What do y’all think about [name]Arden[/name] for a boy? My husband and I both really like it, but the nameberry description gives me pause. It says that it is much more often heard on girls, but according to the graph, it isn’t in the top 1000 for either gender. Is there something about it I don’t know? It seems masculine, or at least unisex to me, like [name]Morgan[/name] or [name]Jordan[/name]. What do y’all think? Is it about to become super popular for girls? It’s not that I don’t see its appeal for girls, I’m just wondering if it’s usable for a boy. Thanks!
The only [name]Arden[/name] I know is a boy in his teens and the only problem I’ve ever known him to have with his name is being mistaken for [name]Aidan[/name]. [name]Don[/name]'t let it worry you that it’s sometimes used for girls, so many boy’s names are that you can’t avoid them all.
So I just went and read Nameberry’s post on [name]Arden[/name], and it does rather give me pause, especially since there’s a newly-posted announcement in the Birth Announcements forum for a baby girl, [name]Arden[/name] [name]Skye[/name]. And I liked [name]Arden[/name] for a girl, until I met my, thus far, only real-life [name]Arden[/name].
He’s an elderly gentleman who’s known in our community as [name]Santa[/name] [name]Claus[/name], because he appears as [name]Santa[/name] in local businesses and parades every [name]December[/name] and has the hair, beard and girth for the part. My siblings and I have done yard work for him and his wife, and he’s great fun to talk with, with a great deep voice, firm opinions and a quirky sense of humor.
Result? I now have trouble seeing [name]Arden[/name] as a girl’s name.
Best wishes! I hope that helps.
I like [name]Arden[/name] for a boy a lot! I came across a family with a little boy named [name]Arden[/name] [name]Hale[/name]–I always thought that was such a cool combo! I did look up the statistics beyond the top 1000 for you (have it saved on my laptop), and it was something like 175 girl Ardens born last year, and 75 boy Ardens. So almost double the girl Ardens, but it’s still obscure enough I don’t think a boy would really have any problems with it. I think it’s a lovely name.
[name]Arden[/name] was actually a mn consideration with my daughter violet had she been a boy. I think it can go both ways honestly, its unusual enough.
Thanks everyone! I think I’ll keep it on my list for now 
It’s one of the few names that I like the sound, meaning, and spelling of. Though I’m not sure what to use for a nn with it. Any ideas? [name]Ari[/name] is ok, but not really my style.
[name]Arden[/name] is my dad’s middle name and I love it - it’s really unique
always liked this on a boy.
[name]Arden[/name] is gorgeous! I can’t see it on a girl at all.
[name]Arden[/name] is on my list, boy or girl. Nameberry is so biased when it comes to unisex names so I ignore their descriptions. It’s so uncommon that the girls cannot claim it for themselves
I’m not a nn person so I’d just call him [name]Arden[/name]. [name]Ari[/name] is nice or [name]Ardi[/name] or [name]Denny[/name]
I like [name]Arden[/name] for a boy. It isn’t in the top 1000 for either sex, and there’s nothing about it that is distinctly feminine. In 2011 there were only 175 girls and 72 boys named [name]Arden[/name]. It’s safe to say that [name]Arden[/name] is fair game for both sides.
The only one I’ve “known” is a female character is a book I read, but it was a romance novel (GP!) and they always give the women weird names in those. I think it’s definitely obscure enough to be used on either gender without trouble. As for nns, there are bunches that seem natural – [name]Ari[/name], [name]Den[/name], [name]Denny[/name], Ards – but I like to wait and meet the baby and see what feels the most natural to call him as an endearment. Hopefully you mean more as an endearment than a full-blown, use-it-all-the-time nickname because it would be a shame to choose a great name like [name]Arden[/name] then have him go by something else all the time. [name]Just[/name] my opinion!
I like [name]Arden[/name] for a boy. [name]Linden[/name] too for that matter.
I like how close to “ardent” it is, and the [name]Forest[/name] of [name]Arden[/name] connection.
I agree with you on waiting for a natural nn. I didn’t decide to call my son Evers as a nn till I was holding him, and it just fit. That’s how we decided on [name]Everett[/name] over [name]Callan[/name] 
But, I do love nicknames, and there are some names I won’t use because I dislike the most obvious nn. I like [name]Harris[/name], but i really hate [name]Harry[/name], so I don’t think I’m gonna go with that name kwim? Anyway, if I name my son [name]Arden[/name], I’ll probably end up calling him aardvark half the time 
I just thought I’d see if anyone had any better ideas.
Thank you everyone for your encouragement. I’m probably going to do a longer post soon that includes all our boys names, but I’m kinda trying to decide what should stay on the list, and what should go. I’m still really liking [name]Arden[/name], and I feel better about the girl name aspect of it now. Thanks!