The Haunted Dreamhouse's Doll Collecting Dictionary
Here is a list of terms that you may come across while doll collecting.
A
- A Girl for All Time A British based doll line. It featured a line of historical characters from the Tudor period to the 1960s, as well as a contemporary line that focused on modern British children's fashion. The dolls stood about about 16 inches tall and were often compared to American Girl dolls due to the focus on history. Unfortunately, this doll line ended in 2025 after U.S. Tariffs made them too cost prohibitive to produce. Books for three of the characters were published.
- Acetate A synthetic material that is made from plants. It is sometimes used as a fiber for doll hair. Acetate is also used to make fabric, among other uses.
- Addy Mold A face mold used by American Girl. It was first used in 1993 for Addy Walker. It has been used for several Truly Me dolls (1, 11, 18, 26, 31, 45, 50, 58, 85, and 106). A closed mouth version was used for Truly Me 77. The Addy Mold is available in Create-Your-Own, where it is called "oval".
- Addy Walker One of the American Girl doll historical characters. She was the first African-American/ Black character produced by the brand. Addy was also the first to have an unique face mold and was released in 1993. She represents the American Civil War and the 1860s.
- Aduke Walker Full name of Addy Walker. It is primarily used in the books.
- Akua'ba A type of traditional wooden doll created by the Fante and other African people. Traditionally they are used to promote fertility, but now are often sold as soveneirs.
- Akuba see Akua'ba
- Akwaba see Akua'
- Anti-Artist Another name for the pro-recast crowd.
- Anti-Recast Another name for the pro-artist crowd. The Haunted Dreamhouse is strongly Anti-recast.
- American Girl A doll brand founded by Pleasant Rowland in 1986. Her goal was to get girls interested in history with dolls and books. Rowland also wanted to make a doll that would be a 'companion', rather then a baby doll to take care of or an adult or teenage woman the child could aspire to be. Additional doll lines and products such as Bitty Baby, and the My American Girl of Today were also added, as were more historical characters. In 1998, Ameerican Girl and the Pleasant Company were sold to Mattel.
- Art Doll
- Ashlyn
- Azone
B
- Ball Joint
- Ball-Jointed Doll
- Bandai Namco
- Barbie
- Barbie Cool Looks Fashion Designer
- Barbie Fashion Designer
- Barbie Millicent Roberts
- Barbie Rewind
- Battat
- Beatrice Alexander
- BeForever The name used for the American Girl historical line from 2014 to about 2019. With the launch of Beforever, all the historical dolls available at the time (except for Caroline) were given new meet outfits. The historial books were released in two larger books instead of the original six. The dolls released during this era (Maryellen, Melody, Nanea) tended to follow a similiar story pattern to the original six books format.
- Belly Button
- Betty Spaghetti
- Bild Lilli
- Bisque Doll
- Bitty Baby
- BJD an abbreviation of Ball-Jointed doll. See Ball-Jointed Doll for more details
- Black Barbie
- Blaine
- Blaire Wilson - American Girl of the year for 2019. Her story invovled Blaire helping with a wedding.
- Blindbox
- Bobblehead is a doll that features a large head. The head is attatched so it wiggles or "bobbles". They are frequently made of sports figures and politicans.
- Bobobie
- Bratz
- Bratzilla
- Brooklyn
- Bryant
- Bunraku
- Bylthe
C
- Cabbage Patch Kids
- Camile
- Caroline Abbott
- Carpatina Dolls
- Cecile Rey
- Chatty Cathy
- China Doll
- Chrissa Maxwell American Girl of the Year for 2009. She was released along side two other dolls, Gwen and Sonali.
- Classic Mold the name of one of the American Girl doll face molds. The classic face mold was the first and until the release of Addy, only face mold available for American Girl dolls. It has been used for Samanntha, Molly, Felicity, Kit, Ruthie, Emily, Caroline, Maryellen, Courtney, Lindsey, Kailey, Nicki, Mia, Gwen, Lanie, Saige, Isabelle, and Tenney. Additionally, it has been used on Truly Mes 2, 3, 5 - 10, 12 - 17, 19 - 25, 27, 29,
- Contemporary Characters
- Corn Husk Doll
- Corrine Mold
- Corrine Tan American Girl Doll Girl of the Year for 2022. She was released along side Gwen Tan, her younger sister. She is the first doll to use the Corrine mold.
- Courtney Moore
D
- Dal
- Danny Choo (1972 - Present). The creator of Culture Japan and Smart Doll.
- Daruma Doll
- Dealer
- Den of Angels A web forum dedicated to ball jointed dolls. It is one of the largest forums dedicated to BJDs and has a large second hand market. Additionally, they have a wiki the compiles information about BJD companies, dolls, and artists.
