Baby Names
NatashaCoughlin
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Masculine/unisex names for girls
NatashaCoughlin
member
in Baby Names
DH and I are pretty sure on what we are naming baby girl. What's really annoying is that most people outside of my close friends and family HATE it. I try not to let it bother me too much because we love it, but I must admit that it gets to me sometimes. I don't think we would ever be able to "please" the masses because we only like unisex and strong sounding names for girls. My two questions are...
1. Should I put any weight on the opinions of people who are not my close friends or family and try to pick a more traditional name?
2. What do you all think of the names on the following list?
Scout
Wren
Nico
Nash
Lennox
Arlo
Rhiannon
Remy
Imogen
Also, please feel free to give anymore suggestions that fit with the names on my list! Thank you ladies!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Masculine/unisex names for girls
Scout is a nn.
Nico, Nash, Lennox, Arlo, and Remy are absolutely terrible.
Wren, Rhiannon, and Imogen are actually feminine, so any of those gets my vote.
Precious baby boy "HC" born May 2013.
Fwiw, no opinions matter except for the parents. Name your baby what you like because you'll never ever please everyone so don't hold much salt to that.
Scout -- Oh, you read. How cute. And you want to be 'quirky.' (That is what goes through my head every time I hear this name.) But seriously, no, that's not her real name in the book and it's just awful for a name in general.
Wren -- Eh. It's definitely NMS, but I wouldn't totally side-eye it.
Nico -- Boy name nickname.
Nash -- For a girl, no sir. I don't love it for a boy, I don't love surnames as names, but it's less awful on a boy.
Lennox -- Like the china manufacturer? (ooops, that's Lenox, but still) It's just ungainly. And I love me some Annie Lennox, but why not use her first name if that's your inspiration here? There's your proof that a badass woman can still have a feminine name and be a badass.
Arlo -- For a boy, not bad. For a girl it is awful.
Rhiannon -- I actually really really like this name. A lot. I think it's such a cool girl name.
Remy -- Masculine name and Ratatouille.
Imogen -- Love it. So hard. It's my fave of these names.
Honestly, when I meet a little girl with a boy name (because nothing you've listed here is unisex, the names that are not obviously feminine are boy names) I think that her parents must have really wanted a boy. Or don't believe that women can be as strong as men. Because they wanted a 'strong' name, and therefore wouldn't pick a feminine one. Makes me sad. At the same time, that's my 2 cents, and you can take or leave them. It's your kid, but the thing to remember is that it's the kid's name for life. So something like 'Scout' sounds super cute on a rough and tumble 5 year old, but when she's 30 it just sounds dated and cutesy.
The two names that you listed that are girl names, Rhiannon and Imogen, are fantastic. Really strong names.
Me-31, H-27
**Loss 1-Cycle 7(June 2013) at 5w6d-CP**Loss 2-Cycle 11(October 2013) at 5w4d-CP**
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As for your name list
Scout- love it! As a nn though. I really like Wren. I like Imogene and Rhiannon, but nms. The other names are obvious boy names.
How about Harlow instead of Arlo? Or Natasha nn Nash? I don't want my daughters name to hamper any kind of professional field she chooses.
@FreddyisReady I love all your opinions except the "Natasha instead of Nash" because that's my name! haha
Thank you all so much for your suggestions!!!
My dad really wanted to name me Scout. My mom vetoed it. I am so, so glad that she did. It would not have fit me at all, and I have always been very glad I don't have that name. Just my two cents!
Livia
Theodora
Catherine
Eleanor
Rosalind
Juno
Minerva
Plus many listed above by PPs.
From your list, Rhiannon and Imogen are good. Wren is fine but doesn't strike me as a particularly strong name (maybe wrens are badass for their size, what do I know). Scout is a nickname. The rest are masculine names, not unisex names.
Scout - sounds like a nickname to me
Wren - LOVE it
Nico - hate it on a girl
Nash - hate it, especially on a girl
Lennox - hate it
Arlo - hate it on a girl
Rhiannon - not my style but nice
Remy - sounds like a nickname
Imogen - nms but nice
What about Sloane, Gwen, Maeve, Eve, Asha?
Precious baby boy "HC" born May 2013.
Imogen is another one I love. DH vetoed it unfortunately.
