Invented Girl Names

This Dana-Donna variation has started to carve out its own place on popularity lists; an interesting alternative to Daniella as a namesake for a relative named Daniel.

Cerie -- which may be thought of as a variation of Siri or Cherie or Ceri but in fact is related to none of them -- is the name of Liz Lemon's assistant Cerie Xerox on 30 Rock. The gorgeous Cerie's name is pronounced seh-REE. As baby names go, you could do worse. But you could also do a lot better.

This unusual name, created by the singer Brandy for her daughter, uses punctuation in an inventive way -- a trend that takes creative spelling to a new but sometimes confusing level.

Laudine is a name from Arthurian legend, created in the 12th century by poet Chrétien de Troyes for his romance titled Yvain. Laudine, known as the Lady of the Fountain, marries the protagonist, Yvain, after he slays her husband.

Rylen, an invented name related to Rylan, Ryland, and more distantly to Riley, is now in the girls' column thanks to its choice for their first daughter by football great Drew Brees and wife.

Arlenis Sosa, the hot young supermodel from the Dominican Republic, is popularizing this lovely and unusual choice, related to Arlen or Arlene.

With Henley and Kinsley two of the most popular new ley-ending baby names for girls, why not Hensley? We can think of several reasons, but if you like this style of name, Hensley is as attractive as any.

The name Drasna was created for a Pokémon character. Her name was derived from the Latin botanical name dracaena, which in turn is from drakōn, the Greek word for "dragon." Fittingly, Drasna used Dragon-type Pokémon in battle.

Lynlee — in which two popular suffixes meet to become one trendy name — has been rising up the US stats since 2000s. While it has yet to reach the popularity levels of Everly or Raelyn, and while it is still lagging behind more recently popular choices, Lakelynn and Whitley, it was given to 125 girls in 2023, twice the number born in 2010.

Raylan may be on the rise as a baby name thanks to (male) TV lawman Raylan Givens, but the name is also occasionally used for girls: the statistical gender split is 15 to 1. The -lan ending might be thought of as Lynn-like, with Raylan an updated spin on such midcentury concoctions as Rae-Lynn.

Amber begot Ember expanded into Emberly, Emberlyn, and Emberlynn -- and undoubtedly many more variations. Emberlyn has a rhythmic Kimberly vibe too, so it might be an honor name for a grandma Amber, Kim, or Lynn.

Feminization of Namor, a name created for a Marvel Comics character by spelling Roman in reverse. Namora is also a comic book superhero, and cousins with her namesake Namor.

Kaylin and all of its forms have made many appearances in the Top 1000 in recent years. Kailyn is also the Turkish goddess of crossroads, kings and queens.

A Frenchy name that doesn't exist in France, probably an attempt to create a classy feminine version of John or Johnny by rhyming it with Monet.

Similar to Malaysia, except completely invented.

Spelling variant Kailee has never been as popular as the y spelling of the name.

A hybrid of Birdie and Ella used briefly in the early 20th century.

Sirje is a uniquely Estonian name of unconfirmed origins, although the story goes that it was created and offered up by Julius Mägiste, a linguist, in 1929. He derived it from the word sinisirje, meaning "blue-feathered" and tied to a mythical bird creature in the Kalevipoeg, Estonia's national epic. Eugen Kapp used Sirje for one of the characters in his 1945 opera Tasuleegid, which roughly translates to "The Flames of Fame."

Somehow a "y" got stuck in a glass of apple juice.

The invented Daleyza was the fastest-rising girls' name in the US in 2013, thanks to the adorable young daughter of Larry Hernandez, star of Larrymania. If you've been out of the world of baby names for a while, you may be surprised to learn that Daleyza is now one of the most popular girl names starting with D.