Baby Name Trends: Gender Benders

I’m all for gender bending. I love seeing my nephew with his toenails painted and I’d be more than happy to give him a dress. Personally though, I prefer seeing a feminine name on a girl with a more masculine nickname. For instance: Charlotte nn Charlie. I also prefer the more masculine names on boys. Boys named Anne (like my uncle), Kelly or whatever just don’t do it for me.

Gender-bending names aren’t my style either. but I’ve gotten my boys (Leo & Simon) tutus before! when they were 6, they wanted ballet lessons, so they got them. It only lasted a year and they’ve never tried again (to my knowledge) but they wore tutus for the recital! they were two of four boys in ballet that year, too.

I’m also a big fan of nail polish in general and see no harm in using it on boys anymore than I see a problem with pierced ears or weird haircuts on boys. And I’d do the same stuff if my daughter wanted it too! and Kelly on a boy, LOVE it!

Alessandra is a gender bending name? Are there ANY boys out there named Alessandra?

I love gender-bending names, especially in the form of nouns. I am surprised that some of these
names are considered gender-benders, though!

I am all for the gender bend too. But leave some options for the child. I am having a hard time with some of the harder sounding boyish names on girls. For instance recently really messed up on a little girl named Karsten. Thought she was the boy in the family and brother Riley the girl. These are 8 and 9 year old kids. I really thought hard about my response to this little girl’s name. It just feels so rough and wrong. Especially since she is such a delicate child. I will see if my thoughts change – but her name really does not suit her.

@Eileen: maybe they meant Alexis??

I’m clinging to Morgan for a boy. It’s such a masculine sounding name. Plus, you have Morgan Freeman. Having a famous person helps. My Italian friend named her son Andrea, and when I told my other friend she made a face. “You know, like Andrea Bocelli,” I said, to which she responded, “Oh, cool!” Having someone to point to makes it easier, imo.

I’m all for gender bending names as long as it isn’t too hard of a name on a girl or a super fancy feminine name on a boy. I don’t think that Jasper and Jamison are really gender bending.

A disappointed post. Very few of these are gender-bending. Rhys, for example, is a historic Welsh name for boys.

Sorry, a disappointing post.

Kelly is actually a traditional Irish name for boys. My dad was named Kelly after his great great grandfather (from Ireland).

C, I’m sorry you were disappointed. I can see where the confusion comes in about whether these are REALLY gender bending. Many would not be used for children of the other sex, and many are not even truly unisex in the way that Rory and Finley, say, are.

But the point I made in the introduction is that these are among the fastest rising names for both genders and many of them have gender-bending aspects to them. Yes, Rhys is a traditional Welsh boys’ name, but Reese Witherspoon has made her girls’ version of the name more popular. Jasper and Jamison may be decidedly male, but both incorporate soft sounds traditionally associated with feminine names.

To me, this connects with the pink-toenails-on-boys issue because Beckett’s mom wasn’t sending him to nursery school in dresses and pigtails; she was supporting his exploration of one facet of traditionally feminine culture. This is the modern kind of gender-bending I’m talking about in regard to these names that are suddenly trendy.

Oh, and as for Alessandra — no, I didn’t mean Alexis, I meant Alessandra, the Italian feminine form of Alexander. Feminizations of traditionally masculine names such as Alessandra and Giuliana are among the fast-rising names that contain one kind of gender twist.

I read your explanations and I’m still a little confused. Here in the South we have plenty of girls with surnames as first names and also in New England, surnames on girls as first names have been traditional and not necessarily gender-bending. Changing Alexander to Alexandra (or Alessandra) has been around for over a thousand years. Taking Welsh boys’ names and making them girls’ names, as we’ve done with English and Irish names (Leslie, Ashley, Kelly, Morgan)has been happening for about forty years now. Taking “son” names and making them girls’ names is new. Naming a boy Terence and calling him Terry is hardly new, and Emmett –?? Because it sounds like Emily, even when they’re two entirely different names? Not sure what you intend.

The “metrosexualisation” of boys isn’t happening here in the deep South. In fact, girls are being sexualised younger and younger (makeovers for toddlers, for example) and boys are still expected to play football. The only positive that I’ve noticed is that the pressure on gay and lesbian teens seems to be lessening, at least in my school.

Leslie, I’m not saying these are new names or names that have never been used in this way before, but that they’re among the fastest rising names right now. Here’s the link to the SSA statistics for 2010: http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/rankchange.html

I do see a connection between the gender-bending trend in childrearing and the dramatic rise in many names that have some kind of gender ambiguity or cross-gender quality. Yes, in my expert opinion, the sudden rise of Emmett, an old but for years very quietly used boys’ name, following the explosion of Emma and Emily, is significant and bespeaks a new willingness on the part of parents to use boys’ names that are similar in flavor to popular or stylish girls’ names.

Predicting name trends and connecting them to larger social trends is an inexact science, if it can be called a science at all, but drawing conclusions based on several seemingly disjointed pieces of evidence is the way it’s done. I believe I’m right and you’re free to disagree.

Hi Pam – just pointing out that Emmett is the name of one of the characters in Twilight. I would call that more of the Twilight effect that the Emma/Emily effect. But then you are way more of an expert than I! I continue to be amazed at the under 30 or under 25 set of moms so influenced by popular culture in their naming as opposed to the above 30 or 35 or 40 moms.

Over time, the masculine names stolen for girls have become pretty much the property of the ladies. Beverly and Shirley used to be men’s names, way back. In Little Women, Laurie was a boy. These are all girls’ names now. I think this will continue to happen, gradually. What some might call “gender bending” names now, also, are completely bypassing the guys as first names and landing squarely on the girls – they sound more like typical last names – Mabrey, and all the McKenzie’s and their various spellings, Chandler, and I have a lovely 12-year-old niece named Ashton (a compromise and long before Kuchner).

I only just noticed this blog post from a few weeks back, and must have been away when it was posted. As a guy with a gender bending name I can relate to the article. Also I agree with the premise that gender and names that define gender are being challenged much more. Some of the names on the girls list, like Quinn, Charlie, Finley, Paris, Ainsley and Riley/Ryleigh I agree with as changing trends. The boys list I found a bit more of a stretch but that’s probably because the trend is still much more of boyish names going to girls than the other way around, while there is still maybe a softening of boys names whatever that means. But discussing this in different forums I notice an age difference in attitudes too, to some extent. Girls, below say 21 seem to be more open to boys names on girls and girls names on boys than although this is not always the case. But I can see an increase in gender challenging name trends if the forums are anything to go by. Personally I can see Tatum on a boy. And Terry is a boys name in the UK anyway which shows there will be regional variations anyway.

This interests me because one of the names we’ve considered for Baby 2, due in 9 weeks, is Skyler. We’re expecting a boy, but Skyler sounds so feminine to me. I know spelling can indicate gender, but I’m scared to name him Skyler in case the name goes wholly to the ladies (like Ashton seems to be doing). I know male Shannons and Careys who are in their 30s now, and were named before these names sounded so very female. I often wonder how they feel about it, but don’t feel it’s polite to ask.

My friend just named her baby daughter Grayson! They had a short list of names and just knew when they met her. Some non-specific gender names I have considered are Jasper, Austin, Rowan, Baylor, Juniper, Lowen, Blue, Greer, Briar, Rhys/Reece, River, Loxley, Winter, Bear/Berry, Pheonix, Linden, Beau, Quinn, Knox. I would use these on a boy or a girl without issue. I have a friend who is considering “Axelle”, a female form of Axel.

quotations…

Baby Name Trends: Gender Benders – Baby Name Blog – Nameberry…