That Used to Be a Boy's Name?!

Alexis

Greek

"defender"

This name leapt into the female column via vixen Alexis Carrington on 'Dynasty" in the 1980s. It's more popular for girls, but it's still a widely used boys' names and is one of the most popular…

Ariel

Hebrew

"lion of God"

Despite its distinguished pedigree and popularity in Israel, Disney's Little Mermaid cartoonized Ariel in the US, at least in some people's minds. But it was used for a male character in…

Bailey

English occupational name

"law enforcer, bailiff"

Extremely amiable, open-sounding surname that's gradually being taken over by the girls.

Carmen

Spanish variation of Carmel or Latin

"garden or song"

While the variation Carmine is more familiar for boys, Carmen has also been used as a masculine name; consider the very macho Carmen Basilio — the American boxer famous for defeating the great Sugar…

Mackenzie

Scottish

"son of Kenneth"

This lively Scottish surname is an anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Coinnich , Coinnich being one of the original Gaelic forms of Kenneth. As a given name, it caught on for girls in a big way…

Kelly

Irish

"war"

A predominantly male name in the US until the late 1950s, the name continued to rise for both sexes for both sexes for a further decade, before starting to decline for boys. Despite dropping out of…

Addison

English

"son of Adam"

Despite its origin as a patronymic meaning "son of Adam", Addison really caught on for baby girls in the US around the turn of the millennium, following in Madison's footsteps to peak at #11 in 2007…

Paris

French place-name

The first famous Paris was a mythological prince of incredible beauty. The most recent was media darling Paris Hilton, inspirer of a generation of baby-girl namesakes. But since Pierce Brosnan and…

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…

Shannon

Irish

"old and wise"

The name of the longest river in the British Isles rose to the US Top 25 for girls in the 1970s and the Top 100 for boys, but has fallen off the Top 1000 for both genders. At the latest count, the…

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.

Courtney

English from French

"short nose; courteous, from the court"

This courtly old Southern name has several cool male bearers: NFL player Courtney Brown, British jazz musician Courtney Pine, and Barbados-born economist Courtney Blackman, to name but a few.

Brooklyn

Place-name from Dutch

"marshland"

It may be the hippest of hispter neighborhoods, but as a baby name Brooklyn is now on the decline: down from a peak of 120 births for boys in 1999, and over 7000 births for girls in 2011. The most…

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…

Ashley

English

"dweller near the ash tree meadow"

It may have peaked at #1 for girls in 1991 and 1992 in the US, but Ashley actually has a long history as a male given name, as evidenced by the sensitive Ashley Wilkes in Gone With the Wind . It's…

Dana

English, Slavic, Persian Arabic

"from Denmark, gift, or wise"

Baby girl Danas outnumber baby boys with the name nearly ten to one. But Dana is an attractive, sleek name that can certain work for babies of either gender.

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…

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…

Kelsey

English surname

"Cenel's island"

Kelsey (ex-Frasier) Grammer is a famous male bearer, although most modern Kelseys are female (in the US at least). It derives from several English place names, possibly meaning "Cenel's island", from…

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.…