted on the charts in 2020, when it was used for seven baby girls.

A stylish smoosh of Evelyn and Juliette, also a variation of the invented name Evolet.

Jaylene is one of those modern creations that could be seen as an attempt to be trendy yet retro at the same time. Part Jaylee, part Arlene, Jaylene could be an honor for a Jane or a James, a Helene, or a Darlene.

A combination name and an English surname, Brynleigh has trendy sounds and two possible nature meanings. Less popular than its counterparts, Brinley and Brynlee, it is nevertheless still in the US Top 1000.

Variation of Emma with the popular suffix -lyn.

Leica is a camera brand that made the news years ago when a photographer gave it to his daughter. It has never charted as a baby name in the US but is definitely a plausible (and attractive) choice for the daughter of a photography lover.

Inspired by either Raleigh -- a North Carolina place-name and the surname of the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh - or by Raylee, a modern creation, blending Ray and Lee, Rayleigh has been steadily used since the beginning of the 2010s. Never as popular as Braylee, Kayleigh, Hailey, Jaylee, or Bailey, Rayleigh was given to around 160 girls - and 13 boys - in 2023.

The beauty brand name L’Oréal is rumored to derive from L’Auréale (literally translating to "the halo"), a popular hairstyle in France in the early 1900s. The first product created by Eugène Schueller, who would eventually go on to found L’Oréal, was a hair dye called Oréal. It is related to the French word for gold, or.

Tayla is a hybrid name, ala Sayla and Mikayla. Recipe for sudden -- if brief -- new name success: take two of the trendiest choices, Taylor and Kayla, stir, and voila...Tayla, which made it onto the hit parade in the mid-1990s.

Looks very much like it lost its first initial.

The Social Security Lists show Willodean and all its variant spellings to have been used throughout the 1920s and 30s especially in Southern states. There are a few theories on its origins (an invented name created to honor William/Willard and a a female name ending in "-dine", or it may be an Anglicization of a Native American name).

Sometimes, a new name is created by lopping off the first letter or letters. Such is the case with Abrielle, which feels like Gabrielle without its shirt.