Unisex Names: What’s Hot, What’s Not

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 ……

Micah for a girl?

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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).

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.

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

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

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

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.

Zion is quite biblical

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!

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).

Rhys is actually a very traditional Gaelic spelling.

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

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.

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

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.

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

which of these are the most ‘masculine’ sounding of the unisex names? We’re stuck!

ariel
avery
emory

My name is Jayk (jake). Im named after my grandpa, and yeah i always got asked if “mr. Jayk” was here in my classes but it was okay because no one ever made fun of me, they loved it! 🙂

I love Jayden as a boy name AND a girl name! As a matter of fact, I know a girl who named her little twins Jayden (girl) and Jaylin (boy). not only that but my best friend’s name is Jayden, and he completely agrees its a unisex name.

To me Ariel sounds beautiful and feminine. I just think of the movies Footloose or In America or the tv series Medium–all with pretty girls named Ariel. Avery to me sounds most masculine, but could definitely be for a girl as well.

My daughter is Micah (aged 6), In Ireland this is not a popular name at all, i only came across it when I was pregnant, I was introduced to it as a girls name and never even considered it to be a boys name until I searched it on the net. I thought it sounded so feminine and cute but i’ve now gotten used to it as a unisex name, as long as you like it, it doesn’t matter what it’s refered to sex wise.

How about Ashley? Ashley is a unisex name, although I always considered it a boys name (perhaps because of GWTW ) but just the vowels sound masculine to me ASH plus Lee. But I realize most consider it on a girls name. To me it kinda sounds cheesy on a girl, but to name a guy Ashley is really cool IMO.

Micah is in the bible, and it’s a woman’s name – people confuse it with Michael which is why it leans masculine but it’s a feminine name by origin.

reese on two lists???

I think Reese can go both ways – sp Reese for a girl, and Rhys/Reece for a boy.

I’m confused because my number 1 choice for a girl, Skyler (nn Skye) has a number of different spellings and they’re all on different lists! From what I can work out, Schuyler is the traditional spelling and it’s male, but I much prefer the k spellings and Skyler/Skylar both look and sound feminine to me, as does the nn Skye. I’m thinking of going with a very frilly feminine name for the mn to increase its femininity… Skyler Aurora, Skyler Valentina, Skyler Alessandra… something like that 🙂

I quite like the trend of masculine names on girls. I love the feminine Avery and Rowen, and I’ve even known a little girl Jasper, who is the most beautiful thing! I think the feminine Jasper actually works quite well as unisex, especially as all the other gemstone names (Ruby, Pearl, Jade, etc) are female (although it definitely wouldn’t be everyone’s cup of tea!).

I understand the -son trends of Addison and Emerson, but linguistically those names mean “son of” and are therefore male.

My name is jaden (girl) and i think it sounds more girly

How about mayson for a girl? It’s my bosses daughters name, and I LOVE it!

Brennan for a irl

I think Korree is a cute unisex name for girls

Jody… How about Jody???

barbara should be a name for men and women

alexis is more for men or women?

I’m a girl with the name Ashley and I know it’s a boy’s name, but personally, I like it! Boys names on girls are cute!

[…] of  the unisex names on both current lists […]

I searched 8-10 baby names websites looking specifically for unisex names and all of them left a lot to be desired …. except NameBerry! The way you have the names grouped, organized, ranked in popularity among the genders, etc … OUTSTANDING!!!! This is everything I was hoping to find and more! Thanks for taking the time to organize it this way and keep up the good work! 🙂

I think a lot of what is “more masculine” or “more feminine” (from a non-statistical standpoint anyway) depends what and who you know. For instance, I grew up with about a billion little female Ashleys in my classes, so I don’t think I could ever see Ashley as a boy’s name. And I’ve known plenty of little boy Logans, but never a girl. Bailey–well, I don’t think I can think of that as a first name at all…it was my great aunt’s married name, as well as the name of my childhood friend’s dog. Not to mention I just think of the circus when I first hear it.

I really hope that this trend stops soon namu=ing girls boy names. as a teacher if I these few names I could be looking for a little boy not a girl

Mason
Blake
Avery
Rowan
Drew
Devon
Parker
Logan

My husband & I named our daughter Mycah…we added the y just to girl it up a lil bit.

