Boy Names for Girls

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.

Shane

Yes, Timothy has been given to baby girls before — although how many were the result of a clerical error, we can’t be sure.

Timothy

The midcentury favorite boys' name Scott feels fresher when used for a girl. Scotty is a cute nickname.

Scott

Rarely given as a full name for baby girls, but occasionally used as a nickname for names such as Harriet and Henrietta.

Harry

Best-selling Prep author Curtis Sittenfeld made this one of the many <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/79/boy-names-for-girls">boy names for girls"</a> gaining in popularity and acceptability.

Curtis

Despite its long history as a male name, Henry is a name that could be adopted for a baby girl — the French spelling makes it a bit more feminine.

Henri

Now a mostly-male name, in its earliest incarnation Douglas was used equally for girls and boys and could certainly make a comeback as one of the new <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/79/boy-names-for-girls">boy names for girls"</a>.

Douglas

Actress Milla Jovovich chose this uncommon but usable Welsh boy name for her daughter in 2020. Oisin is very popular in its native Ireland.

Osian

Andre is traditionally a male name, but it is not completely unknown for girls. Think of it as an abbreviation of Andrea and it makes more sense.

Andre

Thomas Edison’s surname is an inventive take on Addison when used for girls. It's an English surname deriving from either Adam or Eda, a medieval diminutive of Edith.

Edison

Out-of-date for a boy, innovative for a girl. 

Barry

Jagger, made famous as the surname of Rolling Stone Mick, gets an entry in the girls' column thanks to Ashlee Simpson and Evan Ross, who chose it for their daughter. For either gender, this name rocks...but a bit jaggedly. 

Currently, there are nearly 20 times as many baby boys than girls are given the name Jagger. That balance may shift, making Jagger a more truly <a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">gender neutral name</a>.

Jagger

Originally, this Welsh surname was used as a nickname for someone with gray hair but in the early 20th century, it shifted into a familiar given name. Now, for boys, it might feel a bit too grandpa, but for a girl, it might make a clunky-cool choice in the middle spot.

Lloyd

A little bit cosy, a little bit grandpa, but with a hint of artiness from the William Morris association too, Morris comes from the French Maurice, and was popular for boys in the first half of the 19th century. While still quietly used for around 100 boys each year, it could make an interesting choice for girls, especially in the middle spot, giving off a similar feel to the likes of Scottie, Lou, Wallis, and Gene. 



Morris

A rare Biblical name, occasionally used for boys and even more occasionally used for girls, Amzi feels as if it could appeal to those who enjoy Azariah, Amari, Amaris, Amelie, and Azari. Meaning "strong", Amzi was chosen by Instagrammer and travel blogger Becca Ingle, who used it as her daughter Koast's middle name in 2025, while actress Amzie Strickland was another bearer, with an alternative spelling. 



Amzi

One of the boys' names that sounds fresher today for a girl.  Second-best-spelling for boys, Neal, may work even better for girls. 

Neil

Like its counterpart Leo, this modern spelling variant is predominantly used for boys, however, it recently joined the rankings for girls in the UK, when it was given 4 babies. The same year, it also made the Top 200 in Belgium and not for the first time, having ranked sporadically throughout the 2010s. 

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 <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/79/boy-names-for-girls">boy name for girls</a> 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.

 In her native country, there have been some famous female Claudes, including Queen Claude of France (1499 to 1524), daughter of Louis XII, and another sixteenth century Claude de France, daughter of Henri II.

 Later Claudes include the daughter of Claude Debussy, Claude-Emma (called Chouchou), the leading female character in Tracy Chevalier's novel Lady and the Unicorn, French actress Claude Jade and photographer Claude Cahun, and the widow of French Prime Minister Georges Pompidou.

 While the "lame" meaning is the most widely acknowledged, some etymologists theorize that the name may relate to the word for enclosure or clause, an alternate meaning that may appeal to a child with a form of this otherwise-appealing name.

Claude

Anderson has been on the rise for girls (though more notably for boys) in the US in recent years, but 2024 saw the Scandinavian first name enter the US stats for girls for the first time when it was chosen for five babies. 
 
Derived from Andreas and Andrew meaning "manly, masculine", the name charts in the Top 1000 for boys and was chosen for nearly 300 in a the latest count, however, it does hold a sort of quirky, jaunty feel for a girl, in tune with Collins and Rivers, but also Andrea and Amanda.

Anders

names are not originally girls' names at all, but boys' names -- many of which have officially become 

We're seeing more and more formerly 100% boy names being used for girls, from 

like Sam and Charlie (now 50-50 by gender!), to 

 such as Sawyer or McKinley to formerly masculine names such as Quincy and Jude that have become 

 Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds broke the gender barrier in a new way when they named their daughter James. Many parents followed suit, sometimes using James as a middle name.

The trendy Arlo is one boy name that's moving to the girls' side. Australian actress Asher Keddie is proof that Asher might be a good alternative to the dated Ashley. Ezra and Noah are Biblical names that are increasingly being used for girls as well as boys. And in Israel, Daniel is a Top 100 name...for girls.

 is a practice that's increasing, it's not brand new. Timothy, Michael, and Christopher are boy names that have occasionally been used for girls for decades.

unless the practice also works in the opposite direction. While statistics show that more parents are giving their sons unisex names, we are not seeing boys given decidedly feminine names in the same way that baby girls are being given formerly masculine names.

In case anyone thinks this is just another wacky name theory,

 that girls are being given all the names on this list in significant numbers. There were more than 50 baby girls in the US last year named Max and Maxwell, for instance, as well as Maverick, Landon, Chase, Auden, and Atlas.

Here, some boy names that can work for girls.

Boy names used for baby girls including unisex and gender neutral names for baby girls such as Charlie, Quincy, and Sawyer, with origins, meanings, and popularity, controversial names, celebrity names, name theories, occupational names, nickname names (Page 8)