Despite its origin as a patronymic meaning "son of Adam", Addison really caught on for baby girls in the US around the turn of the millennium, following in Madison's footsteps to peak at #11 in 2007 and again in 2010. But there are plenty of distinguished namesakes for a boy named Addison: from the fictional theater critic Addison DeWitt (All About Eve) to the 18th-century English poet, playwright, politician and essayist Joseph Addison. It is worth noting too, that Addison remains in usage for boys in the UK and would fit right in with other unisex choices, such as Mackenzie, Hadley, and Ellis.

Addison

As a boys' name, Angel has two distinct name personalities. One is as a perennial favorite Hispanic <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys’ name</a>, popular in the US along with Spain, Mexico, and South America.
 
Then Buffy the Vampire Slayer brought Angel into the Anglo camp, where it's now heard more frequently, pronounced the English way. Angel entered the boys' Top 100 in 1997 and remains solidly there today.
 
Angel's popularity for girls began to wane at the same time the name took off for boys. Any child named Angel, of whatever gender or nationality, has a, well, angelic image to live up to or live down.
 Other notable male Angels: the husband in Thomas Hardy's Tess of the D'Urbervilles, a character on Dexter, and several athletes.

Angel

Although usually spelled without the final 'e', this version commemorates tennis immortal Arthur Ashe. Seth Meyers' son Ashe was given his wife's maiden name.

Ashe

As trendy as the chic Colorado ski resort and film festival, Aspen is fast becoming more popular for girls than for boys, but this nature name would work equally well for either.

Aspen

Extremely amiable, open-sounding surname that's gradually being taken over by the girls. 

Bailey

Among the coolest of the cool color names, particularly popular with celebs as a unisex middle name. 

Blue

It may be the hippest of hispter neighborhoods, but as a baby name Brooklyn is now on the decline: down from a peak of 120 births for boys in 1999, and over 7000 births for girls in 2011. 

The most famous male bearer of this name is the eldest child of David and Victoria Beckham, now a successful model and photographer in his own right. The name is now overwhelmingly female, given to 3200 baby girls and only 57 boys last year.

Brooks would be an on-trend alternative for a baby boy.

Brooklyn

Cairo is an exciting place name possibility with upbeat o ending. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 2015 and keeps heading upward.

Cairo owes its sudden popularity to its choice by rapper Tyga for his son King Cairo's middle name. And Brazilian place kicker Cairo Santos helped popularize the name when he joined the Chicago Bears football team. Santos is named for his father, also Cairo.

Another influence propelling Cairo up the ladder: the popularity of the name Kai. And Cai could certainly be a nickname for Cairo.

Cairo

Rhythmic route to the nickname Cal. This musical moniker is another great example of a traditionally feminine name that could easily go masculine.

Calypso

Clover

Diamond

Although this is traditionally seen as a female name, via the classical mythological nymph who pined away for Narcissus until all that remained of her was a disembodied voice — it can also be used for boys. Remember that old song, 'Little sir echo, how do you do?'
 
Amanda Knox has a son named Echo and a daughter named Eureka.

Echo

This Biblical name was rising dramatically for boys, but has plateaued in recent years. Although it's more popular for girls, it's a delightful unisex choice. Eden is one of the <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names/france">Top 100 Boy Names in France</a>.

Eden

Embry became viable as a first name when it was used for the (male) werewolf character Embry Call in the Twilight series. But its Em- beginning and -y ending give it a feminine sound, so we call it perfectly appropriate for a girl. Embry or Embury is an established English surname.

Embry

Gale for boys is more a storm name than a short form of Abigail. Since Gale has resurfaced as the name of Liam Hemsworth's daring character in The Hunger Games, it has new force for boys.

Gale

Harper got its start as a celebrity baby name when Paul Simon chose it for his now-grown son. Since then, other famous parents have followed suit: musician Tim Finn and actor Cecilia Peck both have sons called Harper.

Other high-profile Harpers, like author (Nelle) Harper Lee and starbabies Harper Burtka-Harris and Harper Beckham, are female, but it makes a handsome choice for either sex (and is in the US Top 1000 for both boys and girls).

Harper

Like Harbor, one of the new generation of word names with appealing meanings, though (female) memoirist Haven Kimmel has tipped it decidedly toward the girls' ca place of safetyourt. 

Haven

Honour

The extra 'T' makes this nickname name a little more substantial.

Kitt

Do you really want to name your baby after a car when there are so many other lex possibilities?

Lexus

Lou, all by itself, is become fashionable for girls, which usually makes a name LESS fashionable for boys.  But Lou, like Bill or Jim, is rarely used on its own for boys anyway.  (You wouldn't name a boy Frederick Lou the way that girls are named Mary Lou or, in the case of Keri Russell's new baby, Willa Lou.)  Long form Louis is getting cool again and, with the Lewis spelling, is the Number 2 name in Scotland.

This lively Scottish name caught on for girls in a big way starting from the 1970s in the US, although it has remained much more gender-neutral in its native Britain, where it peaked at #109 for boys in 2005 (#303 for girls the name year). Mac would be a cool short form.

Mackenzie

Madison was at one time a strictly boys' presidential name, reaching as high as Number 311 at the end of the nineteenth century.  That all changed in 1985 when it entered the girls' list, zooming up quickly until it reached the Number 2 spot, with more than 22,000 female babies given the name in 2001.  As is so often the case, its use for boys has dropped precipitously.

Madison

A nickname for Malcolm that at one point ranked independently on the US Top 1000. It still exists as an affectionate pet form, but you’re unlikely to hear a Malcolm introduce himself as Mal.

