Invented Boy Names

DeShawn or Deshawn is the more popular variation, but Dashawn charted from the late 1980s until 2010, which means it's on its way to becoming a Dad Name. Traditionally, the De or Da prefix means "son of", so this name means "son of Shawn", with Shawn a variation of John.

A common Basque name first used in French Basque writer Agosti Xaho's 1845 work "The Legend of Aitor."

Definite twenty-first- century possibilities, with its stylish K opening, strong first syllable, and softer second.

The Westerosi equivalent of Benjamin -- meaning it's a "Game of Thrones" name, for non-fans -- is most prominently borne in George R.R. Martin's novels by Benjen Stark, younger brother of Eddard Stark and a member of the Night's Watch.

Popular in Puerto Rico since the 2000s and now in the US too, Dariel is a modern, elaborated form or Darrell or Darren, inspired by the likes of Gabriel and Daniel. Darrell (which might also be the inspiration behind Darren) derived from a Norman French surname, d'Airelle, referring to someone who came from Airelle in France.

In the Top 1,000 since 1996, a less expected alternative to Omar.

The origins of Lucentio are a bit hazy — it's possible Shakespeare invented the name for his play The Taming of the Shrew, where Lucentio ends up marrying Bianca. However, it may have been an obscure Italian variation of Lucentius, existing before Shakespeare's time.

Lagging about 400 slots behind the original.

Majora's Mask was the title of a lauded Nintendo 64 game in the Legend of Zelda series, in which Majora was the main villain. The character's name was reportedly coined by the game's art director, Takaya Imamura, using Japanese characters from his own name and the title of the movie Jumanji.

Invented in 1939 as the name of Marvel Comics character Namor the Sub-Mariner. Bill Everett, the creator, decided on Namor after writing noble, dignified names in reverse—Namor is Roman spelled backwards.

What do you call it when you're acting like a Kyle? Kylin'.

Attempts to update traditional Josiah have landed this name in the Top 1000. It falls in line with trendy spellings of names that opt for an additional x, y, or z whenever possible.

If you're not finding Nemo unusual enough, consider the even more eccentric Emo, which may have been invented by comedian Emo Philips.

Character from the Mortal Kombat video games. Could be an interesting way to get to the nickname Mac.

A Scottish word name and a short form of Brayden, Brae has a gentle but solid feel to it. However, a 'bray' is also the sound a donkey makes.

Daxter feels like a blend between Dexter and Baxter. If you like it better than either of those, then go for it.

A modern invented name, taken directly from the French phrase "J'adore", meaning "I love".

Like Jaxon, Jaxen is an attempt to switch things up from the more popular Jackson. News flash - Jackson is cooler.

Sideræl was created by Grimes and Elon Musk, who used it as a middle name for their daughter Y, whose full name is Exa Dark Sideræl. They were inspired by the word sidereal, which Grimes explains as, "the true time of the universe, star time, deep space time, not our relative earth time."

Most of the names George R.R. Martin created for his A Song of Ice and Fire series of books are close variants of existing English names, but this is an exception. Gendry was a minor character in the first few seasons of the show, who became a fan favorite largely on the strength of a meme-worthy photo of his shirtless, muscled torso. He returned to the show for a key plotline in the seventh season.