Neutral Girl Names

Madison

English

"son of Matthew"

Since we wrote a book called Beyond Jennifer & Jason, Madison & Montana , encouraging parents to move beyond overused names, it's no secret what we think of this trendy surname name, inspired by a…

Riley

English, Irish

"rye clearing; courageous"

Riley—an upbeat, friendly surname name—is red hot for girls and still going strong for boys. If you haven't been spending much time around babies recently, you may be surprised to learn that Riley is…

Reese

Welsh

"ardor"

The sassy, steel magnolia appeal of Oscar-winning Reese (born Laura Jeanne—Reese is her mother's maiden name) Witherspoon has single-handedly propelled this formerly boys’ name into girls'…

Bailey

English occupational name

"law enforcer, bailiff"

Bailey — a jaunty surname — was first used for a female TV character in 1978 in the show WKRP in Cincinnaati , then caught on big time. Bailey's still an appealing choice, though, and a celebrity…

Blake

English

"fair-haired, dark"

The unisex Blake, which indeed has two conflicting meanings, has a briskly efficient image when used for a girl. Though in the eighties it was seen very much as a boys’ name , epitomized by the…

Sydney

Variation of Sidney, English from French

"Saint Denis"

Sydney was a hot girls' name in the 1990s, but she's arguably still cool. One of the original old man names adopted for baby girls, Sydney's popularity may be down but she's not out. Cool girl…

Cameron

Scottish

"crooked nose"

Cameron was once a rising star for boys only, but Cameron Diaz almost single-handedly transported it into the unisex camp back in the 80s.Though there are still eight times as many boy babies named…

Ellis

English surname derived from Elijah or Elias or Welsh

"benevolent"

Ellis, a surname used sparingly as a first in the Wallace/Morris period, sounds new now for girls, as a gender-neutral alternative to Ella or Alice. It debuted in the US Top 1000 for girls in 2015.--…

Erin

Irish

"from the island to the west"

First-wave Irish name and place name—the poetic name for Ireland—now supplanted by newer alternatives such as Maeve and Delaney.

Ida

German

"industrious one"

Many vowel names stylish a century ago are coming back, and Ida seems like a possible, logical successor to Ada and Ava. A century ago, Ida was considered "sweet as apple cider," and was Number 10 on…

Rylan

English and Irish

"rye land"

A unisex name, Rylan plays on many popular baby names , including Ryan and Riley. For boys, the trendy Rylan is in the US Top 500, while for girls, it fell out of Top 1000 in 2023, having been a…

Lane

English

"a small roadway or path"

Lane is a unisex name equally accessible to boys and girls. Breezy, cool and contemporary, it might equally put in mind country lanes and banks of wildflowers. As a word name, Lane means "small…

Devon

English place-name

This spelling of Devon, as opposed to Devin or Devan, makes it a pretty and popular British place-name, evoking the beautiful county of farmlands and dramatic seascapes and moors in southwest…