Morgan, once split evenly between the sexes, is a strong and attractive Welsh favorite, still a common <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys’ name</a> in Wales. Morgan is now more often a girls' name in the U.S. – about 2000 girls were given the name in one recent year, vs. 362 boys – though it's one of the most traditional unisex choices. Morgan was actually a Top 200 pick for boys in Victorian Britain!
 Distinguished actor Morgan Freeman is a worthy male namesake.

Morgan

Western place-name that feels equally appropriate for both genders. Note: Natives say rhyme that second syllable with had, so it's not nehv-AH-da.

Nevada

As sturdy as Oak, with deeper roots. It's been on the rise for both boys and girls in recent years, with the name comfortably in the top 500 for boys and nearing the Top 100 for girls.

For boys, Oak variations Oakland, Oaklen, and Oaklee are also quite popular. And S-ender Oaks or Oakes are also gaining in popularity.

Though it may sound like a modern unisex invention, Oakley was actually used as a boys' name in the US at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries. It's popular throughout the English-speaking world as well as for dogs.

Oakley

Piper's rising popularity for girls makes it an unlikely masculine choice.

Piper

Make that bird name, and while it does work for both genders, it's far more popular for girls, via Raven Symone. 

Raven

Riley -- one of the most <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names/unisex">popular unisex names</a> -- is trendier now for girls though for boys it's a classic, ALWAYS ranking in the US Top 1000. 

In fact, after a decade of softening, Riley has recently taken a turn upward for boys, along with a lot of other gender-neutral names. These days, parents are embracing unisex names even more enthusiastically for their sons than for their daughters.

Riley ranks in the Top 100 for boys throughout the rest of the English-speaking world, though interestingly not in its native Ireland. In the US, Riley is the most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/753/best-irish-girl-names">Irish name for girls</a>.

There are lots of athletes and other notable real-life namesakes for a boy named Riley, as well as fictional ones in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight: Eclipse. And Riley can easily be shortened for a boy to Ry or Lee.

Riley

This spirited Gaelic classic, which became popular in Ireland via the illustrious twelfth century king Rory O'Connor, makes a highly energetic choice, now used for either sex. Rory's gender split is still trending boyward; it's one of the coolest <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/boys-names/r">boys' names starting with R</a>. 
 In England and Wales, however, the name is virtually never given to girls. It's seen as thoroughly male (and non-female) as Roger or Richard.
 Rory first came to attention in the US in the person of mid-century pin-up boy Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy). The name entered the popularity list in 1947, peaking at Number 280 in 1959. 
 Young Irish U.S. Open champ Rory Mcllroy makes a worthy namesake. Bill and Melinda Gates chose Rory as the name of their only son.
 Rory is a popular choice all throughout the UK. Skip baffling Gaelic spellings like Ruari and Ruaidhri and stick with the more straightforward Rory.

Rory

Botanical choice that can work for either gender. Simple and straightforward. Caveats: rue means "regret" in English, and "street" in French.

Ragen

Fits many criteria sought by modern parents: it's short and strong, with intimations of wisdom as well as fragrant herbal properties.  At this point, Sage is given about a third of the time to boys.



Sage

Haunting biblical and Civil War place-name; now unisex—especially after the mega-high-profile Brangelina couple picked it for their daughter. It debuted in the Top 1000 for boys in 2015.
 Many people may associate this name with the 1990s family film about a dog.

Shiloh

Referring to the Scottish Isle of Skye, brings Sky down to earth. This spelling is used more often for girls.

Skye

Taylor was much more popular throughout the 1990s for both genders than it is today. Close to the Top 50 <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys' names</a> in the mid-1990s, Taylor recently fell out of the Top 500 for boys and out of the Top 100 for girls, and is predicted to continue on a downward trajectory for both genders. Similar but more stylish <a href="https://nameberry.com">baby names</a> today include Sawyer, Sayer and Thayer.

Taylor

TORI

Many parents seeking a return to more basic values and a simpler lifestyle are turning to such virtuous girls' names as Grace, Faith, and Hope, but the few that can be used for boys as well, such as True, are more often seen as a middle name. 

True

Tarren

Valentine is an attractive Shakespearean name with romantic associations, but those very ties to the saint and the sentimental holiday have sent it into a decline, one which we think may be about to turn around.
The name's best known bearer is the third century martyr St. Valentine, whose feast day of February 14 coincided with the pagan fertility festival of the goddess Juno, all of which led to the modern Valentine's Day. This makes Valentine one of the most perfect <a href="https:///list/630/70-lovely-names-for-february-babies">names for February babies</a>.
There are two Shakespearean characters named Valentine: one in Twelfth Night, and the other belonging to one of the two gentlemen in Two Gentlemen of Verona. 
Valentine was the name of the father of James Bond-creator Ian Fleming, the young Humphrey Bogart played a dashing con artist named Valentine Corliss in an early film, The Bad Sister, and Kevin Bacon was Valentine McKee in the 1990 sci fi movie Tremors. Valentine Michael Smith is a major character in Robert Heinlein's classic, Stranger in a Strange Land.
Though Valentine hasn't been in the U.S. Top 1000 for over half a century, it's currently in the Top 100 in France and Belgium.
Ricky Martin chose the even more romantic Latin Valentino for one of his twins, and the feminine Valentina was given to the daughters of Salma Hayek, Adriana Lima and Lolita Davidovich. And trivia tidbit: Valentine was the middle name of writer Henry Miller.

Valentine

Zion has taken off in recent years, especially after singer Lauryn Hill used it for her son in 1997 and incorporated the name into a hit song. It combines a user-friendly Ryan-Brian sound with the gravitas of religious significance. The Hebrew pronunciation is 'tzeeyon'.
 In the Old Testament, the name Zion frequently refers to the city of Jerusalem as a whole, and came to be symbolic of Jewish national aspirations, and thus was the source of the term Zionism.

Girls Names for Guys