My partner and I are expecting boy-girl twins in September (hooray). We pretty much agree on baby names but we have one disagreement. I have always wanted to name my first son Liel (‘I have a G-d’ in Hebrew). It was my uncles name and he was a huge part of my life. He was an amazing man, AIDS advocate and all around favorite uncle. His passing completely crushed my partner and I as we were all very close.
My partner is 100% on board with this name. HOWEVER, Liel is ‘traditionally’ a girls name and most of the Liels we know (sometimes spelled Lielle) are girls. While this name has branched out a little it isn’t completely “unisex”. My partner thinks we should name our baby girl Liel and move on to another mutually agreed upon name for our son. Any advice?
Alternative Boys Names:
Avraham
Moshe
Boaz
Eugene
Irving
Alternative Girls Names:
Marnie
Gilah
Tahlia
Allegra
Gittel (Gitti for short)
[name_f]Welcome[/name_f] to Nameberry and congratulations on your twins! 
I think [name_f]Liel[/name_f] is very gender-neutral in terms of sound and not popular enough for either sex to feel strongly male or female (to me, at least). Plus, the important namesake for you is male, so I think it makes total sense for your family to use it as a boy name.
That said, it’s a lovely choice for a girl as well so if that’s a compromise option that you could both be happy with, it definitely works as an honour for your uncle as well. Is the issue that your partner doesn’t like it for a boy, but is willing to consider it for a girl? [name_u]Or[/name_u] they like it for both sexes, but are worried about it being perceived as “feminine”?
I also like [name_m]Avraham[/name_m], [name_m]Moshe[/name_m] and [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] from your boy list, and [name_f]Marnie[/name_f], [name_f]Gilah[/name_f], [name_f]Tahlia[/name_f] and [name_f]Allegra[/name_f] from your girl list. All would work well as a sibling to [name_f]Liel[/name_f], boy or girl.
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Congratulations!
Firstly sorry for the loss of your uncle he sounds like a wonderful man and I think honouring such a lovely individual is awesome. [name_f]Honour[/name_f] names are always a winner!
So I agree with hubby I would name your daughter [name_f]Liel[/name_f] after your uncle rather than your son because the name feels more feminine. I think because I have family in [name_u]Israel[/name_u] have visited [name_u]Israel[/name_u] for many years staying for many weeks I’ve seen this name a lot it’s very popular in [name_u]Israel[/name_u] for girls so has a strong feminine association. I actually really love breaking stereotypical barriers with naming! I think naming daughters after important male loved ones and naming sons after important female loved ones is really cool so for me my daughter would be [name_f]Liel[/name_f].
For your son I would go with [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] from your list. [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] is cool shares the same roots as [name_f]Liel[/name_f] and has a similar vibe to [name_f]Liel[/name_f] I think [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] & [name_f]Liel[/name_f] would be lovely together.
If you decide that [name_f]Liel[/name_f] does work for your son I would use [name_f]Gilah[/name_f] as your daughter’s name I think [name_f]Gilah[/name_f] has the same spunky joyful vibe that [name_f]Liel[/name_f] has.
Anyways to summaries for me [name_f]Liel[/name_f] (g) & [name_m]Boaz[/name_m] (b) is the way to go!
Good luck
Congratulations on your pregnancy!
I think [name_f]Liel[/name_f] would be perfect for a boy (or a girl, really). I don’t agree that it sounds more feminine. In fact, Hebrew names ending in -iel are traditionally masculine (Gabriel, [name_u]Ariel[/name_u], [name_u]Daniel[/name_u], [name_m]Ezekiel[/name_m] etc.).
[name_f]Liel[/name_f] and [name_f]Gittel[/name_f] would make great twins, as would [name_f]Liel[/name_f] and [name_f]Gilah[/name_f].
If you decide to use [name_f]Liel[/name_f] for a girl, I’d go with [name_m]Moshe[/name_m] and [name_f]Liel[/name_f] or [name_m]Avraham[/name_m] and [name_f]Liel[/name_f].
Because it’s so uncommon, it can work on either imo. It’s be a nice honour for your uncle on any child 
[name_f]My[/name_f] husband is worried the name sounds too feminine. It’s uncommon in most American settings but worries that if we were to ever move to a more Jewish area that the name might come with teasing or sideways looks.
This is such a good point about honoring the uncle/niece relationship I hadn’t thought about that before! It definitely gives me something to consider.
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