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Boys names into girls names

onomasticsnerd
By onomasticsnerd
Updated Wed Jun 18 2025
A common theme with boy and unisex names is that once they become more popular for girls, they stop being used as boy names all together, often due to parents' fear of their sons being perceived as feminine. Other times, they come into popularity as boy names, lose popularity, and then make a comeback as a girl's name (like in the case of Evelyn). Some of these names are still completely usable for a boy, some are still more common for boys in some countries, and some you might get side-eyed for using but might still make for charming middle names.
  1. Alexis

    • Origin:

      Greek

    • Meaning:

      "defender"

    • Description:

      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 unisex names in the US today.
  2. Ariel

    • Origin:

      Hebrew

    • Meaning:

      "lion of God"

    • Description:

      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 Shakespeare's The Tempest centuries ago.
  3. Ashley

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "dweller near the ash tree meadow"

    • Description:

      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 always been more popular for boys in England and Wales, where it currently ranks at #414.
  4. Aubrey

    • Origin:

      English from French

    • Meaning:

      "elf ruler"

    • Description:

      Once a popular choice in for boys in the Middle Ages and again during the 19th century, Aubrey has mostly been used for girls in the US since the 1970's. With its arty, surname-y, and sophisticated feel, however, it is rising up the UK charts for both boys and girls.
  5. Avery

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "ruler of the elves"

    • Description:

      Avery is a unisex name that is used four times as often today for girls as for boys. But while Avery's popularity is starting to soften for girls, it continues to get stronger for boys -- in keeping with our finding that gender neutral names are becoming more favored for boys than for girls.
  6. Beverly

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "beaver stream"

    • Description:

      An English surname name which was originally used as a masculine first name in the 19th century, before becoming more popular for girls from the early 20th century onwards.
  7. Blair

    • Origin:

      Scottish

    • Meaning:

      "dweller on the plain"

    • Description:

      One of the first generation of cool surname names, now largely used for girls in the US, but still popular for boys in its native Scotland. A prominent association for Brits is former prime minister Tony Blair, who was leader at the time of the Iraq War.
  8. Brook

    • Origin:

      English nature name

    • Meaning:

      "small stream"

    • Description:

      Now that the popularity of Brooke is waning, and surname style variant Brooks is on the rise, Brook seems live a newly fresh nature-inspired option.
  9. Carey

    • Origin:

      Irish

    • Meaning:

      "dark, black"

    • Description:

      Carey is a surname name that works equally well on babies of all genders - Jazz great Carey Bell and motorcross champion Carey Hart are just two examples of how handsome this name can be for a boy.
  10. Carol

    • Origin:

      English, Latin

    • Meaning:

      "man"

    • Description:

      Although now usually considered a female name in the US, Carol actually had a good run of popularity for boys too, peaking at #325 in 1937 and remaining in the US Top 1000 until the mid 1960s, when its popularity for both sexes began to decline. It derives from Carolus, the Latin form of Charles.
  11. Courtney

    • Origin:

      French

    • Meaning:

      "courteous, from the court"

    • Description:

      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.
  12. Dana

    • Origin:

      English, Slavic, Persian Arabic

    • Meaning:

      "from Denmark, gift, or wise"

    • Description:

      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.
  13. Emery

    • Origin:

      English from German

    • Meaning:

      "industrious"

    • Description:

      Emery is one of the newly popular Em- names that has great potential, though right now for girls more than boys: it received a boost in 2009, a year after Angie Harmon and Jason Sehorn used it for one of their daughters.
  14. Esmé

    • Origin:

      French

    • Meaning:

      "loved, admired"

    • Description:

      Originally a male name in this single-E spelling, Esmé was borne by the first Duke of Lennox in Scotland in the 16th century, as well as by several of his male descendants. It became predominantly female by the 20th century.
  15. Evelyn

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "desired; or water, island"

    • Description:

      Renowned English author Evelyn Waugh pronounced his name "EEV-lin" (fun fact: his first wife, also named Evelyn, was referred to as "She-velyn"). But "EV-uh-lin" also works, and is probably the most familiar pronunciation of the name today.
  16. Florence

    • Origin:

      English, French, Latin

    • Meaning:

      "flourishing"

    • Description:

      Florence is historically a unisex name, deriving both from Latin Florentius and Florentia. Although much more commonly feminine in modern times, it appeared in the US Top 1000 for boys until 1914.
  17. Harley

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "hare clearing"

    • Description:

      You can ride one, you can use it as a baby name – or, as is often the case, both! Harley is currently trending up for girls and down for boys in the US, although it remains predominantly masculine in the UK. A lesser-used -ley ending choice for boys, Harley has a current sound but an old-school biker appeal.
  18. Jade

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "gemstone"

    • Description:

      When Jade first took off as a given name back in the 1970's, it was in fact considered unisex. It ranked in the US Top 1000 first for boys, then for girls, 7 years later. By the 80's however, Jade was more familiar as a girls' name and by the 2000's, it was gone from the charts for boys.
  19. Kendall

    • Origin:

      English

    • Meaning:

      "valley of the river Kent"

    • Description:

      While Kendall originally started as a boys’ name, and remained more or equally popular for boys until the early 1990s in the US, it now feels almost synonymous with Kendall Jenner, of Kardashian fame.
  20. Leslie

    • Origin:

      Scottish

    • Meaning:

      "garden of holly"

    • Description:

      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 variant. Now ranking in the mid-400s for girls and not at all for boys in the US, it could be time to bring this smart, subtle nature name back, especially considering the current popularity of -ley names for both sexes.