birds_rule's list "Gender Neutral Names Mega List" of 20 great name ideas: Ray - Corin!

Gender Neutral Names Mega List

A big list of names that may / may not be gender neutral. There are conventional names, such as Alex and less conventional names like Vernon.

Most female Rays used to spell their names Rae, but now the Ray Charles, ray-of-sunshine way is cool for both genders. 
 
Ray was used for 26 baby girls last year in the US - compared to over 300 boys. The Rae spelling is flipped, with almost 200 girls and a handful of boys. Ray is better appreciated as a sleek and simple middle name option - think Miley Ray Cyrus.

The Greek mythological hunter who was turned into a constellation is much more often used for boys. 

Orion

Ash is a gender-neutral choice that calls to mind the '80s favorite: Ashley. But view it as a nature name -- as in the tree, not the charred bit of soot in the fireplace -- and it makes a cool choice that fits with today's trends. 

The most enduringly popular hero of Irish myth was Finn McCool, whose name is one of the coolest ever. When used for the female protagonist of How to Make an American Quilt, Finn established its hipness for girls as well. 
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But cool as it may sound, Finn cannot really be considered a gender-neutral name. It was given to nearly 2000 baby boys in the US last year, versus only 15 baby girls. Finley, by contrast, is almost exactly evenly matched.

Finn

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 2021 it was given to just 8 baby girls. Maybe that makes it prime for a comeback, ala Billie?

Freddie

While Michael is better known as one of the most popular boy names of the last century, you might be surprised to learn that it featured in the Top 1000 names for girls in the US, from 1938 until 1994. In the late 1970s and early 80s, during the heyday of The Waltons, which starred actress Michael Learned, it reached as high as the 300s
 
Derived from Hebrew and meaning "who is like God?", the name peaked in 1986 when 590 girls received name. By today's standards, that seems like a lot, however, given that 64286 boys were also called Michael in the same year, less than 1% of all American Michaels were girls. 
 What happened then? Our guess is that the rise of Michaela, the tenacity of Michael at the head of the boys' list, and the popularity of Michelle/Michele all conspired to knock Michael-for-girls off the list. And while boy-names-for-girls is a trend at the moment, similar sounding options like Myla, Micaiah, McCall, and McKinley have outshone it as an option. For now.
 
Given to just 15 girls in the US in a recent year, Michael is still sometimes chosen by Catholics as a female confirmation name, in honor of the saint.

Michael

Nickname sometimes heard on its own, sort of an updated Sally and playmate of Hallie. 

Tally

Irish surnames are hot, and this one can successfully cross the line to work for girls, replacing the outdated Casey. And only a dozen girls were named Clancy in the US in one recent year (along with 27 boys), making it one of those rare Irish names that are both accessible and distinctive, classic and cool. Clancy is a winner for either gender.

Clancy

Percy is a traditional boys' name that could be cute and unexpected for a girl – perhaps as a short form for Persephone or Persis. Adventurous and literary Percy could follow in the footsteps of other boyish nicknames for girls, like Frankie and Charlie.
 
Percy Haswell was a silent film actress. And Lady Persephone "Percy" Towyn is a character on Upstairs, Downstairs.

Percy

Terry hit the Top 30 in the fifties when it was seeen as a cool, sleek <a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">gender neutral name</a>, but it's long since lost that edge. Today's Terry would probably be Tess or Tessa.

Terry

Carlisle may be a male name in Twilight (he's vampire hero Edward's adoptive father), but in the real baby naming world, it's used about a quarter of the time for girls. Unusual now, we think Carlisle (or Carlyle) has the potential to be the next Carter.

Carlisle

A name that's on the rise for boys but rarely used -- though possible -- for girls. 

Grady

Thanks to two cultural influences, January has joined March, April, June and August as a plausible month name.
 The first was a character named January Wayne in a bestselling 1973 Jacqueline Susann novel, Once is Not Enough, which was later made into a movie. Then, five years later, the mother-to-be of January Jones – future Mad Men star – was inspired by that character to give the name to her baby daughter, as did enough other parents in 1978 to bring January to Number 639 on the list.
 
More recently, January was used by Emily Henry in her popular contemporary romance novel, Beach Read, which might inspire parents-to-be in coming years. As of 2024, it was only used on 11 girls in the US, making it a very rare choice.
 So if you're looking for a cool and unusual namesake for a Janet, Janice or Joanna – or for someone with a birthday in the first month of the year , January might be the perfect alternative. January, along with Snow and Frost, are also perfect <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/89/winter-baby-names">names for winter babies</a>.

January

While Jay has been long used as a stand-alone boy name, it has more recently been used as one for girls. Otherwise, it has largely been seen as a pet form of any J name, or as a singular middle name. 

Aidan is an ancient Irish saint's name with a fire meaning that's mega popular for boys, most often spelled as Aiden. The name is occasionally used for girls, sometimes as Aidyn or Ayden, as well. Aidan was the name of a famous seventh-century Irish saint, and is related to the Irish word for fire.

Aidan

One of those ultimate cool-girl names, played by Keira Knightley in a movie about a supermodel-turned-bounty hunter, but kids might associate it with the game. High profile British designer India Hicks used it for her daughter. As a <a href="https://nameberry.com/girls-names">girls' name</a>it's still very rare, used in 2015 in the US for only seven baby girls.

Domino

Like its parent name Elijah and the related Elliot, this has potential for girls. It shares sounds with Eliza, Delilah, and Iris, along with established unisex choices, like Ellis, Emery, and Eden. Given to only a small handful of girls every year, it is not a popular choice just yet. If you do enjoy the idea, Lilias, Eirlys, Clovis, Micah, or Micaiah might appeal too.

Elias

An old-man name that sounds cute when used for a little girl, and is starting to seem cool again for boys too. For girls, it might be associated with Mina Murray (later, Mina Harker) from Bram Stoker's Dracula and its many adaptations.

Murray

One of the most usable of the pleasant, newly adopted nature/water names (like Lake and Ocean), especially in middle position. It's gentle, slightly whimsical, but grounded by its similarity to May or Rae.
 Other associations with bay are the bay laurel tree, prized since ancient times for its medicinal and culinary (bay leaves!) properties, and the reddish-brown color usually applied to horses. There's also the Old English connection, from beġ meaning "berry", making it a fun name for any future Baby Berry. And of course there is the contemporary term of endearment, "Bae", short for baby. 
 Bay Kennish was a character on the show Switched at Birth; and conservative political commentator Bay Buchanan was born Angela Marie.

Corin is a Shakespearean male name that could easily be adapted for a girl, making a strong update for Corinne or Karen.