- Disney
- Disney Princess
- DOA An abbrievation for Den of Angels
- DollsKorea
- Dollybird A Japanese magazine book (mook) that is released twice a year. Dollybird contains sewing patterns, craft instructions, and information about dolls. It frequently features BJDs, Blythe, Unoa Dolls, Dollfie Dream, Momoko, Nenderiod, and others. It is published in Japanese by Hobby Japan. The first volume was published in 2003.
- Dolly * Dolly
- Dollz
- Dream Doll Designer
- Dreamhouse
- Dutch Doll
E
- Elizabeth Cole
- Emerson
- Emily Bennett
- Ever After High
- Evette Peters
F
- Faceup
- Face Mold A term used by doll collectors and doll makers to refer to a doll's head and face. It is commonly used by American Girl doll collectors.
- Fashion Royalty A line of 1/6 scale fashion dolls created by Jason Wu and Integrity Toys.
- Felicity Merriman
- Fulla A fashion doll similiar to Barbie sold in Muslim countries. She was created as a response to Barbie and is supposed to represent more traditional "Islamic Values". Many Fulla dolls come with a hijab or abaya, but many do not. The dolls are produced by NewBoy, a company currently headquartered in Damascus, Syria.
G
- Gabriela McBridge The Girl of the Year for 2017. She was the first African American doll in the line.
- Generation Girls
- G.I. Joe
- Girl of the Year A line of American Girl dolls meant to be representative of a particular year. It is sometimes abbrivated as GOTY. The first doll in this line was Lindsay Bergman, who was available for two years since she was not a huge seller. The earlier dolls in the line were only available from January 1st of the year to December 31st. After that the doll was discontinued. Now dolls are available until they are out of stock.
- Girl of the Year
- Girls of Many Lands
- Girls' Day See Hinamatasuri.
- Glorious Games Group AB
- Glue Seepage A defect found in Mattel dolls from the late 2000s to the late 2010s. The glue holding the doll's hair in would begin to melt or seep out of the holes in the head from rooted hair. There are a few methods to fix this at home.
- Götz
- Grace Thomas The Girl of the Year for 2015.
- Grail
- Gwen Thompson
- Gywnn Tan
H
- Hank
- Headswap The process of switching the heads of two dolls.
- Healthy Roots Doll
- Hinamatasuri
- Historical Characters Named characters by American Girl, each character is set in a period during American history.
- Hopi Kachina Doll
- Hopscotch Hill School
I
- Inuit Doll
- Integrity Toys A doll company that makes 1/6 scale fashion dolls. The company was founded in 1995 by Percy Newsum. Its lines include Fashion Royalty, NuFace, Poppy Parker, and others.
- Irwin Toys
- Isabel Hoffman
- Isabelle Palmer - American Girl of the Year for 2014. Her collection was inspired by ballet and fashion design.
- Ivy Ling
J
- Jakks Pacific
- Jazzy
- Jem and the Holograms
- Jenny
- Jess McConnell
- Jess Mold
- Jjorori
- Josefina Mold
- Josefina Montoya
- Joss Kendrick
- Julie Albright
- Jun Planning
K
- Kailey Hopkins
- Kanekalon Doll Hair
- Kanani Akina American Girl of the Year of 2011.
- Karakuri Ningyo
- Kavi Sharma
- Kaya Mold
- Kaya'aton'my
- Kelly The toddler sister of Barbie. Kelly dolls were produced from 1995 to 2010. A boy version, Tommy was also available, who was the toddler brother of Ken. She was later replaced by the character, Chelsea.
- Ken
- Kendall
- Kenner
- Kewpie
- Kira Bailey
- Kirsten Larson
- KiSS Doll
- Kisekae Set System
- Kit Kittredge
- Kokeshi
- Kurhn
L
- Labubu
- Lady Lovelylocks
- Lammily
- Lanie Holland
- Last Doll see Última muñeca
- Latinistas
- Layli
- Lea Clark
- Licca-Chan A fashion doll produced by Tomy Takara. Licca-Chan was first released in 1967 and has been continued to be sold ever since. She was designed by Miyako Maki. Dolls of her family members and friends have been produced.
- Lila Monetti
- Lindsey Bergman The first Girl of the Year doll by American Girl. She was released in 2001 and was available into 2002. She had a doll scooter and laptop as accessories you could order.
- Little Sisters
- Logan Everett
- LOL Surprise
- Luciana Vega
- Luri Doll see Layli
M
- Madam Alexander
- Made to Move
- Magic Attic
- Makena Mold
- Makena Williams
- Malibu
- Maplelea
- Matlida Jane Doll
- Mattel
- Mattel Media
- Matryoshka
- Marie-Grace Gardner
- Marie-Grace Mold
- Marisol Luna
- Maritza Ochoa
- Maryellen Larkin
- McKenna Brooks
- Midge
- Melody Ellison
- Mia St. Clair
- Millie
- Mimi
- Mimi World
- Mini Super Dollfie
- MSD
- Model Muse
- Molly McIntire
- Momoko
- Monster High
- Murido - a villian from the 90s Sailor Moon anime who looks like a doll. In the original English dub, she is referred to as Dream Dolly.
