What are some names
- that were traditionally used for boys
and - are now commonly used by the girls
that you would like to see go back to the boys?
[name]Reilly[/name], [name]Avery[/name], [name]Kennedy[/name], [name]Cameron[/name], and [name]Harper[/name] come to mind immediately…
Also, I hope that in some time (a long amount of time), after [name]Madison[/name] is no longer so popular for girls, it can redeem itself as a boys’ name. The girls can keep [name]Madeleine[/name] (actually a girls’ name and very pretty too).
Ditto for names like [name]Lindsay[/name] and [name]Kelly[/name]. If you think about it, they might actually be nice on boys one day, when they are no longer so commonly heard for girls.
On names that haven’t yet crossed over, I REALLY hope that [name]Owen[/name], [name]James[/name], [name]Asher[/name], and [name]Finn[/name] can stay masculine!!
Here’s a list (incomplete) of names that I would like to see on boys again:
I agree with [name]Rose[/name] said about boys winning back some of these kind of names “by default” when their popularity on girls drops. An example of such a name is [name]Robin[/name]; although it’s currently not in the top 1,000 for either gender it seems a bit more masculine for a boy than it did 50 or so years ago when it was popular for girls. [name]Rose[/name]'s example of [name]Kelly[/name] is another one that appears to have growing interest in use on a boy (from what some others on other blogs/sites have said), and as it drops in popularity (and becomes more dated) for girls that may help it be perceived as a little more masculine than it has been in recent years. Probably the toughest to “reclaim” for boys are those that became very popular for girls and never got popular enough for boys, such as [name]Ashley[/name] and [name]Madison[/name].
I would love to see [name]Morgan[/name] go back to the boy’s side!
All of them!!! I just don’t GET why perfectly nice boy’s names keep being (over)used on girls! I’m especially mourning the loss of [name]Finley[/name] and [name]Rowan[/name]. I can see [name]Ashley[/name] on a boy, too.
I doubt [name]Ashley[/name] or [name]Lindsay[/name] will ever go back; they’re as feminine as [name]Evelyn[/name] now.
I don’t mind most male-to-female names. The one that really annoys me on a girl is [name]Avery[/name], because I never liked the name and thought (incorrectly) that it had declined significantly for boys. And (though only 1 in 20 is a girl) [name]Logan[/name].
[name]Rowan[/name] and [name]Morgan[/name] as the most important ones…
They sound so masculine to me with their deep ‘o’ sound and I just can’t understand how anyone would use them for girls to begin with… Especially when you have [name]Rowena[/name] and [name]Morgana[/name] as feminine versions already…
I’m also happy to see [name]Kelly[/name], [name]Avery[/name] and other names ending in -y move over to the boys as well since I don’t like how all -y ending names are automatically considered girly…
[name]Kelly[/name] and [name]Cary[/name].
[name]Alexis[/name] and [name]Ashley[/name] I think would make very handsome boys names if they weren’t so popular for girls
Here’s a recent post to my blog about my comments from a name expert (not [name]Pam[/name] or [name]Linda[/name]) about the name [name]Riley[/name]:
A friend’s husband is named [name]Ashley[/name] and when I met him, the name immediately conveyed a sense of class that I would never associate with a female by this name. I think giving boys names like [name]Ashley[/name], [name]Robin[/name], and [name]Lindsay[/name] sound fresh and a little uppercrust these days, especially now that “attractive” names for boys ([name]Julian[/name] and [name]Dashiell[/name] come to mind) are in vogue. And I hope I don’t offend anyone by saying this, but I think giving little girls very traditional male names ([name]James[/name], [name]Owen[/name]) feels a little tacky to me.