Geezer Names for Girls

Fri Dec 18 2020By Pamela Redmond

Blame it on Sidney. This name, which conjures up images of thick glasses, a snowfall of dandruff on shoulders, and plaid polyester pants pulled up to the sternum, sounds (strangely enough) nothing less than charming, nothing short of cool when applied to a little girl. And so too can the other geezer names here.

The only geezer names for girls currently in the US Top 1000 are Monroe and Remy, the latter of which is also stylish among baby boys. Other vintage masculine names that are rising for girls include Ira, Lyle, Ollie, Percy, Perry, Theo, Wallace, and Winslow.

Caution: Some of these names should not be bestowed on a boy. The world is not yet ready for another generation of male Seymours and Sheldons, although keep in mind that among the hottest boys' names in the UK now are Stanley and Chester.

Remy

Origin:
French from Latin
Meaning:
"oarsman"
Description:
Remy is one of those rare names that combines ancient roots with modern sleekness. Boys outnumber girls with the classic Remy spelling, girls named Remi outnumber those named Remy. With either spelling and for either gender, it's a winning choice.

Monroe

Origin:
Scottish
Meaning:
"mouth of the Roe river"
Description:
Monroe is a presidential name which, thanks to the immortal beauty of Marilyn Monroe, is catching on fast for baby girls. Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon chose it for their twin daughter, honoring Marilyn Monroe. Their use of Monroe as a girls’ name did much to revive this Old Man name, a la Sydney, as a newly fashionable choice for girls.

Monroe Continued

Lou

Origin:
Short form of Louise
Meaning:
"renowned warrior"
Description:
Lou is usually a short form of Louise, Louisa, or Lucy in English-speaking countries, when Lou is used for girls at all. But in France and Germany, it's a fashionable choice all on its own, sure to gain even more widespread style credibility since Heidi Klum and Seal chose it for their daughter.

Jules

Origin:
Latin; Greek
Meaning:
"youthful; soft, downy"
Description:
TV personality Jules Asner made this middle-aged male name suddenly seem young and fresh and female, after having been an off-the radar-nickname for Julia and Julie. Author and wife of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver spells her name Jools, and we've also seen Joolz.

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Ira

Origin:
Hebrew
Meaning:
"watchful one"
Description:
Ira for a girl. Yes, we consider it a good candidate for a gender switch, in light of tonal similarities with girl's names like Tyra and Keira. Annette Bening and Warren Beatty broke the ice by using this Old Testament male standard as the middle name of their daughter Isabel. Caveat: It does have that retirement fund connection.

Theo

Origin:
Diminutive of Theodora
Meaning:
"divine gift"
Description:
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 Teddi. One notable appearance was as the younger daughter in Sofia Coppola's film On the Rocks in 2020. Not so in the half century from 1880 till 1930, when Theo was in the Top 1000 for girls. Nicknames given as full names were stylish then, as were boyish nicknames such as Billie and Tommie for girls. Theo fits this old-school trend, but these days, Theo -- on its own and as a nickname for Theodore -- is much more popular for bouys.

Percy

Origin:
French surname from place name Perci-en-Auge
Description:
Percy is a traditional boys' name that could be cute and unexpected for a girl.

Percy Continued

Winslow

Origin:
English
Meaning:
"friend's hill or burial mound"
Description:
Winslow's most famous reference may be male painter Winslow Homer, but as a name it's beginning to be on the rise for girls. Adorable nickname Winnie may be the reason. Other unusual painterly possibilities for either sex: O'Keeffe, Hopper, and just plain Painter.

Winslow Continued

Sidney

Origin:
French
Meaning:
"Saint Denis"
Description:
While Sidney in this spelling has a long history as a girls' name, it fell off the Top 1000 from the early 50s until 1990. Then it reemerged as one of the newly chic androgynous names for girls, rising into the Top 300 before falling off the Top 1000 list again in 2016. Sydney is now the more fashionable form.

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Clarke

Origin:
Variation of Clark
Description:
Though the original is unequivocally male, adding the E makes it viable for girls too.

Clarke Continued

Jay

Origin:
Latin
Meaning:
"jaybird"
Description:
One of the boys' names newly appropriated for girls -- either on its own, as a pet form of any J name, or as a singular middle name.

Perry

Origin:
English
Meaning:
"pear tree"
Description:
Relaxed male name occasionally used for girls; sounds novel compared to such shopworn former favorites as Kerry and Sherry.

Perry Continued

Rudy

Origin:
German, short form of Rudolph
Meaning:
"famous wolf"
Description:
Rudy hasn't yet enjoyed the comeback of cousin name Ruby, despite having been chosen by hip couple Sadie Frost and Jude Law, but it still could happen.

Georgie

Georgie Continued

Desi

Origin:
Short form of Desiree, French
Meaning:
"desired"
Description:
Desi makes Desiree a lot cuter and more boyish.

Freddie

Origin:
Short form of Alfreda or Frederica
Description:
Freddie, especially with the ie ending, is one of the old-school boy-names-for-girls that came into vogue at the turn of the last century. Freddie, all on its own, ranked among the Top 1000 girl names until 1958, but in 2019 it was given to fewer than five baby girls. Maybe that makes it prime for a comeback, ala Billie?

Freddie Continued

Sinclair

Origin:
Scottish
Meaning:
"from the town of St. Clair"
Description:
The most famous Sinclair was the (male) writer Lewis, but these days the name works at least as well for a girl.

