Invented Boy Names

We've had Jackson, Jaxcon and Jaxon, and now we have Jaxton.

This newly invented name takes a cool short form—Kash/Cash—and adds the trendy -ton suffix, a la Ashton, Colton, and Weston. It made its first appearance on the US Top 1000 list in 2015 and has risen up into the Top 500 since then.

From its Latin root, Kash/Cash is an occupational name for someone who makes boxes, however, it is of course also related to the word "cash", as in money. The meaning of this newly coined name could then be "town of the box maker" or "money town".

A popular choice amongst the African American naming community in the 90s, Deandre has been falling out of style in favor of more contemporary choices.

This relatively new name appears to have been created by adding the trendy -en suffix to Kyle, or by tweaking the spelling of the more popular and slightly older Kylan.

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

Josiah, but with a bit of Jasper, Jasiel, and Jamar thrown in. With Josiah entering the Top 100 in 2008, Jasiah has also seen increased popularity since it entered the US Top 1000 back in 2006. Given to nearly 600 babies in a recent year, it is nine times less popular than its counterpart, Josiah, but it is nevertheless significantly used.

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.

This attempt to masculinize Jules has made its way into the Top 1000. We recommend using the more traditional spelling, as this one will likely appear dated in a few years' time.

The kind of hybrid name -- it sounds like a blend of the popular Caleb and Colton -- that could catch on despite its lack of pedigree.

Tuff, a corruption of "tough," has been given to approximately 50 baby boys each year for the past few years. Tough, on the other hand, has never charted as a baby name.

A newly coined unisex name that, for boys, feels like a cross between Talon and Taylor. One of the many unique unisex names invented from elements popular in other names.

Kiari is the birth name of rapper Offset, who passed on this attractive name to his daughter as her middle. Indeed, it resembles several more established names associated with both genders, from Kiara to Kyrie to Kai.

Not quite a nature name and not quite a surname — whatever Laken is or isn't, we know it's definitely a name to watch.

Though it lends itself well to the pleasant nickname Ty, it's also the name of an antibiotic powder for animals.

Parents with a penchant for inventing names seem especially enamored of the letter Z, maybe for its counterculture feel and its extra zip.

A less-popular spelling of on-the-rise Cason.

Reaver sure sounds like an occupational surname, thanks to its -er ending and similarity to names like Reeve, but it is actually a name invented by science fiction writers.

The first documentation of the use of Reaver was in 1988, as the name of a team of cyborgs in a Marvel comic book. More recently, Reaver was used in the TV show Firefly as the name of a group of cannibalistic humans.