I really like Eliot. I have heard it for boys but I want to name my baby girl Eliotte. What do you think?

Please, for the love of God, stop making up your own spelling to a common name. I’ve worked in retail forever and every single person whose parents forced them to correct everyone they would ever give their name to absolutely hates it! It will cause complications, mostly minor, but constant annoyance, for their whole life. Half of them switch to the common spelling at some point because their tired of correcting people.

I love the name Charlie for a little girl, but I’m not sure if it would be better to name her Charlotte and call her Charlie as a nickname. This way she would still have a really girly name.

I just love Rory! But who would name a boy Angel or Ariel?

Micah is indeed in the Bible, but it is a MALE name. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micah_%28prophet%29
Doesn’t anyone actually READ the Bible anymore?

Look: whether it’s made-up names like Jayden and Hayden or wacky bible names or just a place you’ve always wanted to visit (London? Honestly?), parents need to realize that they’re not naming a cute little puppy but an actual human being who will need to get a job, find a mate, maybe even publish a book or some other activity where their name will become known. Give your child the ability to present themselves well and for others to respect them by giving them a classic name rather than whatever is trendy with celebrities at the time. Here’s a tip: if you can imagine Paris Hilton giving the name to her chihuahua, it’s not a good name for your kid. Grow up.

Is your name seriously “Mike Hunt”?

Rebel, I know of a female comedian and when talking to some people they knew of a man with the name.

One of my friends told me her new half sibling was named Mitchel and I said, that’s a pretty name for her. But it was a boy. The reason why I think of a girl is because of an actress Josephine Mitchell and hence a blonde girl.

I think Falconer or Falcona should be unisex.

My dad is Leslie and have met ladies with the same spelling too.

my name is Jeremi spelled with an I and i am a girl LOVE IT!

I really despise “unisex” names. 90% of them are just masculine names that poor girls got saddled with, IMO. When I was pregnant, I considered Morgan if it had been a boy and was told over and over that it was a girls name. No, sorry. Hopefully, this trend will go away and the boys can have their names back.

If not – then I reserve the right to name my daughter Bruce and my son Isabelle.

I thought my name was supposed to be unisex name too..

I like Harper. It reminds me of Harper Lee. Unisex names are very unique!

I am a girl and I love my name. It’s sometimes considered unisex but usually as a boy’s name- I was named after a male cousin. I have never met another Lane, male or female. I like having a unique name, though I do have to spell it a lot. I think it doesn’t matter whether the spelling is sensible or not, you’re always going to be asked if it’s not a common name- even though the spelling I use is about the most simple it can be, people often assume I’m Layne or Laine or, actually more often, Elaine or Lana or Laney. I tell them it’s spelled like a road and eventually they get it. It’s never bothered me having a “boy” name: I like it because it’s different and I don’t have to distinguish myself from a million other Lanes.

I think the focus should be less on whether the name is “male” or “female” and more on whether you like it and think the kid will like it. And really, kids can get teased about ANY name, and if they have the same name as four other kids, it just means they’ll get teased about something else. I know a girl named Echo and another named Eden, and people compliment their names because they’re nice and friendly people- coversely, a girl I know named Whisper gets made fun of because she’s kind of a prat. So just name then whatever you want as long as you like it.

My names Kane, and I’m a girl. I was wondering if Kane was more a girls name or a boys name? Also I think Carter is a good name for a boy or a girl

My name is Alix (yes just Alix) and Im a girl. Most people I meet with the same name are boys Alexander nn Alex. I do get calls for Mr. Alix but I have never had to be worried with being confused since I was really the only girl name Alix. So I enjoy having a name the is more leaning towards male I feel like it makes me stand out, besides the fact that it is spelt with an i and it isnt a nn its my whole name.

[…] are a lot of names on this unisex name list. There are trends where some go more toward female and or more toward male, more popular or less […]

Kennedy is girly. Jaidens ugly (my brother in laws name). Jordan, Harper, Emelson, Alexis, Taylor, Skyler, Ariel and Kendall r so grly. Dylan totes boys name.

Mid txt tlk Im 14

inspired minds…

[…]Unisex Names: What’s Hot, What’s Not – Baby Name Blog – Nameberry[…]…