Girls:

• Wendy-Although used very infrequently in the 1800s as a diminutive of Gwendolyn the name didn't come into common use until the play Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. The name was appearantly inspired by Margaret Henley, the young daughter of a friend of Barrie's, who reportedly adored him. Margaret couldn't properly pronounce her Rs and called him 'fwiendy-wendy'
• Imogen-Most likely invented accidentally by Shakespeare for his play Cymbeline. He likely meant to use the name Innogen but a misprint gave us this lovely alternative.
• Vanessa-Invented by writer Jonathon Swift, from the name of a girl he knew, Esther Vanhomrigh. He took the first syllable of her last name "Van" and added the pet form of her first name "Essa" to create this beautiful coinage that is still used today
• Araminta-Considered a coinage of either Sir John Vanbrough or William Congreve, who both used the name in their writing around the same time. This may suggest that it was a name before their use of it.
• Fiona-Invented by Scottish poet James MacPherson in the 1700s. Possibly his translation of the Gaelic name Fionn.
• Jessica-First found in this form as a character in Shakespeare's the Merchant of Venice. Perhaps inspired by the biblical name Iska.
• Pamela-Invented by Sir Phillip Sidney for his character in 'The Countess of Pembroke's Arcadia' May have been a combination of the Greek words for all and honey
• Perdita-Another Shakespearian creation, taken from the Latin word perditus 'lost' and used for the heroine of his play "The winter's tale"
• Arwen-Name invented by JRR Tolkein for his elfin character in The Lord of the Rings trilogy
• Evangeline-First used by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow for his poem "Evangeline" Evangeline comes from the Greek Eu-angela (Good News)

Boys:

• Cedric-Invented by Sir Walter Scott for his novel Ivanhoe, this name may have been a misread of Cerdic. Which is much less attractive than Scott's version of the name.
• Orville-Invented by writer Fanny Burney, who may have been trying to create a name that meant Gold City French (Or-Gold) (Ville-City)
• Percival-A name created by the poet Chrétien de Troyes for his poem Perceval, the story of the grail. A story based on Arthurian legend
• Malvolio-Invented by Shakespear for a character in his play "Twelfth Night"
• Capian-Although this name was likely inspired by the Caspian Sea, it was first used as a given name by C.S. Lewis for a character in "The Chronicals of Narnia"
• Dorian-First used by Oscar Wilde for his famous novel "The Picture of Dorian Gray
• Figaro-This name was created by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais for his plays "The Barber of Seville" "The Marriage of Figaro" and "The Guilty Mother"
• Frodo-The name of JRR. Tolkiens Hobit Hero from the Lord of the Rings. Tolkien derived this name from the German word "Frod" meaning "Wise"