And I love Nash, for a boy.
With that said, please consider how she will feel going through life as Nash. If she chooses to enter any sort of professional workplace she may actually have to overcome assumptions based on her name. If you really love Scout, for example, then give her a serious and professional sounding name (like Rhiannon kr Imogen) and call her scout as a pet name (again, it was just a nn in the book) at least give her the option of a formal name.
Ok, that was really long to basically reiterate what pps have said. Lol
Whatever you choose, congrats!
I don't think you should change your names because people don't like the choices. You know you are picking a different name for your child but its not like you want something terrible or offensive. You will probably get some side eyes but who cares if you are happy with your choice. With that being said you asked for opinions so I will give mine
Scout -kinda makes me think of a dog
Wren- my favorite of your names. I actually think it is a very pretty name
Nico- Boy
Nash- boy and a nn
Lennox- definitly nms but better then some of the other choices
Arlo- boy
Rhiannon- trying to be cool and name her after Rhianna
Remy- That is my friends dogs name
Imogen- old fashioned southern woman name. its pretty
I think it's good to take people's feedback as a clue that something might be amiss, and then research for yourself if there is an issue with your name choice (for example, is it a made-up spelling, is it really a boy's name).
I do like your list, though!
Love for a girl: Wren, Nico as a nn for Nicole/Nicolette/Nicoletta, Rhiannon, Imogen
Like for a boy: Arlo, Remy
Dislike as a name: Nash, Lennox, Scout (this is just a nn from literature)
Wren has always been a GP of mine and I love Imogen.
You mentioned Wicklow being a favorite town in Ireland (which as a name, I dislike). My DD's name (Adair) is inspired by Adare, Ireland and is also considered a unisex name with masculine roots, so there's one to consider.
I loooove Imogen! Other thoughts:
Cleo
Sage
Sloane
Greer
Zara
Xanthe
Oona
Beatrix
Thank you everyone for your input, I really appreciate it!
@joy2611 The name Scout is actually a contender for us because it is a family name of my DH and not because of TKAM, so symbolism is not in play here. Side note, I definitely understood all symbolism in TKAM... (literature major).
@mauibliss I know that people can easily find me, that is not a problem for me! My career is based on strangers being able to find me/the company I work for easily on social media and through search engines. I know I'm breaking internet safety rule #1
@blueridge8 I love your suggestion for Adair, and I love the significance behind it! Nash is actually on our list because it was the name of a small toy store in Cork that we fell in love with. Obviously we have a serious connection to Ireland.. DH is from Ireland and all his family is there.
Strong, gorgeous feminine names exist! One of my favorites is Seraphina. It's ultra girly to the ear, but it means ardent & fiery. I think it's badass.
Also, think about how many strong women their have been throughout history, and their names rock:
Amelia (Earhart)
Eleanor (Roosevelt)
Marie (Curie)
Esther (from the Bible)
Joan (of Arc)
Elizabeth (Queen)
Madeleine (Albright)
Harriet (Tubman) - or Hattie/Etta
Theresa (Mother)
Audrey (Hepburn)
Zora (Neale Hurston)
I could keep going. And OP, this is not directed at just you, but every other person who has ever posted in here that they want a "strong" name for their baby girl and proceed to list nothing but boy names. It's total bullshit, and your little girls deserve better.
Precious baby boy "HC" born May 2013.
@bananalettuce I used the word "strong" in my original post for lack of finding a better word to describe the names I like. I am not in pursuit of a "strong" name, and I fully realize that a woman is strong despite her name. For me, one has nothing to do with the other... I simply like the sound of these short names and have noticed that I tend to like names where there are few vowels.
I greatly appreciate your suggestions for strong female names, but I'm not going for "strong female". I'm going for a name that I like the sound of and unfortunately none of those fit the bill
I really do thank you for being respectful and diplomatic, and trying to help me where I'm obviously conflicted!!!
2. I don't care for any of the names you posted. I don't see them as girl names except for Rhiannon and I guess Imogen which I hear is a girl name but I've never come across it anywhere except here.
Married since August 2012
Baby #1 ~ DS ~ May 2014
Baby #2 ~ Due April 2016
I'm not a huge fan of Imogen or Rhiannon. Just NMS.