Boy Names for Girls

Yes, another Irish surname, turned boys' name, turned unisex name. But we think this one has a bit more going for it than Logan or Mason, given its similarity in sound to very traditional feminine names Gillian and Lillian.

A Top 100 boy name in the US, Landon feels more unisex than other popular boys' names starting to be used for girls.

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.

Mason is a supertrendy name for boys that's starting to cross over -- Kelsey Grammer used it for his daughter. Creative speller's delight.

This ancient Greek male name, well-used in Britain, also has an herbal quality that may explain its increasing use for girls. While as a name it rhymes with dazzle, the herb has a long a, making the pronunciation BAY-zel.

This tailored Welsh surname is an attractive option for girls, fitting in with other single-syllable prepster girl names such as Sloane and Quinn.

If Lulu and Lula and Lou all work for girls, why not Louie? We're predicting a rise for baby girls in the wake of all the Lou names trending.

Huxley is an increasingly popular surname-name for baby boys in the US and now is beginning to be used for girls as well. The -ley suffix, usually denoting a place, is common in names for both genders but more often for girls.

Though it's used far more often for boys, Lyle has a lot in common with today's trending girl names that share the double L sound: Lila, Layla, and Lola.

Though Tristan was the male figure in the romantic legend and his name has become trendy for boys, it's used now for girls, too: About 15 percent of the baby Tristans are female. And about three times as many girls are named Tristan as are named Isolde, Tristan's mythical female counterpart. There are also feminizations of Tristan, such as Tristana and Tristine, but these are much more rare than the original.

Literary hero Holden Caulfield of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is now inspiring the names of baby girls. His sister Phoebe’s name would be the more conventional pick, but if girls are being called Hayden and Hudson, Holden is certainly fair game as well.

Despite its modern sound, Blaise has plenty of history as a given name (for boys), from a Christian martyr to Arthurian legends. Today Blaise feels like the cool and edgy Blaze with a French accent.

An attractive North Carolina unisex place name, Raleigh's soft sound is particularly appropriate for a girl.

Wylie is one Celtic surname with as much appeal for girls as for boys. Wylie is ripe for spelling variations: Wiley is as appropriate as Wylie but when you spell it Wylei, as Corey Parker did for his son, you're getting into yooneek naming territory.

A name with some sterling qualities, most associated with the British currency and silver markets. Sterling is more commonly a male name or surname, but is occasionally used for girls as well.

Montgomery is an increasingly popular name for boys, especially in the UK, and now it's being used for girls as well in the US, where more than 50 baby girls were named Montgomery last year.

Yes, we tend to think of Claude as a male name and Claudia and Claudette as the female, but this ancient clan name is used in France for girls as well as boys, and could make a distinctively chic boy name for girls here too. You may be surprised to know that Claude was in fairly regular use for American girls in the 1880's and nineties, reaching as high as 553 in 1880.

There are a surprising number of baby boys named Barrett each year in the US -- nearly 1800 -- along with 30 baby girls. Which is more than many people might guess.

As a boy's name, Shane is related more directly to the 50s movie cowboy and the Irish name Sean; for a girl, it might be a variation on Shannon, Shana, or Shawn. Parenthood star Erika Christensen named her daughter Shane. Another spin, used by Eddie Murphy, is Shayne.