930+ Invented Baby Names (with Meanings & Popularity)

There aren't many characters in the notoriously amoral world of Game of Thrones with a spotless record of moral righteousness -- but Brienne of Tarth comes close. She's one of the most accomplished, ferocious fighters in the entire series -- she was one of the few people ever to best The Hound in one and one combat. And yet she always tries to use her power for good.

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

While Kayla has been a mainstay in the US Top 1000 list since the 1960s, alternate version Keyla is relatively new, first entering the charts in 2002. While this spelling also has the possibility of being pronounced KEE-lah, it's most likely to cause confusing and frustration in the shadow of the much more popular spelling.

As far as variations of Cason go, Kaisyn is relatively rare.

The -ayah suffix is ultra hot at the moment, with names like Alayah and Avayah attracting hundreds of parents each year. Kalayah may be building off of those, but it could also be used as a variation of the classic Hawaiian name Kalea.

Though it's a new name, sounds almost as dated as GARY and DARREN.

Scarla is one of a raft of modern names that have been spun from established names -- in this case, it's part Scarlett, part Carla -- to make something new and "different." Uniqueness is the value that drives parents to invent names like Scarla, Skyla, and Saylah, but we think you'd do better to seek out a genuine name that's more unusual and has less connection to current trends.

Superfans of auteur Wes Anderson may now consider Zissou as a baby name option, ever since Kieran Culkin and Jazz Charton used it for their daughter (birth name Kinsey Sioux). It's a clear homage to Anderson's film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, chronicling the journey of a Jacques Cousteau-like oceanographer avenging his partner's death-by-jaguar-shark.

Unisex Swahili name rising in popularity. Musician Jelani Aryeh may be an influence.

Elaboration of Dion publicized by the football and baseball star Deion Sanders -- aka Neon Deion.

Classically, the De- prefix indicates "son of," so any variation of this name could work for the child of a dad named Shawn or Sean.

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".

Riggan found fame as the first name of the hero of the Oscar-winning film Birdman, played by Michael Keaton. Riggan has the two-syllable n-ending surname feel so trendy for boys' names today. It may be a variation of Reagan or Regan or it may be a play on the word rigging. Whatever its origin, we bet this is one fictional name that will find wider use in real life.

A trendy choice that takes a little from Riley and a little from Kayleigh, to create the rather appealing meaning, "beam of light in the meadow".

A newly hatched cousin of Bree and Brea, with a touch of Bailey and Brynn there too, Brae feels like a name that could catch on. However, a 'bray' is also the sound a donkey makes.

A combination of Cyrus and Tyler, or any similar names. It may also be a variation of the surname Seiler, which means "rope maker."

On the other hand, Zarren is an improvement on Darren.

A Slovene choice that periodically appears at the bottom of Slovenia's Top 100. It first appeared on the Slovenian charts in 2011, when parents started using Nal for its on-trend sounds. However, Nal has no etymological roots in Slovene.

Fans of versatile, rising African- American actor Mekhi Phifer have begun to adopt his unusual first name for their sons.