Comments on: Unisex Names: Would you use one?

By: Moonstone29

Moonstone29 — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 01:21:55 +0000

I have a love/hate relationship with unisex names. A best friend of mine is named Sutton, which I love as a girls name instead of a boys name. Spencer, Elliot, Logan, they are super cute for young kids and teens, but do you really imagine a 50 year old woman with the name Logan? It doesn’t sound right. But names that can grow like Sutton, I don’t mind them

By: littleredone

littleredone — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 14:02:24 +0000

I am a Rowan and for a long time, I wasn’t even aware that my name was unisex having only met female Rowans, now however, it really irks me that my name is unisex, and the ‘isn’t that a boys name’ comments make me wish my mother had got her way and named me Amelia instead even though what I love about being a Rowan is the few Rowans there are. I love hearing about people naming their baby daughters Rowan though.
Personally, there are unisex names that I would still consider using such as Avery for a girl and Sawyer and Noah for a boy and others that I would use but in the middle name position so it wouldn’t affect the child if the name suddenly increases in popularity for the opposite gender; Wren, Sage and Bay.
I think if I was completely torn between two names and one was unisex, I would go with the other purely because of my personal annoyance with people who question the gender of a name.

By: StrixOniro

StrixOniro — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 01:16:44 +0000

Honestly it depends on the individual name, but I like slightly feminine names on boys or slightly masculine names on girls sometimes. but my opinions are different on different names. For example: I like Avery a lot better on a girl, though it isn’t bad for a boy, I think it just suits most girls better than boys. But Hayden, I like equally for boys and girls. I would use Aspen for either, but like it better on a boy. Bailey I like equally for boys and girls. Yeah, i’m weird like that…

By: kitchi1

kitchi1 — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 22:15:29 +0000

I would name a girl a name more used for a boy. I love the names Charlie and Dylan for a girl.

By: AveryDenimsMommy

AveryDenimsMommy — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 13:08:54 +0000

I named my son Avery not realizing at the time that the name is becoming increasingly popular for girls. When I was growing up I only knew one Avery and he was a boy. It doesn’t really bother me that much but my only fear is that when he gets into school he will be in class with a girl named Avery and he will be teased….

By: KateM91

KateM91 — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:56:55 +0000

I would choose a name that’s given almost equally to both genders, if I liked that name. I know a little girl nicknamed Brody and I love it. I plan on using James as a middle for my daughter. I would not give my son a girls name. I am from a tiny agricultural town, and a rugged name is suitable for either gender, but it’s almost a necessity for a young man to be called something like Ben, Kick, Colton, or Todd.

By: ebenezer.scrouge

ebenezer.scrouge — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 05:20:24 +0000

In Australia only Bailey for boys charts with more girls being called Bailee and Baylee and Bayleigh. And Ashley is coming back onto the charts for boys. I would pick a name that is unknown almost for either gender like Clancy

By: Melusine

Melusine — Tue, 03 Jul 2012 11:10:54 +0000

This is a really interesting discussion, and it’s great to read so many different opinions on this.

@Malaria – I am very cis-gendered myself, but I don’t believe in a gender binary either (anymore, I should add).

@Thadsmom and OliviaSarah – salient points. When I was pregnant with my daughter (now 6 months old) I got to thinking about gender a lot, and realised how influential it was, but on shaky grounds. I would really recommend Cordelia Fine’s “Delusions of Gender”(especially to the person who recommended Leonard Sax’s book).

Anyway, to answer the original question: I’m Dutch, and most unisex names mentioned here are limited to the English-speaking world. We have far fewer of them in Dutch. So it’s hard to say whether I’d use one. I’ve vetoed some of my all-time favourite names because they sounded too English (much as I loved them, they would’ve sounded tacky or pretentious in Dutch)

By: Haili73

Haili73 — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 23:34:32 +0000

I always thought that River was a girls’ name, planned to have my pseudonym to be River Ann Wyllow, after reading about a baby born while crossing a river on the Oregon Trail in one of the Dear America books (I was in 7th grade at the time) Then I discovered it was a boy’s name, originally. I could see River on a boy or girl easily, same with Briar. I watched Sleeping Beauty plenty of times growing up, so Briar-Rose was obviously a girl name. But then I fell in love with the character Briar Moss from Tamora Pierce’s Circle of Magic series, and loved it for a boy. I still can’t decide which I like it on more.

People have gone crazy and are like “don’t name your daughter Addison/Madison/anything -son because it means ‘son’” and I’m not like that. There are plenty of girl Addisons and Madisons out there and I don’t have a problem with that. I’m a writer and I use unisex names sometimes- I had a guy named Jaimie, and a girl named Dave (and ironically, a boy named Ryan…nowadays people would think that Ryan was the girl)…that was a weird story and didn’t last long. Still, it can get confusing.

The best use for unisex names is a sad one. My aunt miscarried and gave her unborn child a unisex name because she never got to know whether it was a boy or a girl. Instead of calling it “baby” or whatever, she has a name like Jordan or Briar or River or Jessy or Sloane.

Here’s the deal: If you’re going to use a unisex name, use it as a middle name or pair it with a distinctly boy/girl middle name. ie River Ann is a girl while River Andrew is a boy. Don’t do something like River Quinn. Or do Lillian Sloane or use Ryanne instead of Ryan. Michal instead of Michael for a girl. I know girls named Michal and Carter McKenzie. They go by Mia (pronounced like Maya) and McKenzie. If you’re going to use a unisex name, try to pick one with a nickname or a backup plan built in in case your child doesn’t love it. Who knows? Maybe by the time little boy Briar gets in school people won’t think of Briar-Rose when they hear his name. If not, Briar can use is middle name or go by Brian.

By: LexieM

LexieM — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 20:21:49 +0000

Personally I think there is something nice about giving your child a gender neutral name or feeling confident in your choice to cross the gender divide. I think this allows your child to grow into the person they want to be and makes it easier for them to explore their sexualities openly with their families then if they feel they are bound to tradition. That said – I wouldn’t venture too far into the opposite territory. I think a good rule of thumb is still to think of all the bad nick-names your child might be called in school if you want your “boy named sue” just expect to either have a child at home who cries a lot or is super tough.

On an interesting side note: Some countries have laws about what you are allowed to name your child. If you want to give your kid an unusual name you have to be able to prove that it is a proper first name and correlates to your off-springs gender correctly. I’m sure this sounds ridiculous to many people but since the internet makes research so much easier I’m sure one can find precedent for almost any name and it does prevent especially vicious parents for naming their daughter Latrine because they think it’s funny.