Invented Girl Names

  1. Ornella
    • Origin:

      Italian
    • Meaning:

      "flowering ash tree"
    • Description:

      Like many a popular name, Ornella is a theatrical creation. Italian playwright Gabriele d'Annunzio created this name for his dramatic heroine in the 1904 play La Figlia di Iorio. Ornella is a feminization of the orno or ornello, which is the Italian word for the Fraxinus Ornus, a type of tree which produces such sweet sap that it was compared to biblical manna.
  2. Dulcinea
    • Origin:

      Spanish
    • Meaning:

      "sweetness"
    • Description:

      Miguel de Cervantes invented this elaborate-sounding name -- which roughly translates as "sweetness" -- for the beautiful maiden Don Quixote is obsessed with in his great novel. Even in the fictional world of the book, though, Dulcinea is not the woman's real name; Aldonza is. And because she never appears in person in the text, it's unclear whether she is as beautiful and saintly as the protagonist believes her to be. Probably not, given Don Quixote's track record.
  3. Aerith
    • Origin:

      Modern invented name
    • Description:

      Aerith Gainsborough is a lead character in the video game Final Fantasy. The name was invented by the developers as a translation for the character's original Japanese name Earisu.
  4. Skyla
    • Origin:

      Variation of Dutch Schuyler
    • Meaning:

      "scholar"
    • Description:

      Skyla is the most feminine form of the Skylar / Sklyer trend - little Skyla will never be mistaken on paper for a boy.
  5. Jadore
    • Origin:

      French invented name
    • Meaning:

      "I love"
    • Description:

      A modern invented name, taken directly from the French phrase "J'adore", meaning "I love".
  6. Everlyn
    • Origin:

      American invented name, variation of Evelyn and Everly, English
    • Meaning:

      "desired; water; island; wild boar in woodland clearing"
    • Description:

      Everlyn is one of the countless new spin on Evelyn and sisters, this generation's answer to Caitlin and Michaela. Evelyn, recently in the US Top 10, has been around as a name for a long time, once used for boys too. Ever and Everly are newer inventions, and Everlyn borrows something from them all. Nearly 70 baby girls were named Everlyn in the most recent year counted.
  7. Loxley
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "lynx glade"
    • Description:

      An English place and surname with a fierce natural meaning. Loxley is a village and river name from Yorkshire, England, famous for being the purported birthplace of Robin Hood. Loxley Chase was an extensive historic forest bordering Sherwood Forest in the Middle Ages.
  8. Annabeth
    • Origin:

      Combination of Anna and Beth
    • Description:

      This is a long-recognized smoosh name merging Anna with the short form of Elizabeth, and is one of the prettiest combo names, a possible alternative to Annabel.
  9. Emme
    • Origin:

      American invented name; homonym of Emmy
    • Meaning:

      "universal"
    • Description:

      Introduced by "plus-size" model Emme (born Melissa) and now a legitimate member of the Em-starting girls' name group, especially since it was chosen by Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony for their twin daughter.
  10. Avonlea
    • Origin:

      Place name
    • Meaning:

      "river by a field"
    • Description:

      As all good Anne of Green Gables buffs would know, Avonlea is the fictional Canadian town created by L. M. Montgomery that Anne Shirley considers home. The literary creation inspired a real Canadian town to adopt the name. Avonlea would make a lovely literary choice for any baby, and would fit in with the Ava and "-lee" naming trends right now.
  11. Daenerys
    • Origin:

      Literary name
    • Description:

      Daenerys is yet another girls' name invented by "Game of Thrones" author George R. R. Martin that is beginning to gain some traction in real life. Daenerys was used for 67 baby girls in 2013 while one of the character's titles, Khaleesi, was given to 241 baby girls. And the name Arya, also from the hyper-popular series, is one of the fastest growing girls' names in the country.
  12. Maelyn
    • Origin:

      Variation of Mae, English
    • Meaning:

      "drop of the sea; pearl"
    • Description:

      A combination of vintage Mae with popular suffix -lynn, Maelyn feels reminiscent of glamorous Marilyn and contemporary Raelynn. In use since at least the 80s, Maelyn practically doubled in popularity 2019 after singer Maelyn Jarmon won that year's season of The Voice. Given to around 180 babies in 2023, when you combine this with the 215 girls with the alternative -lynn spelling the same year, that makes for nearly 400 Maelyns.
  13. Bexley
    • Origin:

      English place-name
    • Description:

      The name of an affluent suburb of Columbus, Ohio and a section of Greater London, Bexley is increasingly being coopted by parents looking for a novel name in the Kinsley/AInsley/Paisley family. Bexley debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2016 and is definitely one of the trendiest girl names starting with B. Think of it as a 21st century Becky.
  14. Jream
    • Origin:

      Variation of Dream, English word name
    • Description:

      Families with a J-initial sibset may opt to spell Dream this way. While Dream has been climbing up the charts since its' entry in 2017 — attributed to the birth of a Kardashian baby by that name — alternative spelling Jream only just entered the Top 1000 for the first time in 2022.
  15. Djuna
    • Origin:

      Invented name
    • Description:

      Novelist Djuna Barnes introduced this interesting and unusual name with an arty, Bohemian feel to the mix. She explained that it was invented by her father, saying it came about as a combination of her infant brother's pronunciation of the word moon as 'nuna' and a character in a book her father was reading, Prince Djalma, and so he "put the Dj onto the 'una'." Result: the silent-D pronunciation (as in Django) of JOON-a.
  16. Janessa
    • Origin:

      American invented name
    • Meaning:

      "god is gracious + butterfly"
    • Description:

      This newly invented name is most likely a combination of Jane and Vanessa. Though it may not have as long of a history as more traditional names, Janessa has been a staple on the bottom half of the US Top 1000 since the mid-1980s. Perhaps surprisingly, it peaked at Number 524 in 2004.
  17. Norma
    • Origin:

      English or Latin
    • Meaning:

      "from the north; or, the pattern"
    • Description:

      Invented for Bellini's opera, Norma had some star quality in the silent-screen and Marilyn Monroe days, but at this point it's a graying grandma in baby name limbo.
  18. Elianna
    • Origin:

      Variation of Eliana, Hebrew, Latin
    • Meaning:

      "my God has answered; sun"
    • Description:

      Eliana and her spelling variations are multicultural favorites that have been rising across the English-speaking world since the turn of the 21st century. Popular in Netherlands, the UK, Canada, France, and Brazil, Eliana and sisters come with in-built nicknames Ellie, Elle and Ana which makes them versatile and appealing
  19. Lilivere
    • Origin:

      Invented name, combination of Lili and Guinevere
    • Meaning:

      "lily + white shadow, white wave"
    • Description:

      This romantic, ethereal name sounds straight out of Arthurian legend but is in fact a modern hybrid of Guinevere and Lili.
  20. Rosabel
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "beautiful rose"
    • Description:

      Rosabel, a vintage smoosh name created in the 18th century, feels slightly less frilly than her cousins Rosabelle and Rosabella. It could make for a more distinctive alternative to Isabel, or an unusual name that gets you to sweet nicknames Rosie or Belle.