Article: Would you give your son a girly name?

schnappycat · February 2012

Just saw this and thought of this board:

https://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/name-girl-taylor-name-boy-ashley-manly-men-151300416.html

Sorry not clicky.

DragonflyBelle · February 2012

https://shine.yahoo.com/parenting/name-girl-taylor-name-boy-ashley-manly-men-151300416.html

JaysonandKristin · February 2012

I love some of the more traditional masculine names that have gone to the girls. The ones that I don't like (just for personal association reasons) are Ashley and Shannon.

I like Leslie, Dana, Kelly, Casey and Morgan on men. I hate that this list is growing -- Riley, Jaden, Peyton, Carter.

austenreader85 · February 2012

I think once a name goes girl it doesn't come back. But I think there's a big difference between picking a name for your daughter that isn't "girly" or too "froo-froo" without picking a name from the boy category. And I live in an area where there's still lots of Bobbies and Billies for girls, not a fan at all!

stahlop · February 2012

I've known male Shannon's, Courtney's and Kelly's. When you see a guy with what is considered a girl's name, it still works for them. And none of these guys seemed any less masculine because of their names. I still prefer Avery for a boy and would still use it on a future boy (if my DH went for it) even though it's gone over to the girly side.

strawberrytree · February 2012

See, I don't consider most of those 'girly' names at all. I think that to a certain extent it is a regional thing as well- for example, when I lived in England, Ashley was most definitely a primarily masculine name and it was considered very 'American' (said like it was a bad thing) to have a girl named Ashley, in my experience at least. And in my area at least, I have never heard of little girls being named Parker, Elliott, Logan, Richard, Steven, or whatever other male names it is trendy to give to little girls at the moment.

I have known men and boys named Kelly, Courtney, Shannon, Ashley, Kerry, Darcy, Sidney, Meredith, etc, and have never thought twice about any of them being 'girly'. Where I live, names like Morgan, Riley, Taylor, and Cameron are almost exclusively used on boys. This LO is already named, but if we have a second boy he will almost definitely be Kelly (or possibly Kerry), and I could care less if someone thinks I gave my son a "girly name." All that would do, IMO, is show an ignorance of onomastics and etymology. (Yup, big name nerd here.)

I also majorly rolled my eyes at the inclusion of Andrea, with the example given of Andrea Bocelli. He's Italian. In Italy, Andrea is a man's name pretty much exclusively. IMO you cannot compare Andrea Bocelli to, say, Tracy Morgan in terms of them having "girls' names".

slukd79 · February 2012

Its a great article. So many names that switch from male to female are considered "acceptable" on this board: Vivian, Lauren, Meredith for examples. While others are not: Morgan, Avery etc. To me this proves that all it takes is time for it to move into the acceptable category.

(I am not saying I am happy about this, as I have heard of a few female Augusts and that is top of our list for a boy. But it is what it is.)

FrecklesInside · February 2012

I feel like some boy's names are ok on girls and I think that some names that have become tradtionally feminine are still best on boys. I still prefer Morgan, Quinn, Avery etc. on boys more so than I do on girls. My top boy name right now is Cary. I also like Elliott on a girl. It's no big deal. If a name was once or ever was used for a boy or for a girl, then it can be for either, and certain people will have preferences for whichever sex it best suits.

queenbone · February 2012

I like that this article hits on the sexism that there is something 'wrong' with femininity on boys. That is what irritates the heck out of me when I see words like sissy or wussy used around here.

We gave our son a name that sounds unisex or feminine (Francis).

alliejo725 · February 2012

I'm a big fan of hyper-masculine names for boys, so most of the names I'd even consider for a son (Atticus, Byron, Hugo, Ignatius, Marcus) aren't likely to "switch over" any time soon. Probably ever.

I would name a son Morgan or Jordan in a heartbeat if DH was on board with it, though.

strawberrytree · February 2012

alliejo725:
I'm a big fan of hyper-masculine names for boys, so most of the names I'd even consider for a son (Atticus, Byron, Hugo, Ignatius, Marcus) aren't likely to "switch over" any time soon. Probably ever.

I would name a son Morgan or Jordan in a heartbeat if DH was on board with it, though.

I wouldn't be so sure...pretty sure I remember a couple days ago a poster ran into a female Byron! No name is safe these days, haha.

TheWop · February 2012

strawberrytree:

See, I don't consider most of those 'girly' names at all. I think that to a certain extent it is a regional thing as well- for example, when I lived in England, Ashley was most definitely a primarily masculine name and it was considered very 'American' (said like it was a bad thing) to have a girl named Ashley, in my experience at least. And in my area at least, I have never heard of little girls being named Parker, Elliott, Logan, Richard, Steven, or whatever other male names it is trendy to give to little girls at the moment.

I have known men and boys named Kelly, Courtney, Shannon, Ashley, Kerry, Darcy, Sidney, Meredith, etc, and have never thought twice about any of them being 'girly'. Where I live, names like Morgan, Riley, Taylor, and Cameron are almost exclusively used on boys. This LO is already named, but if we have a second boy he will almost definitely be Kelly (or possibly Kerry), and I could care less if someone thinks I gave my son a "girly name." All that would do, IMO, is show an ignorance of onomastics and etymology. (Yup, big name nerd here.)

I also majorly rolled my eyes at the inclusion of Andrea, with the example given of Andrea Bocelli. He's Italian. In Italy, Andrea is a man's name pretty much exclusively. IMO you cannot compare Andrea Bocelli to, say, Tracy Morgan in terms of them having "girls' names".

Yes

MoFree · February 2012

If the baby I am carrying is a boy, we are seriously considering naming him Loren, after DH's grandfather Lorenz. With the name spelled this way, I don't see it as being girly or feminine at all.

thatoneredhead · February 2012

I LOVE Loren. I knew a Robert Loren and that I thought that was a great name.

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