Invented Boy Names

Okay, it's a little bit like Trey, and a little bit like Taylor, but exactly like....trailer?

Rhyett is a respelling of the word name Riot with a name-centric spin combining the popular Rhett and Wyatt. While rising in popularity, Rhyett might prove confusing on spelling and pronunciation, spawning a lifetime of "Riot? Wyatt? How do you spell that, anyway?"

A uniquely Puerto Rican choice. Keniel is a modern creation with the appearance of history, thanks to the biblical -iel ending.

One of the most popular of the creative spellings of this name.

A modern mashup of the popular Ky/Kai sound and the trendy -land ending. More than 60 boys were named Kyland in 2022.

A clear reference to the Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli, known for his adaptations of Shakespearean plays such as The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet. Zeffirelli was born out of wedlock, meaning he couldn't have either of his parents' surnames. His mother wanted it to be Zeffiretti, meaning "little breezes," taken from Mozart's opera Idomeneo. It was misspelled as Zeffirelli on his birth certificate.

Though not technically a one-person name, since 30 baby boys were named Shemar in 2016, Shemar stems from one specific person, prolific actor Shemar Moore. He has said that his parents came up with it by combining the first three letters of each of their first names, Sherrod and Marilyn.

Kyza debuted for boys in 2021, when it was given to nine baby boys. It has two likely influencers: Artist and social media influencer Khyzal Saleem, who uses the handle @the_kyza on Instagram, and musician Alex Kyza.

This spelling of popular Jalen ranks in the Top 1000 for both girls and boys.

Brendan, with an X factor.

A Hollywood agent created the name Tab Hunter and poof. -- the former Arthur Gelien became a fifties teen idol. We don't advise trying this at home.

Parents outside France may not know this name, but it slipped into the French Top 100 after Insta-celebrity couple Jessica and Thibault Garcia gave it to their son in 2019. It helps that it sounds similar to other currently popular French boy names, like Maël, Malo and Milan. Look out for his little sister Leewane's name in the charts in future years.

This contemporary combo name burst onto the scene in tandem with the megasuccess of then-child singer Tevin Campbell in 1989, but has been losing its footing since the start of the millennium.

Zayvion is an invented name that blends the sound of Xavier with the popular '-on' suffix. This name follows a trend of combining familiar elements to create something distinctive, giving it a modern and unique appeal among contemporary names.

This name was created for the character Inojin Yamanaka from Naruto. It is close in sound to the English girl names Imogen and Innogen.

An even more modern spin on the likes of Axton, Paxton and Daxton, with that sharp Z initial.

The -ah ending makes Jedah read feminine, but it was actually created for a male character in the video game Darkstalkers. One of the many unique baby names inspired by the gaming world.

Elijah is in the US Top 10 and is popular across New Zealand, The Netherlands, and The UK. Spelling variation Alijah however only appears in the US charts, where it has ranked in the Top 1000 since 2001. Given to 700 boys in a recent year, for every one baby Alijah, there are 16 Elijahs.

Created in the style of Jabari, a fashionable Swahili name. Jakari is mainly used among African American families in the US.