baby boy names for baby girls

Leo is of course a very popular name for boys and an equally rare one for girls. But32 baby girls were named Leo in the US last year, and as feminine leonine names such as Leonora and Leonia find more widespread popularity, Leo is popping up as an adorable short form for girls as well as boys.

Love makes an endearing middle name, as in Jennifer Love Hewitt. However, more parents are considering Love as a first name — enough for it to enter the charts for the first time in 2022 as one of the fastest-rising names of the year. Other love-related alternatives include Juliet, Valentina, and Amor.

Very much a boy's name in Italy, it's beginning to be seen as a unisex possibility here: actress Jennie Garth used it for her daughter. When spelled Lucca as in the Italian city, it can also be considered one of the place names along with Venezia, Roma, and Milana that make great Italian names for girls.

Marcel, despite distinguished namesakes including Proust and Duchamp, suffers from a terminal headwaiter image in this country. But along with its sister name Marcella and French variation (and Jolie-Pitt pick) Marcheline, Marcel may be on the brink of a style renaissance.

Mika is a Japanese girls' name that translates easily to English. As a male name, it's a short form of Mikael, the Scandinavian and Finnish form of Michael. Both are spelled and pronounced the same.

Milo is one of the top names for boys on Nameberry, and now it's used for an increasing number of baby girls too.

A much more dynamic nickname than Nicky for any of the Nic-names. Nico was chosen by Thandiwe Newton for her daughter.

Okay, this is going to be confusing...

Nova has the feel of both newness, from its meaning, and great energy as an astronomical term for a star that increases suddenly in brightness before fading.

Ocean is a nature name that comes right out and states its meaning and association. Full of power and depth, Ocean is one of the fastest-rising baby names for both girls and boys, making the US Top 1000 for both genders in 2021. Oceane, the version that's trendy in France, was used for only 11 baby girls in the US in the same year. Ocean-lovers who want to be less obvious can choose such subtler names that mean ocean as Jennifer or Marissa, but coming right out and using Ocean is a perfectly valid way to go.

Though greatly overshadowed by the trendy Olivia, Olive has a quiet, subtle appeal of its own -- and is now enjoying a remarkable comeback. Olive is one of only four girl names starting with O on the US Top 1000. Cool couple Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen chose it for their daughter, reviving the name to stylishness, and now Drew Barrymore has a little Olive too, as has country singer Jake Owen.

Phoenix is a New Age name symbolizing rebirth and immortality. It's also a place name, a color name, a mythological name, AND an animal name, combining several of today's hottest trends in one appealing package.

Quinn is one of the first popular Irish unisex surnames, a strong and attractive choice on the rise for girls but still popular for boys. Quinn was used for about 3000 baby girls and 700 boys in the US last year.

Austrian actress Romy Schneider seemed to be the singular bearer of this international nickname name until it found new style currency in the past decade.

Rory is a buoyant, spirited name for a redhead with Celtic roots. The name Rory is getting more popular overall, but for the past few years has been trending decidedly toward the boys' side -- however, it's been rising to new heights for girls in recent years.

Sage is an evocatively fragrant herbal name that also connotes wisdom, giving it a double advantage. It entered the Top 1000 at about the same time for both genders in the early 1990s, but it has pulled ahead for the girls. Toni Collette named her daughter Sage Florence.

Yes, Spencer makes a plausible and powerful female choice these days, though still thought of as primarily for boys. Kelsey Grammer used it for his daughter in the 1980's. Spencer made its first appearance on the girls' Top 1000 in 2017.

Theo has a girls' name is used for only a handful of babies today. As a short form of Theodora, Theo is used much less frequently than Thea or even Teddy. One notable appearance was as the younger daughter in Sofia Coppola's film On the Rocks in 2020.

Occasionally used as an independent name, but why.

For a girl, we'd say Val-en-teen, though many would insist on pronouncing it like the holiday.