- My Pretty Mermaid
- My Twinn
N
- Nanea Mitchell
- Nanea Mold
- Naturalistas
- Neckstring
- Nellie O'Malley
- Nesting Doll See Matryoshka
- Nicki Fleming
- Nicki Hoffman
- Nkisi
- NoviStars
- NuFace
- Nylon Doll Hair
O
- Obitsu
- OOAK An abbrievation for One of a Kind. It can be used for dolls, outfits, and others. It is also sometimes used to refer to customized dolls.
- Our Generation
P
- Paddle Doll
- Paper Doll A doll made from paper. They often come wearing undergarments and come with clothing and accessories to dress the doll in. The paper clothes and accessories are often attatched to the doll using paper tags that the user folds over the doll.
- Pixie Faire A doll clothing pattern site with a focus on doll clothes patterns for 18 inch dolls. The website offers sewing, knitting, crochet, and furniture patterns. Pixie Faire also often courses in desigin and making patterns for dolls. They also sell some patterns for other dolls.
- Peg Wood Dolls
- Pennywoods
- Permapanties
- Playline Dolls designed with the intention of being toys for children rather than a collector item. Of course, there are plenty of collectors who collect playline dolls and plenty of kids who play with collector dolls.
- Playscale
- Pleasant Company
- Pleasant Rowland
- Polly Pocket
- Popovy Sisters A Russian-based art doll studio. The dolls are created by the sister duo Ekaterina and Elena Popovy. Their dolls are known for their slender bodies and stylized faces. The dolls are 1/4 scale.
- Poppet
- Porcelain Doll A doll made out of either china (glazed) porcelain or bisque (unglazed) porcelain.
- Princess of Power
- Pro-Artist
- Pro-recast
- Pullip
- Pureneemo
Q
- Queens of Africa
- Quince see Quinceañera
- Quinceañera
R
- Rag Doll
- Rainbow Bright
- Rainbow High
- Raquel Reyes The Girl of the Year for 2026. She is a descendant of Samantha Parkington, a historical American Girl character. Raquel is the first doll to canonically be a descendant of another character.
- Rebecca Rubin
- Re-ment
- Reborners Artists who make reborn dolls.
- Reborning Creating a reborn doll.
- Reborn Doll
- Reroot
- Rerooting Tool
- Restring
- Rooted Hair
- Ruruko
- Ruth Handler
- Ruthie Smithens
S
- Saige Copeland
- Sailor Moon A popular manga series that ran in the early 90s. It spawned two different animes, musicals, and many doll lines around the globe.
- Samantha Parkington
- Sculpt
- SD An abbrievation for Super Dollfie, generally it is used to refer to bjds of similiar size (1/3 scale).
- Shelly An alternate name for Barbie's sister Kelly. This name was used in European countries. (See the entry on Kelly for more details)
- Sindy
- SIS An abbrievation for So In Style. See So In Style for more details
- Skipper
- Smart Doll A popular 24 inch vinyl fashion doll created by Danny Choo. The Smart Doll line is 1/3 scale.
- So in Style
- Sonali Matthews
- Sonali Mold
- Springfield Collection
- Stacie
- Stardoll
- Stardust Classics
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Summer McKinny
- Super Dollfie
T
- Taeyang
- Tammy
- Tenney Grant
- Tomy Takara A Japanese toy company. They are known for producing Licca-chan and Jenny dolls.
- TLC An abbrievation for Tender loving care. It is usually used to refer to dolls that are dirty and/or damaged. Its often seen in eBay and other digital second hand market listings. They are a potentially more affordable way to collect dolls if you enjoy (or at least don't mind) fixing them up.
- TNT an abbreivation for Twist and Turn, a body used for Barbie dolls. See Twist and Turn for more information
- Tressy
- Truly Me The current name of American Girl's line of contemporary dolls. This line was previous called American Girl of Today, American Girl Today, Just Like You, and My American Girl. This doll line is meant to represent girls of the present day (1995 - present). None of these dolls come with a name to encourage children and collectors to pick one that looks like themselves, or to come up with their own character.
- Twist and Turn
U
V
- Virtual Dress-up Game
- Volks
W
- Wellie Wishers
- White Body Dolls American Girls dolls produced from 1986 to Felicity's release in 1991. The cloth portions of the dolls used a white fabric which was cheaper. Since Felicity's era of fashion had lower necklines, the fabric portion of the dolls' bodies were changed to match the doll's plastic parts. Only Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly dolls were produced with white bodies.
- What's Her Face
- Wig Brush
- Wig Size
- Wig Spray
- Willa
- Winx Club A popular Italian cartoon about a group of friends who go to Alfea School for Fairies and use their magic powers to save the Magical Dimension from the Trix and other villians. There are many doll lines.
- World By Us
Z