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Baby Names
Ok- Acceptable unisex names vs boy names for girls?
This board is finally starting to influence me- crazy! While I've accepted some boy names for girls- like Ryan, because I had a girl student named Ryan and loved her ( I did not like it until I had that association)...
After being on this board for a few months, I am starting to see how doing this can be messed up or unfair later if the girl ends up being tomboyish, not so popular, etc. I am considering some women I know who are already on the less feminine side and thinking what a joke it would be if they had a boy name on top of it, KWIM? It's a weird argument though because no one wants to tell a pregnant lady (like my friend who is about to name her daughter Dylan) that her daughter might end up being all manly when she grows up. LOL. Even I am guilty of saying in a post when someone else said this, "But my daughter will be pretty and sweet and make the name cute!"
So, which names do you consider acceptable unisex names vs straight up boy names that girls should have no part of?
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Re: Ok- Acceptable unisex names vs boy names for girls?
I actually have never really liked any unisex names. I prefer to keep boy names and girl names separate. However, sometimes that is getting harder and harder to distinguish. I had NO IDEA when we picked out the name Logan David for our first son that Logan was becoming a name used for girls as well ... still irritates me. I think it is by far better as a boy's name and now feel bad that DS may go to school with girls who have the same name as him. :: sigh ::
I think these are all acceptable unisex names:
Morgan
Alex
Bailey
Jordan
There are more that I am just blanking on at the moment. I just don't like very traditional boy names like John, David, Elliott, etc. being turned into girl names. It doesn't sound good (to me at least). There are so many pretty girl names I don't know why the trend is suddenly to name them a boy's name. Growing up I was always told that Cameron was a boy's name. Now there are tons of girl Camerons. I guess I just like traditional boy/girl names.
Peyton? Payton?
I'm really not a huge fan of unisex names. Your son's name either sounds too feminine or your daughter too masculine.
Hmm. Well, we plan to use Avery if we have a girl which I know is a boy name but I don't think it sounds masculine at all.
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Jaime is a pretty unisex name that has very few connotations to it.
All the female Jamies I know are pretty, classy and strong at the same time.
All the boy Jamies I know are pretty typical boy.
Avery is also pretty unisex to me.
both of my children will have unisex names. I dont think of them that way i only see them as girls names. we didnt plan for it and it does bother me. these were just the names we liked.
our girls: Bailey and Taylor
I like unisex names (to an extent). I'm not a fan of names that are SO stereotypically a boy's name that it's shocking to associate the name with a girl... I saw Brian on here the other day as a girl's name. Perfect example of what I don't like. However, I really do think unisex names -especially nicknames - can be really cute on girls. Charlotte is on my list, but if we go with that name, she hands down will be called Charlie.
Other names I like for girls:
Taylor
Toni
Jamie
Addison
Peyton
Evan, Dylan, Ryan, Mason, Cooper = boy names (I chose these because I know little girls with these names)
Peyton, Cameron, Taylor, Addison = unisex
The only "unisex" names I like are ones that sound the same but are spelled very differently. Like Erin/Aaron. Girls should NOT be named Elliot, Ryan, Ezra, etc.?
Ask anyone who's seen a childhood pic of me, I was adorable, but I still got teased mercilessly for having a "boy" name (despite the girl spelling) - Randi. And it never stops. The teasing goes away, but I'm still mistaken on paper for a man constantly. Very annoying.?
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I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person then. ~ Alice
I have a female friend named Soran, which is a boys name (her mom had no idea) I think it makes a cute girl name. I know a woman named Toni, which even she thinks is weird.
Wesley is perfectly unisex to me (although I like it MUCH better as a boy name)
Ashley (tho better as a girl name)
Jamie is evenly unisex, I've known both.
Logan is a boy name to me, and is even on our list of boy names. The same goes for Austin, even though I have a female cousin named Austin.
I know lots of men named Kristen, Loren, Leslie and Kim, and never thought it weird.
I did not want a unisex name, and it looks like I got one. I had not heard of girls named Quinn until The Nest.
My old boss had 4 older sisters named Daniel, Michael, Timothy, and Patrick, no joke. I don't think that is very fair. And they are all in their 60's and up, so I'm sure it was really tough for them in their day.
My sister graduated from HS with a girl named Ryan (her mom's maiden name) and she was beautiful, popular, cheerleadery type.
I do think it's a strange thing to name your dd unless it's a family name. For example, I like the middle name Lloyd for a little girl, but wouldn't consider if it it weren't my grandfather's (who, as a surgeon, delivered me) name.
Ick. Logan for a girl is NOT okay, IMO.
I think that gender neutral names have become the standard as we've lost the proper original allocation based on preference.
Ashley is a boy's name... although, as we all know, some decades ago it became a girl's name.?Morgan & Kim are the same.?
Logan is a Scottish name that is both a boy's name and a girl's name, and has been since the beginning of time.
I guess what I'm trying to convey is that there is no right or wrong when it comes to which gender a name falls under.?
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I'm not a big fan of unisex names personally, but there are some traditionally unisex names/nicknames that I wouldn't give the side-eye to - Alex, Taylor, Aaron/Erin, and Jamie come to mind.
When people start naming their girls "Isaiah" and "James" (sorry pp who liked that name, that is absolutely the worst example of this I have ever heard) which are some of the oldest and most traditionally masculine names out there, it sounds like they're just trying to be shocking for the fun of it/don't care about the history of the name.
Also, as the mother of a boy it really irritates me that parents of girls, who have plenty of great names to choose from, keep appropriating good boy names for themselves. I know it sounds silly, but the whole "opposite gender" thing does not work both ways. I can't name my son Jennifer and have people think it's daring and fun, and every time girls start slowly taking over a boy name that's one less that we have to work with.
?I'm the opposite! I had only heard of girls being named Quinn until I came on the nest. I went to school with a girl named Quinn. Instinctively, I think of it as a girls name.??
From the perspective of a gay girl, there is nothing funnier than a butch lesbian named Sabrina. ?That woman really ruined what would otherwise be the prettiest name in the world for me. I generally dislike unisex names, but like strong, or at the very least elegant names for girls. ?Cute is only cute when the person is a child.?
My name is spelled oddly, and it isn't a super big deal to me, but for someone to see a name on a list and then address them/me as the incorrect sex, that would be annoying. ?
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http://oi62.tinypic.com/2w73hq9.jpg
I love this idea. My dad died years ago, and DH and I have already decided to feminize his name (John) for a girl's mn (Jane).
I really like this idea. My friend has a daughter named Allynne that is pronounced Allen. She's also named after her grandfather, they just chose a more "girly" spelling for it. She goes by Ally.
Well, funny you should ask... my daughter's name is Ryan
My husband and I both loved the name but I will admit that we tended to lean more towards unisex names when narrowing our choices down. Ryan is a unisex name - not a boy's name - although it is obviously more popular for boys. My name is Kennedy (her middle name), which has been passed down through my family for years (grandmother's maiden name, father's middle name, my first name, DD's middle name) and while I didn't like my name as a little girl... I have grown to love it. I have met far more male Kennedy's than female (until recently when it started to become more popular) and I even used to get mail from the Selective Services telling me I needed to register for the draft... for real. It never bothered me that my name was unisex. If we have another girl, she will most likely get a unisex name as well.
My major problem is with people that butcher how names are spelled. Kennedy should not be spelled "Kennedi" or "Kennady". Give me a break, people.