User-created list
Girl Names That Boys Should Take Back
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Kendall
English
"valley of the river Kent"
The name Kendall started life as a locational surname, referring to the town of Kendale in England, and was used as a masculine name for the first half of the 19th century. By the 80s, it was a…
Kennedy
Irish
"misshapen head"
This attractive surname name still projects that Kennedy family charisma. While it didn't come into widespread use until long after the deaths of martyred heroes President John F. or Senator Robert…
Leslie
Scottish
"garden of holly"
This Scottish place name and surname was more popular for boys in the US until the mid-1940s; in the UK, the Leslie spelling is predominantly masculine, with Lesley widely used as the feminine…
Lindsay
English
"island of linden trees"
Lindsay is one of the few truly unisex names (rather than being a name that has changed genders). Over time the ey ending was usually reserved for women and the ay ending reserved for men, although…
Lynn
Welsh
"lake"
Traditionally used for boys before the 20th-century, Lynn was solidly used as a masculine name in the US, right up until the 70s when it fell out of favor. Prior to that, however, it had already…
Madison
English
"son of Matthew"
Madison was at one time a strictly boys' presidential name, reaching as high as Number 311 at the end of the nineteenth century. That all changed in 1985 when it entered the girls' list, zooming up…
Mallory
Marion
French derivative of Mary
"drop of the sea, bitter, or beloved"
Fun fact: Marion was the birth name of movie star John Wayne. Although commonly thought of as a female name today, it was actually more popular for boys until the late 19th century, and was given to…
Meredith
Welsh
"great ruler"
Meredith has been considered primarily a girl's name since the fifties, before which it was more commonly used for boys. Comic actor Jay Mohr recently named his son Meredith, which might help it…
Michele
Italian variation of Michael
"who is like God?"
One of the few Italian forms less attractive than the original, this time because it will forever be mistaken with the feminine version.
Reagan
Irish
"little king"
Inextricably tied to the former president, Reagan is a handsome surname name with a cool, current sound. Gender-neutral nickname Ray/Rae is also very on-trend right now. Reagan has been more popular…
Shelby
English
"estate on the ledge"
Southern name still occasionally heard in a male context (author Shelby Foote and the son of singer/sitcom star Reba McEntire), but it's much more associated with girls.
Sidney
English from French
"Saint Denis"
A contraction name, Sidney comes from Saint Denis and is related to Dioynsius, the Greek god of fertility and wine, although another theory is that it derived from an Anglo-Saxon place name, meaning…
Tracey
Variation of Tracy
"of Thracia"
Popular in the 60s, 70s and 80s, Tracey (and its spelling variation Tracy) have since fallen out of style. As a masculine name, it has been in use since at least the 19th century and was spotlighted…
Vivian
Latin
"life"
Deriving from the Roman cognomen Vivianus , Vivian was originally a masculine name, with Vivien being a feminine soundalike coined by Alfred Lord Tennyson for the Lady of the Lake in his famous…
Whitney
English
"white island"
Deriving from an English locational surname meaning "white island", Whitney was in rare but regular use for boys in the US until the early 1960s, when actress Whitney Blake popularized it for girls.…