Geezer Names for Girls

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Clarke

• Origin:

  Variation of Clark

• Description:

  Though the original is unequivocally male, adding the E makes it viable for girls too.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Georgie

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.

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.