Invented Boy Names

Renly Baratheon was a fairly minor character in A Song of Ice and Fire and HBO's Game of Thrones, mostly remembered as the one of the show's few prominent LGBT characters. He played a major part in season 2 of the show, when he challenged the Lannisters and his older brother Stannis for control of the Iron Throne.

Gentle but mighty, Oaklen is one of the "Oak" names that are currently on trend. Inspired by the surname Oakland, it entered the UK Top 1000 in 2022.

Kayson is one of several variations of the boys' name Cason, a favorite of the 2010s when it appeared in many different forms, from the Casen to Kaisen to Cayson. Likely inspired by the popular Mason and Jason, the name is also a place name and surname, derived from the English town Cawston .

This modern name boasts a strong sound and a cool-guy image, thanks to its most famous bearer, American musician Pharrell Williams.

Is Kaison really a variation of Kason or Kayson or Kaysen, or are they all equal inventions? Think of it as Jason or Mason, Kardashianized. Cason is the more traditional spelling, one that has the better chance of standing the test of time.

More neo than Neo, this is a name heard in the Power Rangers film title Power Rangers Zeo.

Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland in Tolkien’s fictional Middle-earth. The word means "long river" or "great river".

Two Zells of note: conservative southern senator Zell Miller, and video-game character Zell, a hero of "Final Fantasy."

Brayden meets Jalen to make Braylen, another entry in this trendy group of names.

With the sprightly "Ren" and "Wren" currently in fashion, and "ley" a productive suffix to create new names, this combination was inevitable, and is chirpy and appealing. Renley has been on the US charts for girls since 2012, and for boys since 2013. It probably got a boost from the Game of Thrones character Renly Baratheon, albeit with a slightly different spelling.

This attractive name was created by JRR Tolkien for his The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. It was given to Aragorn by Galadriel and later adopted by him as King of Gondor.

Actor Terrence Howard and wife Miranda created this name for their son inspired by the Chinese mythological creature called the Qilin, a good omen predicting the arrival of a sage or ruler. Pronunciation is like the Irish name Kieran.

Cormoran first popped up as the name of a Cornish giant in the 18th century fairy tale Jack the Giant Killer, which drew on ancient British folklore. Today, though, it is more familiar as the name of the protagonist of J.K. Rowling's detective novel The Cuckoo's Calling, published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Its proximity to Cormorant, a family of seagoing birds, gives it extra appeal to nature lovers.

A mash-up of Ezra and the popular -en ending for boys' names. It may be a modern invention, but Ezren sounds legitimate and very on-trend.

The invented name Xael debuted on the charts for boys in 2010. It is primarily used among Spanish-speaking families.

This rising name, possibly a variation of the Irish Kian, has been associated with several accomplished athletes.

The name of Samsung's virtual assistant, which puts Bixby in a category with Siri, Alexa, and Cortana.

Like its cousin Braden, Braydon has been falling in popularity in recent years, perhaps signaling a weakening of the 'aden'-name epidemic. There are thousands of young Bradens and Braydons out there, including the son of Melissa Joan Hart.

Created by English poet Alexander Pope for a melancholy sprite in the 1712 poem The Rape of the Lock. He likely took the Latin word umbra "shadow". A moon of Uranus is named after the character.