Sinclair Continued

Lenny

Origin:
Diminutive of Leonard, German
Meaning:
"brave lion"
Description:
This old man nickname feels remarkably fresh when applied to girls. Use it as a short form of Elena, Helen, or Lenore.

Lenny Continued

Merle

Origin:
French
Meaning:
"blackbird"
Description:
A sleek, smooth, understated name off the grid in the US but among the Top 100 girl names in Germany.

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Dale

Origin:
English
Meaning:
"valley"
Description:
An early unisex nature name that has been surpassed by others, Dale is still a simple, sylvan and serene option.

Lyle

Origin:
Scottish and English from French
Meaning:
"someone who lives on an island"
Description:
Lyle is a perfect example of a name that sounds old-fashioned for a boy, cool for a girl.

Ollie

Origin:
Short form of Olive or Olivia, Latin
Meaning:
"olive tree"
Description:
Ollie is used less often as a nickname for the mega-popular Olivia or the stylish Olive than Ellie is for Eleanor or Allie for Allison. That may be because Ollie has a much longer use as a nickname for boys. But 75 baby girls were given the name Ollie on their birth certificates in the US in 2018.

Ollie Continued

Seth

Origin:
Hebrew
Meaning:
"placed, appointed"
Description:
Although very rarely used for girls, its soft, gentle sound makes it a perfect candidate for crossing over to the female camp.

Amos

Origin:
Hebrew
Meaning:
"carried by God"
Description:
Although Amos is experiencing somewhat of a revival among baby boys, it feels even fresher when applied as a girl name.

Dean

Origin:
English
Meaning:
"church official"
Description:
Like many passé boys' names, this one sounds fresh again for girls.

Sonny

Sonny Continued

George

Origin:
English from Greek
Meaning:
"farmer"
Description:
For girls, typically used as a nickname for names such as Georgia and Georgiana. In the Nancy Drew series, Nancy’s best friend is Georgia “George” Fayne

George Continued

Roscoe

Origin:
Norse
Meaning:
"deer forest"
Description:
Though Roscoe is an edgy hipster name for boys, it's an even edgier, more hipsterish name for girls.

Roscoe Continued

Reggie

Origin:
Diminutive of Regina
Meaning:
"queen"
Description:
Boyish short form updates older name.

Reggie Continued

Lawrence

Origin:
Latin
Meaning:
"from Laurentium"
Description:
We approve of this name for a girl — but prefer the au, Laura-Laurenish, spelling.

Lawrence Continued

Murray

Origin:
Scottish
Meaning:
"from the land by the sea"
Description:
An old-man name that sounds cute when used for a little girl, and is starting to seem cool again for boys too.

Murray Continued

Maurice

Origin:
French
Meaning:
"dark-skinned"
Description:
One of those old-mannish names that sounds a lot fresher for a girl.

Maurice Continued

Barry

Origin:
Irish "spear"
Meaning:
"spear"
Description:
Out-of-date for a boy, innovative for a girl.

Barry Continued

Loren

Origin:
English spelling variation of Lauren
Description:
This version is more frequently used for boys.

Loren Continued

Wallace

Origin:
English from French
Meaning:
"a Welshman, a Celt"
Description:
More famously spelled Wallis as a feminine name: the woman for whom the King of England abdicated the throne.

Wallace Continued

Gene

Origin:
Diminutive of Eugenia or variation of Jean
Description:
This is still usually the boy's spelling.

Dell

Mercer

Origin:
French occupational surname
Meaning:
"a merchant"
Description:
Mercer is one fashionable occupational name that can work as well for girls as boys, perhaps because of the soft c or the conventionally feminine nickname Mercy.

Mercer Continued

Toby

Origin:
Diminutive of Tobias
Description:
Toby is an early unisex name with a Shakespearean pedigree; when used for a girl it retains its tomboyish quality.

Gary

Origin:
English
Meaning:
"spear man"
Description:
While not generally thought of as unisex, this is a male name that, like Perry and Barry, has occasionally been used for girls over the years.

Roy

Origin:
Scottish
Meaning:
"red"
Description:
If girls have adopted Ray, why not Roy.

Howard

Origin:
German
Meaning:
"brave heart"
Description:
Howard? For a girl? In the woolly new world of baby naming, stranger things have happened. One or two, anyway.

Howard Continued

Wiley

Origin:
Scottish diminutive of William, German, English
Meaning:
"resolute protection; from Wylye"
Description:
The Wylie spelling (with that feminine Y) is much more common among girls than Wiley, but both have been climbing the ranks. Could Wiley be the next Riley?

Wiley Continued

Gus

Origin:
Short form of Augusta
Description:
Unlike Sam or even Max, Gus -- short for Augusta or Gusta -- feels a bit too butch to work for a girl.

Jerry

Jerry Continued

Chauncey

Origin:
Latin
Meaning:
"chancellor"
Description:
A name halfway between its old milquetoast image and a more jovial Irish-sounding contemporary one. Sounds more feminine than masculine these days.

Chauncey Continued

Stanley

Origin:
English
Meaning:
"near the stony meadow"
Description:
Perfect example of how your perception of a name can change when you apply it to the opposite gender: when used for a girl, Stanley suddenly becomes an attractive, upper-crusty name ala Ansley or Finley.

Stanley Continued

Clem

Lonnie

Lonnie Continued

Mel

Origin:
Diminutive of Melanie
Description:
Balding-man name that's short and sweet for a girl.

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