Names Created by Authors

The titular character of a tragic poem by Edgar Allen Poe set in a lonesome October. Ulalume may be representative of death itself, making the name feel gothic and otherwordly. The etymology is uncertain, but Poe may have derived it from the Latin ululare meaning wailing or lumen a light symbolizing sorrow.

Ulalume

Created by English poet Alexander Pope for a melancholy sprite in the 1712 poem The Rape of the Lock. He likely took the Latin word umbra "shadow". A moon of Uranus is named after the character.

Umbriel

Mythological water spirit with the more common spelling of Ondine, heroine of an Edith Wharton novel. 

Undine

Veruca is a name Roald Dahl made up for the horrid little girl Veruca Salt in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. A modern rock band adopted the name, though few parents familiar with the original namesake and meaning would choose to pass it on to an innocent child. Verruca is another spelling, but don't use that one either.

Veruca

Invented by Swedish author August Strindberg for a 1909 poem of the same name, this quirky choice is rare even in its native land but would make for an extremely eye-catching choice outside it. It may be based on Vellamo, a Finnish sea goddess.

Villemo

A surname style choice, likely of Germanic origin, relating to Walter ("army ruler") or Waldemar ("famous authority"), though it could also relate to the Old English Walden ("valley of the Welsh"). It notably appears in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire and the subsequent TV adaptation, Game of Thrones, borne by Walder Frey, a powerful riverlord.

Walder

The name of a red-haired warrior-woman in the Song of Ice and Fire fantasy series and its TV
adaptation Game of Thrones, in which the character is played by Scottish actress Rose Leslie. Note - the name is pronounced the same way as egret - a type of heron.

Ygritte

This ancient-looking name is actually a 20th century invention, on the model of Suzanne,
Marianne, Yvonne and other similar names. It is the name of a seer in Guy Gavriel Kay’s Fionavar
Tapestry trilogy, and notable real-life bearers include musician and food writer Ysanne Spevack,
and English actress Ysanne Churchman.

Ysanne

Name of the imaginary Queen of Ix created by L. Frank Baum for one of his Oz books.

Zixi

A multicultural nickname with a number of origins and multiple meanings, particular to the bearer. It can be a short form of Bozhidar, or any other name with the Slavic element "božĭjĭ", meaning "divine". It can come from the surname style Bosley, or the Biblical name Boaz. Ambrose and Boris could be alternative long forms.
 
Boz was notably used as a pen name by Charles Dickens, when publishing short pieces for newspapers early in his career. These pieces were eventually collected in the book Sketches by Boz, giving the nickname a literary connection. Dickens took the name from a mispronunciation of his brother's nickname, Mose for Moses.

A literary name, Musidora first appeared in its masculine form, Musidorus, in a poem by 16th poet Phillip Sidney. Meaning "gift of the Muses", it could relate to the Muses of mythology who presided over the arts, to a person or other personified force that inspires an artist, or to music and songs. 
 
Scottish poet James Thompson borrowed from Sidney and created this feminine form, Musidora, for his 18th century poem, The Seasons. Nearly two centuries later, French actress and film director used Musidora as her stage name.
 
Rarely used as a given name, Musidora could nevertheless fit in with poetic choices like Belphoebe. Alouette, and Isadora.

Musidora

Used in the Harry Potter franchise for the Metamorphmagus character, Nymphadora Tonks, this name is derived from Ancient Greek. Made up of doron meaning "gift" and 'númphē meaning "nymph" or "bride, young wife, girl", it is associated with a character who despises her name and refuses to go by it. A bold choice, though it does have the familiar nicknames Dora and Nora. 
 
Nymphodora is the more classic spelling, borne by a 4th century saint.

Nymphadora

Used in the novel and subsequent Disney movie Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century , Zenon is typically a masculine name of Greek and Polish origin, however, in the book and film, it was used for a girl who lives on a space station and is sent to earth as a punishment. 
 
It could be inspired the aforementioned Zenon, meaning "gift of Zeus" or "sky", by the Breton name Azenor meaning "light" or "honor", or by Xenia meaning "outsider". However, it could equally just be an invention, created by the author as a name that sets the character apart.

Zenon

A queen in George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, featured in the GOT prequel House of the Dragon, where she is played by Sian Brooke.

Aemma

Alerie Hightower is the mother of Margaery Tyrell in the hit book and television series Game of Thrones. Though a minor character, we think this name has potential, fitting in with the modern trends of <a href="https://https://nameberry.com/search/girls-names/a">names starting with A</a> and ending in "ie".

Alerie

Aloma is a name invented for a Hawaiian dancer, the title character in a 1925 play later adapted twice as a film. But long before that, it was also used by the medieval scholar Ramón Llull, possibly as a feminine form of Alomar (from the Germanic name Aldemar, "old + famous"). The Catalan author Mercè Rodoreda used it for the heroine of her novel Aloma/, making it a classic Catalan literary choice.
 It has not been used enough to make the US charts since the 1980s, but would fit with the trend for liquid-sounding, multicultural names like Alaia and Alina.

Aloma

This lovely name from Spenser's The Faerie Queene is borne by a character who represents married love. A related unusual-yet-usable choice: Amabel.

Amoret

Names created by authors include newly conceived options like Rhaenyra and Katniss, as well as names that are so assimilated, you probably didn't even realize they were invented — Jessica, anyone?

In addition to Jessica, mainstream names including Miranda (

) were coined by writers and now have taken on lives outside of the book pages.

 were invented by J. R. R. Tolkien, such as Theoden, Tauriel, and Frodo.

, including Geraldine, Vanessa, Fiona, Stella, and Amanda.

Literary names invented by authors, writers, and poets, including Fiona, Mowgli, and Renesmee, with meaning, origin, and popularity (Page 13)