930+ Invented Baby Names (with Meanings & Popularity)

A modern invented name, taken directly from the French phrase "J'adore", meaning "I love".

Like Jaxon, Jaxen is an attempt to switch things up from the more popular Jackson. News flash - Jackson is cooler.

An updated form of Emmeline or Emmaline or a compound name that makes your chosen pronunciation more obvious. Spelling variation Emmalyn reached the US Top 500 in2017, but has since fallen out of Top 1000. However, if you put the two spellings together, this smoosh name is given to nearly 400 girls, placing it above Emmeline or Emmaline. Influence Emmalynn Minassian and Canadian singer, Emmalyn Estrada are notable bearers.

Girl names ending in -lani are invented every year — Ehlani is among the latest pseudo-Hawaiian inventions.

Kaylynn follows a current trend in naming: add a -lynn or -lin suffix to a simple, single-syllable moniker. Alternate spellings include Kailyn, Cailin, and Kaylen. This variation has one too many Ys, and one too many Ns.

Sideræl was created by Grimes and Elon Musk, who used it as a middle name for their daughter Y, whose full name is Exa Dark Sideræl. They were inspired by the word sidereal, which Grimes explains as, "the true time of the universe, star time, deep space time, not our relative earth time."

Most of the names George R.R. Martin created for his A Song of Ice and Fire series of books are close variants of existing English names, but this is an exception. Gendry was a minor character in the first few seasons of the show, who became a fan favorite largely on the strength of a meme-worthy photo of his shirtless, muscled torso. He returned to the show for a key plotline in the seventh season.

Girl names ending in lani are one of the hottest trends of recent years, thanks to the lilting and lyrical Hawaiian name Leilani. Leilani has inspired a number of offshoots, including Kehlani and Meilani.

This Latin-sounding place-name, created by C. S. Lewis for his Chronicles, will undoubtedly be adopted by a few admiring parents.

A nouveau creation inspired by Paisley.

Inspired by either Raleigh -- a North Carolina place-name and the surname of the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh - or by Raylee, a modern creation, blending Ray and Lee, Rayleigh has been steadily used since the beginning of the 2010s. Never as popular as Braylee, Kayleigh, Hailey, Jaylee, or Bailey, Rayleigh was given to around 160 girls - and 13 boys - in 2023.

This contemporary creation plays on a couple of trends by applying the attractive Z to the rhyming family of names including Hailey, Bailey, and Kayley. The -ee suffix is the icing on the cake. It first entered the US Top 1000 in 2015.

Pay-names are ultra-hot for girls these days, but they're also fairly popular for boys, in no small part thanks to Peyton Manning.

Arlenis Sosa, the hot young supermodel from the Dominican Republic, is popularizing this lovely and unusual choice, related to Arlen or Arlene.

The American appetite for new names ending in the letters "yn" knows no bounds. This one, a close relative of popular Jaxson, was among the fastest-rising boys' names of 2017.

Combine the Aiden trend with the ever-cool letter X, and you'll get something like Xayden.

For girls, Taylin reads like a mashup of Taylor and Kaitlin.

Jaylene is one of those modern creations that looks like a messy attempt at being trendy. We suggest you instead consider Jane, Jaya, Jolene, Josephine, Justine, Geraldine, or Janine for a name with a similar sound and a more classic look.

Westlyn is a hot new girls' names, rising 350 percent in 2017 over the year before in official US statistics. It was given to just over 100 baby girls in 2017. Actor Josh Brolin named his daughter Westlyn Reign. Near-identical twin Westlynn is also growing in popularity, given to about half as many baby girls. Westlyn is a combination of word name West, also becoming more popular in various forms including Weston and Wesley for boys, and the long-used suffix lyn. West is a stylist and attractive unisex short form.