Pathetic vent...girls stop stealing boys' names!

shellylovelee · July 2011

This is tongue in cheek of course...but man oh man it's amazing how many boys names have migrated over to the girls' section forever to be labeled girly.

Saw a baby name book the other day that was divided into sections with the names typed on either pink paper or blue paper. The pink section was 3x as thick as the blue.

Needless to say we cannot come up with ANY boy names we like and are getting weary and discouraged. I know we'll eventually come up with a name... Ok, that's my vent.

RedCardinal · July 2011

I know, I feel sorry for all the gorgeous girls named Sawyer. I call it shenanigans. Drinks

kthappy76 · July 2011

Boy names are definitely more difficult, because there have always been fewer of them and the migration to girly problem. The good news is it's more of a problem with trendy (used to be last) names than with traditional boy ones.

littlehckyplar · July 2011

We are in the opposite boat! We can't find a girl name to save our life. (Okay, not one we can totally agree on and love).

Good luck on finding your boy name!

lyzabeth · July 2011

We couldn't find a girl name so we stole a boy one: Ellis. We love it. And I'll buy anyone some chicken mcnuggets if they can introduce me to a boy actually NAMED Ellis.

sherpa · July 2011

I don't really agree with the engendering of names. I think girls with traditional boy names and boys with traditional girl names may influence the diffusion of gender differences. That said, I wouldn't name my son Mary nor would I name my daughter Hank. Some names just start to swing both ways even though they haven't always.

couliegirl · July 2011

I was just going to post this last night! I love Morgan, Avery, Emory etc. but for boys.

Also,my FN is Erin, which is a legitimate girl name that sounds the same as a boys name. No one seems to know that though, and assume that I am a man and are very surprised when they meet me that I have boobs. OR they spell my name Aaron knowing full well that I am a female. My point: giving girls boy names may seem really cutesy, but it SUCKS to have one

plunderb · July 2011

lyzabeth:
We couldn't find a girl name so we stole a boy one: Ellis. We love it. And I'll buy anyone some chicken mcnuggets if they can introduce me to a boy actually NAMED Ellis.

According to SSA, there were 311 boys named Ellis born in 2010 (and 149 girls), so it's still a boy's name by more than 2:1.

evaazalea · July 2011

I agree, reading through the names of baby girls I was actually getting upset, more for these girls have have to live with these names. One was named Liam, that is the #1 boy name in my province, giving it to a girl is cruel. There were more baby girls given the name Sawyer then given my DD's name of Holly, then there was Brendyn, Maddox, plenty of anything -ayden, Tyler, etc. I love feminine names so of course I am not a fan of any of these, regardless of the middle name.

LaComtesse · July 2011

I feel like there are fewer boys names than girls names because people are less worried about their daughters being taken seriously than their sons. Sons need tried and true, strong names, but daughters can have cutesy or unique names because girls are taken less seriously by and large, there is "less at stake" when naming them.

/end feminist rant

4-Ever-Young · July 2011

TysMomPlusOne:
I agree, reading through the names of baby girls I was actually getting upset, more for these girls have have to live with these names. One was named Liam, that is the #1 boy name in my province, giving it to a girl is cruel. There were more baby girls given the name Sawyer then given my DD's name of Holly, then there was Brendyn, Maddox, plenty of anything -ayden, Tyler, etc. I love feminine names so of course I am not a fan of any of these, regardless of the middle name.

I have a boy name. It's not gender neutral. However, it's not common. I never was made fun of by peers. The only people who made any kind of stink about it were adults. They usually just asked if my parents had wanted a boy. It did not scar me at all. In fact, I think it made me more outspoken. It also helped me land interviews and get jobs because people remembered me since they had been surprised when I turned out to be a girl.

I get not liking that names are becoming more and more gender neutral. I have the same issue with 2 boys names that I currently like. However, if someone wants to name their daughter a boys name that is primarily a boys name, I have no problem with that. It won't become gender neutral or trendy because one person did it.

I've still only met one person (yes a male) with my name.

OpiumPawala · July 2011

It can be cool to have a boy name, truly. But it is definitely a double-edged sword. Example: My name is Austin, enough said.

mamaofboys · July 2011

Oh, don't I know it!! I had a similar vent a few weeks ago. I have two boys and we had a difficult time naming them with all the boy names shifting toward the girl side. I could never name my son a name that he might be thought of as a girl. Girls can wear a boys name easier than a boy can wear a unisex name. Frustrating!! I am losing half my boy name options to the girls!

