Gender Neutral Names

Rain

Nature name

Mostly feminine, though "Office" star Rainn Wilson gives it a slight masculine twist. You might also use this as a short form of Raines.

Rene

French

"reborn"

Though it's used for boys, most non-French people would hear it as a girls’ name . Most would be surprised to learn that Rene has always charted in the US Top 1000 for boys.

Romy

Diminutive of Roman et al

"citizen of Rome"

Best known as a feminine diminutive, Romy is used now for boys too, as a short form of Roman or Romeo or a name in its own right. Remy and Romi are other related choices, or you might want to go all…

Jules

French form of Julius, Latin

"youthful; soft, downy; sky father"

Though Jules hasn't been on the US popularity list in fifty years, it remains a hit in its native France where it's currently in the Top 10 — and has been in the Top 500 nearly every year since the…

Havana

Place-name

The vowel ending tilts this sharply toward the feminine, and at this point Havana still has some political implications as well.

Auden

English

"old friend"

The poetic, soft-spoken Auden has recently started to be considered as a first name option, used for both sexes, appreciated for its pleasing sound as well as its link to the distinguished modern…

Matisse

Art name

The surname of the great artist is pronounced the same way as Mathis, the German and French form of Matthew, so it's not a stretch for use as a first name.