Invented Girl Names

Australian writer Wendy Orr put this name on the map with her hit Nim's Island" series of children's books, about a smart young girl who lives on an island in the South Pacific. Abigail Breslin played Nim in a 2008 film adaptation of the book. Gamers will know Nim as the name of an abstract mathematical game a bit like Mancala, while fans of '80s animated films may associate it with Ratatouille precursor The Secret of Nimh.

Novalyne Price Ellis was a 20th century writer best known for One Who Walked Alone, a memoir about her relationship with pulp fiction writer Robert E. Howard, the inventor of Conan the Barbarian, which was adapted into a movie starring Renee Zellwegger. Novalyne could be a solid choice for parents trying to get to the popular Nova, though it also sounds a little like a brand of toothpaste or exercise equipment.

Novalyne

The misspelling that created an indelibly one-person name. And we mean that literally: Despite Oprah Winfrey's fame and appeal, there were no baby girls named Oprah last year, OR Orpah.

The Biblical Orpah was the daughter-in-law of Naomi.

Oprah

Game of Thrones fans may recognize this as the name of the wily Wildling who helped protect Bran Stark for several seasons of the HBO show. George R.R. Martin has cited Harry Potter vet Natalia Tena's performance in the part as the one that most changed his understanding of a character he created. Real world adoption of the name may be hampered by its familiar use as the acronym for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal organization in charge of workplace safety.

Osha

Princess Ozma was the leading character of L. Frank Baum's book Ozma of Oz and could provide a fun way to nickname Ozzie for a girl. 
 
Alternatively, it may occasionally be used as a variation of the Arabic Uzma ("supreme, greatest") or Asma ("supreme, higher").

Ozma

Paradice

Swinging London songbird Petula Clark claims that this name was her father's invention; in any case it hasn't seen much copycat usage. 

Petula

Mother of rising star actress Quvenzhané Wallis.

Qulyndreia

Sister to rising young actress Quvenzhané Wallis.

Qunyquekya

Quvenzhane Wallis, star of Beasts of the Southern Wild and Annie, is the youngest actress ever nominated for an Academy Award. Her name -- which actually takes an accent over the final e -- is a combination of her parents' names.

Quvenzhane

This eye-catchingly unique name was coined by Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden, who gave it to their daughter, born in 2020. It may derive from the Latin radix, meaning "root", or perhaps from the Slavic name element rad, meaning "happy; willing".

Raddix is among the most <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/666/unique-celebrity-baby-names">unique celebrity baby names</a> of recent years.

Raddix

Ranielle

One of several creations with the anda ending, this one drawing on the Muslim favorite Rashad. 

Rashanda

Remilia is a pop cultural choice, most notably appearing on the character Remilia Scarlet in the video game series, The Touhou Project. In the case of the character, it was invented by the game's creator, likely as a spin on Emilia. 
 
It is possible the name saw earlier use in the game Lunar: The Silver Star, however, the character was named Lemia in the English version. Remilia was also chosen as an in-game name, by professional League of Legends player, Maria Creveling. 
 
Six girls received the name in the US in a recent year, with parents potentially choosing it as a way to get to the now unisex choice, Remi, without using Remington.

Remilia

Created by lovers of the ae vowel combo. 

Rosae

Rydia of Mist is a sprite-like character in the Final Fantasy video game series. Fans of the game may consider it for their daughters as a rarer alternative to Lydia. Rydia first appeared on the charts in 2008.

Rydia

This smoosh between Samantha and Amanda might be in for some 'salamander' teasing.

Samanda

Sanelma is an invented Finnish name derived from the verb sanella, meaning "to dictate."

Sanelma

Saybie

Scarla is one of a raft of modern names that have been spun from established names -- in this case, it's part Scarlett, part Carla -- to make something new and "different."  Uniqueness is the value that drives parents to invent names like Scarla, Skyla, and Saylah, but we think you'd do better to seek out a genuine name that's more unusual and has less connection to current trends.

Scarla

 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 

 good of a name and it catches on... (ahem, Abrielle and Wrenley).

In addition to Abrielle and Wrenley, other 

 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

s, 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 

Below, see our entire collection of invented names for girls.

Invented and made up modern baby girl names including history, origin, and popularity. (Page 27)