JerushaLyn · July 2011

lyzabeth:
We couldn't find a girl name so we stole a boy one: Ellis. We love it. And I'll buy anyone some chicken mcnuggets if they can introduce me to a boy actually NAMED Ellis.

My male cousin's name is Ellis. He lives in Arkansas now.

brookelynpaisley · July 2011

mj.reilly:

lyzabeth:
We couldn't find a girl name so we stole a boy one: Ellis. We love it. And I'll buy anyone some chicken mcnuggets if they can introduce me to a boy actually NAMED Ellis.

I could introduce you to two ... both in Iowa as well.

Looks like someone just scored herself some nuggets.

karent7205 · July 2011

I know - my neighbor has 3 boys, all with names that could be considered unisex: Kai, Blake, and Drew! That is another reason I will stick with names that are purely boy or purely girl.

mlf625 · July 2011

lyzabeth:
We couldn't find a girl name so we stole a boy one: Ellis. We love it. And I'll buy anyone some chicken mcnuggets if they can introduce me to a boy actually NAMED Ellis.

Huh? I know 3 Ellis boys and 0 Ellis girls.

But, whatever. I think we need to accept that boy names for girls are in, and move on. I've seen a girl on the bump with DS's name (Anderson). I personally think it's hideous for a female, but to each her own. It's not going to kill him to possibly run into a female Anderson down the line. I wouldn't purposely choose a name trending unisex (Logan, Dylan, etc.) but I'm also not going to spaz about the name stealers.

Yules · July 2011

Agreed. My son's 1st name is Elliot. I've been seeing a recent trend of girls being given that name. I don't think this fashion is going to stick around, but it disappoints me nevertheless.

Lasoza · July 2011

I can definitely understand why the OP and PPs are frustrated by this occurrence, but here is what bothers me about that frustration: very few girls (though there are some notable exceptions) are given purely masculine first names, such as Mark, or John or Gustav, etc. Most are given names that, though have been used by boys for a long time, started out as surnames. The Sawyers and the Ellises of the world come from surnames. So given that, why should boys have the monopoly on familial surnames? In this day and age, perhaps girls should be allowed to be named after the surnames in their own families as well, without critical judgment. It should be an honor for both boys and girls to be bestowed these names.

(Now, personally, I don't particularly like the surname-as-first-name phenomenon, and neither my sons nor my daughters will be given surnames as their first names.) Just my opinion. Please correct me if I have misunderstood anything.

lyzabeth · July 2011

LaComtesse:
I feel like there are fewer boys names than girls names because people are less worried about their daughters being taken seriously than their sons. Sons need tried and true, strong names, but daughters can have cutesy or unique names because girls are taken less seriously by and large, there is "less at stake" when naming them.
/end feminist rant

On the contrary. We named E her name because it had a strong feminist connection. Ellis was the pen name of Emily Bronte, when she couldn't get published as an Emily. Having people take our daughter seriously was a strong motivator behind choosing her name. It's why we didn't choose a more "feminine" name.

lyzabeth · July 2011

mj.reilly:
lyzabeth:
We couldn't find a girl name so we stole a boy one: Ellis. We love it. And I'll buy anyone some chicken mcnuggets if they can introduce me to a boy actually NAMED Ellis.
I could introduce you to two ... both in Iowa as well.

Hmm. I guess I owe you some nuggets. But even if the name were more popular for boys, we still would have named her that. This whole masculine/feminine name thing is socially constructed anyway. Rip off.

BLPL101 · July 2011

This is probably my biggest naming pet peeve. I would hate to have a boy's name.

janbrady · July 2011

Eh, there are so many 'boy' names that girls have used for decades. Shannon, Leslie, Ashley, Kelly, etc.

Plus I think there are some names (like Riley, Logan, or Quinn) that work equally well for a boy or girl. Who says one gender has to own a name?

stahlop · July 2011

I had a female Haydn, Chandler and Carson in my classes last year. I love Hayden for a boy and immediately think of the old TV show, Coach, in which Craig T. Nelson's character was Hayden Fox (that totally dates me but, oh well).

MrsFoof · August 2011

Oooh, I really really like Austin for a girl! I also concidered naming my daughter Ryan- love it for a girl, too!

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