The ultimate Jane Austen hero name, Darcy makes a handsome, surname style choice. Predominantly used for girls in England and Wales, across the pond in Australia, it is a stylish Top 100 name for boys. In the US meanwhile, it does lean feminine, however, 30 boys were given the name in a recent year, suggesting it is on the up across the board.

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.

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 the boys' Top 1000 in 2002, Kelly retains a rugged Irish charm.

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.

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 Ray Robinson — or composer Carmen Dragon.

Spanish and Italian forms Carmelo and Carmello are also quite popular in the US, with Carmelo ranking in the Top 1000.

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 roughly equal numbers of boys and girls throughout the 1970s-2000s.

Long gone to the girls.

One of the most enduring French names, this form of John has been borne by philosophers (Rousseau and Sartre), artists (Millet, Arp) and fashion designers (Gaultier) alike. Often used in a double name with the likes of Pierre, Paul, and Luc, it is a classic in its native country,

A lean and lanky Irish cowboy name with great nickname potential to boot (Cass or Sid are both options). This is one of the great under-rated American names!

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 and again in 2010.

Meredith has been considered primarily a girl's name since the fifties, before which it was more commonly used for boys. Comic actor Jay Mohr recently named his son Meredith, which might help it swing back into the blue column. The traditional Welsh pronunciation puts the stress on the middle syllable, making Red a cool nickname possibility.

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. It received a further big boost on the girls' side in the 1980s, thanks to singer Whitney Houston. Now falling rapidly down the rankings, it could be time to reclaim this one for the boys, if only as a neat way to cool-guy nickname Whit.

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 quickly until it reached the Number 2 spot, with more than 22,000 female babies given the name in 2001. As is so often the case, its use for boys has dropped precipitously.

Kim is forever feminized, despite memories of the Rudyard Kipling character.

Sheridan is one surname-name that hasn't come into style for either gender, though it was lightly used for boys around the turn of the 20th century and girls 100 years later. The name does have an attractive sound and an appealing meaning.

A sweet Scottish short form of Alexander which is feeling newly appealing now the era of Sandra is far behind us. Sandy would also work well as a nickname for a child with pale red or dark blond hair.

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 name Shannon was given to about 200 babies in the US, about a third of those boys. As a favorite Irish name, Shannon has now been supplanted by newcomers such as Saoirse and Seanan.

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.

This shows up on the Social Security data for boys, but these days is mostly female: 2700 baby girls were named Allison last year versus six baby boys.

Leigh as a masculine name has Anglo-Saxon origins, derived from the Old English 'leah' meaning 'clearing' or 'meadow.' While Leigh has become increasingly popular as a feminine name in recent decades, it has a long history of masculine usage, particularly in England and English-speaking countries.