930+ Invented Baby Names (with Meanings & Popularity)

Queen Nehelenia is a villain in the Sailor Moon anime franchise. Her name is likely a reference to both the mineral nepheline — as many Sailor Moon characters are named after minerals — and Nehalennia, a German or Celtic goddess.

Popular in Puerto Rico since the 2000s and now in the US too, Dariel is a modern, elaborated form or Darrell or Darren, inspired by the likes of Gabriel and Daniel. Darrell (which might also be the inspiration behind Darren) derived from a Norman French surname, d'Airelle, referring to someone who came from Airelle in France.

In the Top 1,000 since 1996, a less expected alternative to Omar.

The origins of Lucentio are a bit hazy — it's possible Shakespeare invented the name for his play The Taming of the Shrew, where Lucentio ends up marrying Bianca. However, it may have been an obscure Italian variation of Lucentius, existing before Shakespeare's time.

Lagging about 400 slots behind the original.

Lynn is a particularly popular suffix for combination names, dating from the days of Marilyn through Katelynn to today's Ashlyn and Brooklyn and, right, Skylynn (or Skylyn or Skylinn or Skylynne). Skylynn is probably more influenced by the trendy Skylar than by word name Sky, but Skylar itself is a variation on the Dutch Schuyler.

Majora's Mask was the title of a lauded Nintendo 64 game in the Legend of Zelda series, in which Majora was the main villain. The character's name was reportedly coined by the game's art director, Takaya Imamura, using Japanese characters from his own name and the title of the movie Jumanji.

Invented in 1939 as the name of Marvel Comics character Namor the Sub-Mariner. Bill Everett, the creator, decided on Namor after writing noble, dignified names in reverse—Namor is Roman spelled backwards.

Made famous by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, whose parents fashioned her name from a musical term meaning "with sweetness".

What do you call it when you're acting like a Kyle? Kylin'.

Attempts to update traditional Josiah have landed this name in the Top 1000. It falls in line with trendy spellings of names that opt for an additional x, y, or z whenever possible.

If you're not finding Nemo unusual enough, consider the even more eccentric Emo, which may have been invented by comedian Emo Philips.

The misspelling that created an indelibly one-person name.

Leica is a camera brand that made the news years ago when a photographer gave it to his daughter. It has never charted as a baby name in the US but is definitely a plausible (and attractive) choice for the daughter of a photography lover.

Character from the Mortal Kombat video games. Could be an interesting way to get to the nickname Mac.

A Scottish word name and a short form of Brayden, Brae has a gentle but solid feel to it. However, a 'bray' is also the sound a donkey makes.

Daxter feels like a blend between Dexter and Baxter. If you like it better than either of those, then go for it.

The Social Security Lists show Willodean and all its variant spellings to have been used throughout the 1920s and 30s especially in Southern states. There are a few theories on its origins (an invented name created to honor William/Willard and a a female name ending in "-dine", or it may be an Anglicization of a Native American name).