UNISEX NAMES: What’s Hot, What’s Not

May 13th, 2009 at 2:00 am

UNISEX NAMES: WHERE THEY STAND NOW – Baby Name Blog – Nameberry…

Beyond Jennifer & Jason, back in the days when unisex names were still referred to as ambisexual, and there was no official popularity list available, we hit on the idea of taking the names then in favor for both sexes and grouping them ……

May 13th, 2009 at 12:26 pm

Micah for a girl?

May 13th, 2009 at 12:37 pm

Yes, it’s actually been on the girls’ list since 2000.

May 13th, 2009 at 12:50 pm

My dad was born in ‘54 and his parents gave him the MN Bailey. I’ve heard that his mother’s sister was quite insistent that it was a girl name and they had made a huge mistake. I always wanted to use it for a girl, but by the time I got around to having children it was way too popular.

May 13th, 2009 at 12:53 pm

What do people think of Aiden as a girl’s name? I’m a little surprised (but not really) that it hasn’t made the unisex list. We contemplated it as a girl’s name, but ultimately we were intimidated by its popularity on the boy front.

May 13th, 2009 at 5:43 pm

Micah has always sounded like a girl’s name to me. I tend to think that names that names ending in “a” are feminine, especially to an American ear. Bailey, Riley, and Finley don’t come as any surprise to me; I think the “ee” ending naturally lends itself to girls. I know a little girl named Aiden, but I’m in the camp that’s staunchly opposed to names crossing gender lines.

May 14th, 2009 at 9:08 am

I guess one of these days I’ll have to accept that most Americans think of Ariel as a Little Mermaid. BUT I DON’T WANT TO!

Ariel (pronounced AR-ee-ell, not AIR-ee-ell) is all boy to me. The girl’s version is Arielle or Ariella.

May 14th, 2009 at 12:47 pm

Reese becoming ‘firmly feminine’ is heart-breaking. It’s a boy’s name – simple as.

May 14th, 2009 at 12:53 pm

You’ll have to blame it on Ms. Witherspoon, I’m afraid–who was actually born withe the first name LAura.

May 14th, 2009 at 3:32 pm

Yeah, I never thought of Reese as girl’s name before Reese Witherspoon either but I do think it’s pretty cute now although I wouldn’t use it. I can’t stand the whole Bailey and Taylor trends for girls, those names are completely masculine still.

May 14th, 2009 at 5:37 pm

I love Reese for a boy but have resigned myself to it becoming a girl’s name–is there hope that if the girl-Reese trend dies down that I can snatch it up for a boy? And I see no results for the name Blake, which was always strongly male to me. There’s Blake Lively becoming more well known with Gossip Girls and I expect the name to be lost to the girls soon (hopefully not).

May 14th, 2009 at 6:28 pm

I love the name Aidan for a girl! I’ve seen it spelled Aidyn, but I think that would just be too troublesome, even if it would be girlier.

May 14th, 2009 at 11:18 pm

Reese can still be a boy’s name. I love it spelt Rhys, and that is definitely all boy.

May 19th, 2009 at 12:59 am

[...] of course used for girls too.  For a closer look on which are trending girlish, see our blog on unisex names. REAL [...]

May 29th, 2009 at 11:29 pm

The only thing that surprises me here is Eden for a boy? I would have never suspected that.

July 9th, 2009 at 8:18 pm

My cousin named her two daughters Zion and Clarion, which before her, I have never seen girls with those names, and not many boys either.

July 16th, 2009 at 6:54 am

Zion is quite biblical

July 28th, 2009 at 11:28 am

My fiance’s daughter’s name is Zyon, and yes it is a very biblical name. She is the sweetest little girl! And I LOVE her name!

August 6th, 2009 at 12:40 am

I think any unique, uncommon names are always best. I know several “Reese” names used for boys. I disagree with “Rhys” as it will give that poor child hell his whole life. I am all about spelling names unusual, but think of the kid as they grow up with this name. My little girl’s name is Zoey. We are working on baby #2’s name, which is due this Decemeber. I really like the names Sloan, Quinn, and Wren (Reyn).

August 16th, 2009 at 9:11 pm

Rhys is actually a very traditional Gaelic spelling.

August 23rd, 2009 at 12:21 pm

We are thinking of naming our daughter Ryan.. But unsure if we should change the spelling to Rian? Ran is the Irish spelling of Ryan.
I love Logan, Sloan Reese for girls

September 22nd, 2009 at 12:34 pm

My favorites are Alexis and Ariel-both for girls. I think these have both completely crossed the gender line. I know of many more females with these names than males. Ariel is the name of the lead females some of my favorite movies- Footloose, In America and Grumpy Old Men. It’s also the name of the teenage daughter in the tv series Medium. Everytime I hear her name used I think of how pretty it sounds.

October 6th, 2009 at 8:01 pm

I love the name Reagan for a little girl.
I think it is very strong and it sounds cute.

October 24th, 2009 at 11:50 am

My daughters name is Micah, she’s 11, we wanted her to have all the grandparents names involved, so my dads middle name is Michael and Michaela is so overused, so we named her Micah Shariden, placing Sharie and Denise together for the middle name. That way all her grandparents felt they were part of her name. People always ask for “him” first assuming Micah is a boy, but then compliment such a great name choice for her.

November 10th, 2009 at 7:25 pm

Funny, I’ve always thought Jayden a girls name.