Where do the meaning of names come form?

There are a lot of new names coming out....Not just popular ones that have been long established but actually NEW names. I like to look up new names for a meaning but there never is any. I guess all names have to start somewhere, so who decides what they mean if they aren't derived from some other word?





I'm asking because my middle name was made up by my mother. It has no meaning, so does my mother get to decide "what it means"? Or can I? lol

Where do the meaning of names come form?
A lot of new names are just made up so they don't really have any traditional meaning or origin. However, most names have some sort of root name or root word to them and you could find the meaning that way. So, if your name is, say, Millinea, you could look at the meaning for Melanie or Millennium to find a meaning. If it is a truly made up name then I guess you could just make up a meaning but unless it is published in a book somewhere it will probably only have that meaning to you.