Unisex girls names

The number one surname in Denmark could make a sophisticated and stylish girl's name.

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 Kennedy, Kennedy is now one of the most popular unisex names for girls as well as the top girls' name starting with K. This is one name that manages to sound trendy and classic at the same time.

This diminutive of Kimberley is gaining momentum as a standalone name. For our part, we're stumped by its rise.

Lane is a unisex name equally accessible to boys and girls. As a common surname, Lane is attached to such celebrities as Diane and Nathan.

This spelling adds a little more femininity to the neutral Lee. Leigh and sister Lee were quite popular in the 1960s and 1970s among the first cool wave of unisex names for girls, but now have vanished from the Top 1000. The Biblical Leah is preferred.

Originally inspired as a a girls’ name by eighties TV actress Mackenzie Phillips, parents have flocked to Mackenzie – once only a male name – for their daughters. Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling is one of the thousands who've chosen Mackenzie. Other Mac names, such as Makayla and McKenna, are also newly popular for girls.

Mason is a supertrendy name for boys that's starting to cross over -- Kelsey Grammer used it for his daughter. Creative speller's delight.

Mattie, which might be a short form of Martha, Matilda, or even Madeline, ranked among the Top 100 names for girls in the 1880s and in fact, has held a place among the Top 1000 for most of U.S. naming history. It fell off the popularity charts in 2014 and makes a cute, tomboyish, if somewhat slight name option.

Oakley, with its nature name roots and its Annie Oakley charm, is a hot name for both genders but more than twice as popular for girls. This name made it into the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013, one of only four girl names starting with O to rank that high. A decade letter, it's aiming for the Top 100.

Relaxed male name occasionally used for girls; sounds novel compared to such former favorites as Kerry and Sherry.

Peyton is a unisex surname that's not only survived but continues to grow in popularity because of its rich southern-accented softness combined with the pre-Desperate Housewives naughtiness of Peyton Place. In recent years, more boys have been named Peyton thanks to football star Peyton Manning, but the projected film of William Styron's Lie Down in Darkness which features heroine Peyton Loftis may further popularize Peyton as a girls' name.

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' popularity.

Adorable name that's fashionable and keeps gaining momentum. Remi entered the US Top 1000 in 2013 and is now approaching the Top 100. The Remi spelling is more popular for girls, while Remy is more popular for boys, both both spellings are in the Top 1000 for both genders. That's a remarkable success story for a name that, in the late 1900s, was given to only a handful of babies in the US.

Some parents are choosing this popular boys name for their daughters (in the US there were well over 100 female Ryders born last year). Is it the connection to Winona that makes this feel somewhat more feminine than some other boys’ names?

Sawyer is one of the top unisex names, used for their daughters by such parents as Sara Gilbert, co-host of The Talk and former actress on Roseanne, currently on The Conners. Sawyer is is one of those newly-stylish occupational names that can work for either gender. If you want something with less brawn and more brains than Sawyer, try Sayer.

While Skylar is currently the most popular spelling choice for girls, the Skyler option is more (statistically) unisex. Given to boy and girls in nearly equal numbers each year, it ranks around the middle of the US Top 1000.

Stevie survives as a short form of Stephanie thanks to the immortal Ms. Nicks. After a little more than a decade out of the limelight, she rejoined the US Top 1000 in 2014.

Taylor is one of the prime unisex surnames used for girls and has also been a soap opera favorite. Taylor was in the Top 10 for the last several years of the twentieth century, so that now it tends to feel a little nineties – though Taylor Swift is keeping it in the spotlight and Tay is a charming nickname. Garth Brooks and Bryan Cranston have daughters named Taylor; Taylor Schilling portrays lead Piper Chapman in Orange is the New Black.

Cute boyish short forms like Teddy and Frankie and Billie are in some ways a relic of the past, of the days before unisex names, when girls were given feminized versions of their father's names, but they are starting to come into their own again.