Invented Girl Names

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.

Girl names ending in lani are one of the hottest trends of recent years, thanks to the lilting and lyrical Hawaiian name Leilani. Leilani has inspired a number of offshoots, including Kehlani and Meilani.

Timberly emerged on the charts in 1960 as an alternative to Kimberly. It never caught on and has been given to no more than 25 baby girls each year since. These days it may also be seen as an elaboration of Timber, an up-and-coming gender-neutral nature name.

Caïssa was invented as a goddess of chess by Italian poet Marco Girolamo Vida in 1527. The name is known in the chess community, but not much outside of that.

Brenley: a compound of trendy syllables or Brinley variation? It's totally up to you.

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.

One of a handful of invented names inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic, along with Kovid and Krown.

The ultimate romantic elaboration of Winter, Wyntreaux feels like it's straight out of a fantasy novel.

A modern invented name, possibly a variation on Ziola, which comes from Greek Zoilos meaning "lively". It appears in several songs by the band Jane's Addiction, inspired by the adopted name of a former girlfriend of one of the band members.

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.

Kaylynn follows a current trend in naming: add a -lynn or -lin suffix to a simple, single-syllable moniker. Alternate spellings include Kailyn, Cailin, and Kaylen. This variation has one too many Ys, and one too many Ns.

Blending the sounds of Bryce, Brian, Riley and Kylie, Bryleigh is a modern invention that ranked in the US Top 1000 from 2010 to 2017, alongside its more popular counterpart, Brylee. Peaking in 2015 when it was given to 320 girls, Bryleigh has since been in decline, pushed out by Brynleigh and Everleigh.

Spelling variation of Erin invented for a character on the science fiction TV show Farscape.

Ziana could be used as a Xiana variant or nickname for Luziana or Graziana, but fair warning — it's also the name of prescription acne medication.

Clia could be seen as a variation of Clea (probably another invented literary name), or the creation of L. Frank Baum for a mermaid Princess character in one of his Oz books. Offers a similar choice to Cleo vs Clio.

Cienna is Sienna's much rare sister, though it's popular enough to have been given to over 100 baby girls in the US last year. Since Princess Beatrice's use of Sienna, this name and variations are sure to gain popularity.

Sister to rising young actress Quvenzhané Wallis.

Kiari is the middle name of the celebrity child of rappers Cardi B and Offset...and also the first name on her dad's birth certificate. If you like unique modern names, this is an attractive option that's a fresh spin on more established options for both genders, such as Kiara and Kyrie.

Douglas Adams invented this name for a character (aka Tricia) in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It has a nice, trilly sound, and is accessible via its kinship with Gillian/Jillian.