Invented Girl Names

This effort to update Sheryl combines Sher- with the familiar -lyn ending. Sherlyn was given to 145 baby girls in 2022, and seems to be on the rise.

A stylish smoosh of Evelyn and Juliette, also a variation of the invented name Evolet.

Sha name, by way of Janice.

Oakleigh broke into the Top 1000 in 2019, two years after Oaklee and six years after Oakley. Last year, about 600 baby girls were named Oakleigh in the US, almost exactly the same number as Oaklyn -- though three times as many were named Oakley and Oaklynn.

Grimes and Elon Musk created this name for their daughter Y, full name Exa Dark Sideræl. Grimes explained it is "a more elven" spelling of sidereal, "the true time of the universe, star time, deep space time, not our relative earth time."

This unusual name belonging to three generations of Deltha Lee O'Neals, the third being a football cornerback for the New England Patriots, could equally--or better--be used for a girl.

A possible, and not too successful, attempt to individualize Jocelyn or formalize Jacey.

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.

Unusual and unfashionable name found in Toni Morrison's novel Tar Baby.

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

Name invented for the 2017 movie The Florida Project.

Metaria was created for Queen Metaria of the Sailor Moon franchise. Her name is derived from the word "metal" — all Sailor Moon villains have metal or mineral names.

Parents seem to have decided that this spelling of popular boys' name Mason belongs to the girls -- perhaps because of its proximity to fashionable Maisie. It grew significantly in popularity throughout the 2010s.

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

Westlynn and even more so Westlyn are among the hottest new names for baby girls, rising hundreds of percentage points in use every year. Over 50 baby girls were named Westlynn in 2017, and more than 100 were called Westlyn. The attractive unisex nickname is West.

The name Kyubey was created for the primary villain of the anime series Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. It was derived from the word "incubator," which relates to the character's lack of a personal soul and desire to gain energy from girls. Kyubey is sonically resonant to kyuubi, mythical nine-tailed Japanese foxes.