I have always loved unisex(and even boys’ names) for girls. I felt they denote uniqueness, strength and capability. They only work so well on beautiful girls though, because I think they could be troublesome for a tomboy or a not-so-attractive girl.
My sister teaches 9th grade English and she says all the girls with unisex names are using their middle names or changing their names to something cutesy and feminine because they are insecure with their unisex names.
And now there are girls named [name]Ryan[/name](3 on my block), a [name]Kieran[/name], a [name]Rowan[/name], a [name]Sloane[/name], a [name]Reese[/name] all within a block of where I live. (This is especially frustrating because I have 3 sons and 2 of them are [name]Ryan[/name] and [name]Reece[/name]!)
I had always thought about these for a girl:
[name]Blake[/name], [name]Finlay[/name], [name]Avery[/name], [name]Peyton[/name], [name]Kieran[/name], [name]Sloane[/name], [name]Bryce[/name], [name]Quinn[/name], [name]Ryan[/name](I already used this one for my son), [name]Hayden[/name], [name]Kellen[/name], [name]Stellan[/name], [name]Evan[/name], [name]Keaton[/name], even [name]Liam[/name].
But with 3 sons already in the house, does the girl need to have a feminine name?
And is this fad getting a bit stale? Are we back to sticking with feminine names for our daughters???
I was wondering the same thing the other day. It does seem to be such a BIG trend that it must backfire at some point. On the other hand, while it feels really new, in my mom’s generation names like [name]Lesley[/name] (hers) and [name]Dale[/name] (her best friend’s) were really popular and about 10 years ago there were little female Camerons everywhere. Maybe it’s just more widespread now, and if that’s the case, maybe it’s normalising and will just be a way of life rather than a trend? I don’t know. I do think that given your sons’ names I would go for something more feminine if you have a girl (as much for your boys as for her).
I’m not having kids yet, but my partner is really set on [name]Riley[/name] for his one-day-daughter. On the one hand, it’s opened me up to a lot of other unisex names as other options (as a name fan I want to have SOME input, after all!) but on the other, it really worries me as the kind of name that will peak and disappear, leaving a 30-year-old [name]Riley[/name] with a name that screams “early 2000s”. And I also worry about her sharing a class with a bunch of boys who have her name (and won’t be happy about it). Mind you, at this rate, she’ll be sharing it with other girl Rileys as well.
I’ll be interested to hear what others thing about it! (But as a side note in the meantime, I love your list of names!)
I hope they aren’t getting stale because I love them!
My daughter is [name]Jameson[/name] ([name]Elizabeth[/name]) and my daughter-to-be will be [name]Avery[/name] (middle name TBD)
I will admit I have the occasional twinges of guilt that I am “stealing” boys’ names! But for the most part, I really enjoy unisex/male names for girls.
It beats what I would call “The Misspelling Trend” going on in this country!!! I would reather be a “[name]Riley[/name]” than a “Mickayla” or a “[name]Calleigh[/name]” any day!
I think it all depends on the name. Personally I wouldn’t use names like [name]Peyton[/name], [name]Hayden[/name], [name]Riley[/name], [name]Taylor[/name], etc. which to me sound pretty feminine for boys names anyway. I think if you’re going to use a unisex name for a girl, it should be a little more masculine. My son would have been [name]Evan[/name] had he been a girl, after my younger sister. I also love [name]Cooper[/name], [name]Jameson[/name], [name]Sawyer[/name], [name]Thatcher[/name], [name]Spencer[/name], even [name]Preston[/name] for girls.
If you are concerned, then a good way to compromise is picking a girls’ name with a masculine nn, for example :
[name]Alexandra[/name] - [name]Alex[/name], [name]Andy[/name] (also [name]Alexandrine[/name], [name]Alexa[/name] and [name]Alexis[/name] can all give [name]Alex[/name], of course)
[name]Maxine[/name] - [name]Max[/name]
[name]Alice[/name] - [name]Al[/name]
[name]Andrea[/name]/[name]Andromeda[/name] - [name]Andy[/name]
[name]Theodora[/name] - [name]Theo[/name] etc.
I [name]LOVE[/name] unisex names. Of course both of my girls have feminine first names with unisex middle names. I figured if they really wanted to use a unisex name later in life they could use their middle name. We also considered using feminine first names with masculine nn like [name]Samantha[/name] and [name]Alexis[/name].
