Names Created by Authors

Samuel Johnson invented the name Rasselas for the title character of his novel, Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia. Rasselas is actually the son of the prince.

Shakespeare invented the names Salerio, Solanio, and Salarino for his play The Merchant of Venice. The names are puns on salario, the Italian word for "salary," as each character shows great concern with money.

Rickon and Dickon are two names from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series we feel pretty confident will not take off. This one is most closely associated with Rickon Stark, the youngest and less articulate of the Stark siblings.

Istredd is the name of sorceress Yennefer's former lover in The Witcher series, created by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. Some sources theorize that the name is related to the Scandinavian royal name Astrid.

A character name in George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, featured in the GOT prequel House of the Dragon, where she is played by Eve Best. The character is called "the queen who never was", since she was denied the throne in favor of her male cousin Viserys.

This name, created by Italo Calvino, has been spotted as a name in England.

Fringilla Vigo is a sorceress and villain in The Witcher series. Her name comes from a genus of singing finches.

A variation of the (slightly infamous) Renesmee, created by author Stephanie Meyer for a character in her Twilight series. Renesmee has proved unexpectedly popular in the UK, while this alternative spelling has also seen regular usage since 2017, with at least one of them in the Top 1000 each year.

Looks very much like it lost its first initial.

Variation of Abilene.

Fanciful feminissima name created by L. Frank Baum for a character in The Patchwork Girl of Oz.

Lady Aurex is a character in L. Frank Baum's Glinda of Oz, a sequel to The Wizard of Oz.

Douglas Adams invented this name for a character (aka Tricia) in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It has a nice, trilly sound, and is accessible via its kinship with Gillian/Jillian.

Kincső was invented in the 19th century by the Hungarian author Mór Jókai for his book A jövő század regénye, "The Novel of the Next Century." It's still a Top 100 choice in Hungary, where it peaked in 2007.

Florimel is an English name created by Edward Spencer for his poem, The Faerie Queene.

A fanciful concoction whipped up by L. Frank Baum for a beautiful and powerful princess in one of his Oz books.

Anelma derived from the Finnish word anella, meaning "to beg." It was invented in 1906 by a lawyer named Edla Kojonen.

Caïssa was invented as a goddess of chess by Italian poet Marco Girolamo Vida in 1527. The name is known in the chess community, but not much outside of that.