Invented Girl Names

Modern variant spelling of Anniston

Streamlined Isabella alternative that may have been inspired by names such as the Nahuatl Isel or Dutch Iselle.

Looks very much like it lost its first initial.

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.

The kind of countrified-combo name that you would think went out with ruffled gingham pinafores. Still, it's managed to hold its ground in recent years.

Nilin Cartier-Wells is a character from the video game Remember Me. Nilin rhymes with Dylan.

Made famous by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, whose parents fashioned her name from a musical term meaning "with sweetness".

Quiana might be thought of as the first synthetic name. Quiana was popular in the 1970s and 80s, along with the same-named form of polyester.

This variant of Zaniah debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2007.

Combines the prefix of Brayden and the trendy -lee suffix, and has the marks of the popular Bailey.

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

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.

Part Cameron, part Amber, Camber may be a new name but it feels right for our times. As a word, camber means a slightly arched surface.

The newest addition to the Kylie, Rylie family, really catching on with some parents.

Eclipsa Butterfly, also called Eclipsa the Queen of Darkness, is a character on the Disney Channel show Star vs. the Forces of Evil. Both Eclipsa and Solaria, the name of her mother, debuted on the charts in 2021, two years after the series finale.

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.

Brinley deconstructed.

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

Larry Hernandez is at it again — the reality TV star known for his show Larrymania has successfully popularized each of his three daughters' names. He and Kenia Ontiveros created totally new names for their girls — Daleyza, Dalary, and Dalett, who was born in May 2020.