I'm interested in opinions on this....just curious

DogLoverX3

First, I'd like to say the only thread I found on this was from 6 years ago.

Also, I just had a baby girl we named Charlotte Jean (after my mother) with some help from this board. I'm a fan of traditional names. Actually, I love traditional names!

With that said, my friend likes the name Ryan for a girl. I'm just interested in thoughts on this....Could it be to your daughters advantage later in life to have a traditionally male name? I understand the argument against saddling a girl with a boys name-I'm not a fan of that myself. However, there's a lot of discussion around being judged by your name and what it looks like on resumes and how it sounds as you age; I'm wondering if having a boys name on a resume could be to your advantage. I know we live in 2016 and women should have the same opportunities as men, but let's be honest, that's not always the case.

So, my question is, do you feel there could be an advantage to naming your daughter a traditionally male name?

LizaKate1213

I have actually known a few girls names Ryan, though it is absolutely NMS. I am pretty indifferent to true gender neutral names (such as Taylor), but really dislike male names on females. I feel if you want your little girl to have a strong name, name her after a strong woman.

atcwag

I LOVE Ryan for a little girl. It's absolutely my first choice, but has been vetoed by hubby. *weeping tears*
It has nothing to do with masculinity to me. That doesn't factor into it at all.
I prefer Rian, Riann or Ryann for a girl.

Bringmemylongswordho

There *could* be. Yes, "white" masculine names are more likely to get called in for interviews, all other things being equal.

But.

Firstly, as name trends show, once a name reaches a certain amount of usage for girls, it effectively becomes a feminine name. 20 years from now, no one is going to expect Addison, Madison, Emerson or Avery to be men. They'll assume they're women, because statistically it's super unlikely they'll be men. So unless you go straight up using names like John or Paul, you're already behind the curve if you want to use a traditionally masculine name to better your daughter's chances at not being discriminated against on paper. And this only benefits her on paper. Once people see she has tits, all those gender biases will still come out to play.

Secondly, whether you intend it or not, since you're trying to counteract biases by using a masculine name, once that scale tips toward other people view the name as feminine, you're basically shitting on every boy with that name. If you would find yourself upset that your son is assumed to be a girl based on his name, maybe you shouldn't contribute towards thatwith other names.

And finally. I don’t think we as a society are going to actually combat and overcome sexism by continually devaluing femininity and putting masculinity on a pedestal. Naming our daughters James and Ryan isn’t going to make them stronger women, it's just going to saddle them from birth with the idea that you have to be a man to be important. Fuck that. I want better for my son's and daughters, because patriarchy hurts men too.

Tl;Dr it only helps if you are shortsighted and self centered l.

atcwag

As a side note, I also love Kelly for a boy....which is traditionally male, but no longer considered masculine.

groovylocks

Giving into gender bias by hiding your child's sex behind an ambiguous name is hardly fighting against gender bias.

DogLoverX3

groovylocks said:

Giving into gender bias by hiding your child's sex behind an ambiguous name is hardly fighting against gender bias.

I completely agree.

DogLoverX3

"I don’t think we as a society are going to actually combat and overcome sexism by continually devaluing femininity and putting masculinity on a pedestal. Naming our daughters James and Ryan isn’t going to make them stronger women, it's just going to saddle them from birth with the idea that you have to be a man to be important. Fuck that. I want better for my son's and daughters, because patriarchy hurts men too."

Great point @ Bringmemylongswordho