Revisiting the name Teagan... for a boy

BabySmiles31 · July 2012

Teagan is the only name my husband and I can agree on. We have some time left obviously, but it's taken a long time to agree on ONE name so far. Here's the issue: I posted a while back about if people initially thought boy or girl when they heard the name. Most said girl, but some said boy. I know you can have "Teague" as a boy, but it doesn't flow well with our last name like Teagan does. In Montana, it's on the girl's list tied for #100, with 10 girls being named Teagan in the *entire* state last year. I do NOT want my boy growing up with a girly name, but we don't think it's girly at all, and would probably call him just "Teague" when he gets older anyways. What would you girls do in my position? Keep looking, or just go for it? TIA!

BTW - What is with all these moms naming their girls boy names? Ryan, Logan? They're ruining all the ones I love for my boy!!

CeCe8579 · July 2012

My DD is Ryann (pronounced Ryan) and I'm not sure how it ruins anything for anyone but I think Teagan is more of a boy name!

nikki&timothy · July 2012

NMS for either boy or girl but my initial thought was boy.

apc1929 · July 2012

I think Teagan sounds very feminine and personally wouldn't use it for a boy

Soap&Cider · July 2012

I don't mind Teagan for a boy but I really dislike it for a girl. Unless there are others you are considering, I say just go for it!

aimeern623 · July 2012

The only Teagan's that I know are girls....so I think of it as a girly name. I am sorry

strawberrytree · July 2012

I am with you on boy names on girls.

If you guys both love Teagan, I'd do it. It's a nice name, and I certainly wouldn't side-eye.

That said, if you do it you need to go in with a confident attitude that yes, your son has every right to his name. My H loves Kelly for a second son, and I know that it will take confidence for us to do it. People are stupid, so you might get ignorant 'girl' comments, but you need to react to them not with defensiveness (not that you're being defensive), but with a "yeah, I've heard of girls with this name...so? He's a boy."

This is why I hate when people use boy names on girls...it makes so many people scared to use them on boys.

mscheevus · July 2012

I like Teagan on a boy. I would personally spell it Tegan.

BethPSU · July 2012

Teagan is all girl to me. I believe it is a common Irish girl name. Teague seems strange to me as a fn since it is my maiden name but I know it is often used as the male variant.

CocoBrynne · July 2012

apc1929:
I think Teagan sounds very feminine and personally wouldn't use it for a boy

This

paceyjoe · July 2012

Sounds like it could definitely go either way. To me, Teagan is definitely a girl's name. But if the unisex-ness of it doesn't bother you, I would say go for it. However, I've never thought of Teagan being a boy's name, so I didn't think it was unisex until this thread.

atrinh11 · July 2012

I originally liked Teagan as a boy name choice as well. I never even thought of it as a girls name at all, but once I realized people were using it for girls, I basically dropped it off my list. It sounds all boy to me, but I think it is more popular for girls for some reason. It is totally up to you, but I did drop it off my list for that reason.

LoCarb · July 2012

Teagan is a girls name to me so I would keep looking.

gimmietimmies · July 2012

mscheevus:
I like Teagan on a boy. I would personally spell it Tegan.

This would make it a Welsh girls name. Teagan is traditionally a girls name in the UK, I'd go with Teague. We know several other Teagans, one is a boy and he does get teased about it (but we've got a large UK population in our area, they're familiar).

OP, I doubt anyone in MT is going to know the background of the name, use it if you like it. My preference is on girls though, but, not my kid.

SoCoGirl · July 2012

**un-lurking**

Have you thought about Tadghan? It is pronounced Tie-gan and is the Gaelic name Teagan is derived from.

Zimger · July 2012

Behind the name gives it's gender as being Masculine/Feminine, however it's more commonly used for girls.

https://www.behindthename.com/name/teagan

Teague is more masculine though I prefer more traditional versions of this name (most on this board do not).

https://www.behindthename.com/name/teague

Unfortunately someone ruined Teague/Teagan for me a long time ago.

One odd thing I have noticed about Teagan is that almost every baby name book I have come across gives the meaning as "pretty/beautiful" and categorizes it as purely feminine...which I can't find any fact for.

On a side note I agree with the boy name issue. I don't like that names like Asa and Quinn are used for girls. I'm a pretty liberal individual but I still get frustrated over it...especially Quinn.

g8trkim · July 2012

Sorry, but I think it sounds totally girl. Plus, he may not always live in Montana.

BabySmiles31 · July 2012

Thanks for all the great comments! I've only ever known 2 Teagans (both boys) and my husband has never even heard of someone with that name. Plus, my best friend says she loves it. That said, we are going to be confident going forward and have decided to name him Teagan James. Teagan flows better with our last name, but if he chooses to go by Teague when he gets older, we'll be happy with that too.

Thanks again for all the advice!