I actually love [name]Quinn[/name], [name]Ryan[/name], [name]Hayden[/name] and [name]Evan[/name] for first names for girls. [name]Hayden[/name] is soooo popular for boys and girls that I wouldn’t touch it. Too bad because we had a good friend with this name. We almost named our oldest [name]Quinn[/name] but changed our mind and have now lost the opportunity because we have a nephew who now sports this great name. Maybe one day I’ll have grandchild with this name .[name]Keaton[/name] and [name]Peyton[/name] I would use in the middle.
Other unisex/boys names I like for girls for either first names or middle names are-
[name]Allyn[/name] - I usually hate the use of a Y to feminize a boys name. I like this one (this week)
[name]Auden[/name] - I really love the nn [name]Audie[/name].
[name]Bailey[/name] - Oh so very popular that I’d never really use it.
[name]Bodhi[/name] - for a mn
[name]Charlie[/name] - It doesn’t work with my other kids names.
[name]Devin[/name] - It means poet.
[name]Dorian[/name] - Maybe nn [name]Dori[/name].
[name]Ellis[/name]/[name]Ellison[/name] - mn
[name]Hudson[/name] - mn
[name]Jo[/name] - of course as a nn to a more feminine first name.
[name]Kinsey[/name]
[name]Micah[/name] - Maybe
[name]Paulie[/name] - as a nn for [name]Paulina[/name]
[name]Shane[/name]
[name]Sean[/name]/[name]Shawn[/name]
I’m not a fan of boy’s names for girls because I think girls are just starting to ruin it for the boys. Names once considered masculine like [name]Addison[/name] are now becoming overtly feminine. I think you should name your girl an exclusively girls name.
I agree. To the OP: [name]How[/name] do you feel about your sons’ names ([name]Ryan[/name] and [name]Reece[/name]) being used for girls too? If you don’t mind, then go ahead and use one of the names you mentioned for a girl. If not, then don’t make the situation worse and use a clearly female name for your daughter.
I have to admit that I do like the name [name]Ryan[/name] for a girl.
I think they probably are! I really hope they aren’t because I’m only 14 and I [name]LOVE[/name] baby names, especially boy names for girls. I don’t want it to be that once I get married and have kids unisex names won’t be very different and stand-out anymore. I also love the name [name]Reese[/name] for a girl. I also like [name]Jensen[/name] and [name]Jase[/name]. (my favorites) I like [name]Sterling[/name] for a girl, but i don’t want to make my boys names look feminin with a sister named [name]Sterling[/name]. [name]Sterling[/name] in my opinion is a pretty boyish name. Trends change pretty quickly, so my hope would be that if unisex names do goout of style, it would be quickly. So that years later 9when I have a kid) they could be trendy again. But i doubt it.
I honestly don’t like boys names for girls unless they have girly nicknames, like [name]Elliot[/name] and [name]Ellison[/name].
I love and adore [name]Ryan[/name] for a boy, so I hate hearing it on girls. I think unisex names are getting old. They need to go away.
Unisex names are still ‘in’ but now they seem to be more and more unusual and masculine, whilst the older ones have been properly considered as girls names or have completely lost their masculine feel. Examples of these are [name]Jordan[/name], [name]Morgan[/name], [name]Courtney[/name] and [name]Addison[/name]. I think the real unisex names can be defined by someone pausing and asking if it’s a boy or a girl when they see only the first names on a roll. But that’s just my opinion.
Then of course their are the names like [name]Evan[/name], [name]Ryan[/name] and even [name]Brayden[/name] which are quite simply boys names but can easily be used for girls and are reasonably popular at the moment.
Personally I like don’t like unisex names as much as using boys names for girls if I wanted something to wow. My favourite unisex names are [name]Elliot[/name], [name]Riley[/name] and [name]Jordan[/name] but I have a longer list of favourite boys names for girls; [name]Evan[/name], [name]Ryan[/name], [name]Ethan[/name] (love [name]Ethan[/name] on a girl), [name]Shawn[/name], [name]Hamilton[/name] (yes, I know), [name]Christian[/name], [name]Billie[/name], [name]Max[/name], [name]Scott[/name], [name]Dylan[/name] and [name]Lenny[/name].
.[name]Keaton[/name] and [name]Peyton[/name] I would use in the middle.