Invented Girl Names

When British beauty Laura Hollin morphed into supermodel Agyness Deyn, she created a name few others would want to adopt.

On one hand, this may be a twist on the unisex Emery, to make it more obviously feminine - and to make it stand out from Emery, Emory, and Emerie, which all rank in the US Top 600.

Like its single "n" sister name (Braelyn), Braelynn is currently enjoying its highest level of popularity. Unlike Braylin and Braylyn, the ‘ae’ of Braelynn gives the name a Scottish look, making it seem slightly less creative and more sturdy

If you're torn between Marissa and Alyssa.

This contemporary creation plays on a couple of trends by applying the attractive Z to the rhyming family of names including Hailey, Bailey, and Kayley. The -ee suffix is the icing on the cake. It first entered the US Top 1000 in 2015.

Jaylene is one of those modern creations that looks like a messy attempt at being trendy. We suggest you instead consider Jane, Jaya, Jolene, Josephine, Justine, Geraldine, or Janine for a name with a similar sound and a more classic look.

Janiyah’s star is definitely fading, but it will likely remain in the Top 1000 for years to come.

An updated form of Emmeline or Emmaline or a compound name that makes your chosen pronunciation more obvious. Spelling variation Emmalyn reached the US Top 500 in2017, but has since fallen out of Top 1000. However, if you put the two spellings together, this smoosh name is given to nearly 400 girls, placing it above Emmeline or Emmaline. Influence Emmalynn Minassian and Canadian singer, Emmalyn Estrada are notable bearers.

Though it doesn't have historic roots--it was created by L. Frank Baum for a Princess character in his book Ozma of Oz--Evella could fit well into the Eve-Eva-Evelyn group now coming back into favor.

Imoen is the name of a character from the video game series Baldur's Gate, although in real life it's apt to be mistaken as a typo for Imogen.

For girls, Taylin reads like a mashup of Taylor and Kaitlin.

Nouveau name related to Adele, Adeline, and the boys' biblical Adlai.

As modern "smoosh" names go, Starlynn is not bad. Over the past two years nearly 40 American girls have been given this name. There may be some confusion with the name Starling (a type of bird), but that shouldn't be too difficult to overcome. Beware, however, its similarity in sound to Russian dictator, Stalin.

Westlyn is a hot new girls' names, rising 350 percent in 2017 over the year before in official US statistics. It was given to just over 100 baby girls in 2017. Actor Josh Brolin named his daughter Westlyn Reign. Near-identical twin Westlynn is also growing in popularity, given to about half as many baby girls. Westlyn is a combination of word name West, also becoming more popular in various forms including Weston and Wesley for boys, and the long-used suffix lyn. West is a stylist and attractive unisex short form.

This newer sounding coalition of Jennifer and Vanessa is gaining in popularity.

Along with Siri, Alexa, and Cortana, Bixby joins the ranks of virtual assistant names.

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.