It is such a popular name for girls right now but it’s a unisex name that may have actually stated out as a male name. No one I mentioned this name to was aware that its ever used for males.
From our lengthy baby names list, it’s the only one both my husband and I like and feel a connection to. We both love Watership Down, the nature and colour connection, possible biblical/Hebrew origin. [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] also goes nicely with our first sons name, [name_u]Garnet[/name_u].
So that’s all great but I don’t want to choose a name my child will later resent. Is it too weird to name a boy [name_u]Hazel[/name_u]?
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I think it would be hard on him.
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I’d love to see it used for a boy in theory. I do think he will be mistaken for a girl all the time though.
You can’t really know whether that would bother him or not.
If it wasn’t so popular for girls at the moment I would 100% say yes.
Maybe something like Jasper or Rowan?
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I do agree with this - if people only heard or read his name. I do enjoy Hazel for a boy though and Hayes could be a cool nickname:) (or a similar option too)
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I really like [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] on a boy, so I say go for it! It might have been harder if your first son was named something very masculine leaning, but since [name_u]Garnet[/name_u] is also gender neutral, I don’t think your second son would grow to resent his name. [name_u]Garnet[/name_u] & [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] would make darling brothers!
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First of all, I really like it.
But…
I would seriously discourage anyone from naming their son [name_u]Hazel[/name_u]. It’s unisex in theory but in practice it’s a feminine name and I would always assume someone named [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] is a girl. I think it would make life unnecessarily difficult for him. At the end of the day, it’s your decision. But I wouldn’t, despite the fact I really like it in theory.
edit: [name_u]Rowan[/name_u] has been suggested, but how about [name_u]Wren[/name_u]? In my opinion, much more unisex.
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It’s so popular and that is what’s making me second guess. [name_u]Jasper[/name_u] and [name_u]Rowan[/name_u] are on our list.
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It does work, and I actually prefer it for a boy! Pretty much all nature names feel gender neutral to me 
it does have history as a boys name also.
As other have said, people might assume he’s a girl but I don’t think that’s a deal-breaker. If you’re looking for alternatives, sound-wise I’d suggest Hansel or Ansel.
Hazel & Garnet are perfect together! 
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[name_u]Hazel[/name_u] is one of my favorite boy names! There’s a male [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] in The Umbrella Academy, and he wears the name well!
I think [name_u]Garnet[/name_u] & [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] are so handsome together!! I’d say [name_u]Garnet[/name_u] also leans feminine, so [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] fits right in to me.
I think so long as you teach your sons there’s nothing wrong with being associated with femininity, it’d be fine. I don’t think he’d resent you for it!
The more I think about it, [name_u]Garnet[/name_u] & [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] are absolutely perfect together 
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[name_u]Hazel[/name_u] on a boy sounds unbelievably cool. The fact that there is a pop culture association with a male [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] is an added bonus as @regionlatbest mentioned.
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In theory, I think [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] would be great on a boy. In practice, definitely not.
[name_u]Hazel[/name_u] has been in the top 100 girl names in the US since 2015, but has not even been in the top 1000 for boys since 1940. [name_f]Every[/name_f] single year [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] was in the top 1000 for boys it was in the bottom 500 (save for 3 years), all the while it was in the top 125 for girls (most in the top 100).
[name_u]An[/name_u] important thing to remember when naming a child is that children are ruthless. Giving a boy a popular girls’ name is a fast track to him getting bullied and him resenting his parents.
Is it awful that a boy being given a name that is seen as feminine and having feminine qualities leads to him being ostracized and bullied by his peers as well as the adults around him? Absolutely. I’m aware.
The thing is, one family deciding to name their boy a popular girls’ name is not going to change that.
I’m sorry if this comes off as rude, I don’t mean it that way.
On a lighter note, I second the suggestions of [name_u]Jasper[/name_u] (goes along with [name_u]Garnet[/name_u] as gem names), [name_u]Rowan[/name_u] (goes along with [name_u]Garnet[/name_u] as nature names), and [name_u]Hayes[/name_u] (this would be a great subtle nod to the character).
Other names I would suggest:
[name_m]Flint[/name_m]
[name_u]Jude[/name_u]
[name_m]Rubin[/name_m]
[name_u]Mica[/name_u]
[name_u]Cedar[/name_u]
[name_u]Reed[/name_u]
[name_u]River[/name_u]
[name_u]Everest[/name_u]
[name_u]Gale[/name_u]
[name_u]Aspen[/name_u]
[name_u]Jay[/name_u]
[name_u]Robin[/name_u]
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I had no idea about the Umbrella Academy character. Thanks for mentioning that! I live in a conservative province, interestingly [name_u]Garnet[/name_u] has been used more as masculine in [name_f]Canada[/name_f]. They are really into hockey here so a lot of people are familiar with it because of [name_u]Garnet[/name_u] [name_f]Hathaway[/name_f] or they know an old man by that name. [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] would be a hard sell if we decide to go with it but I don’t mind being a trend setter.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts and suggestions. Many on that list are names I would consider.
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I know of a boy with the middle name [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] and I think it’s darling. But as a first name, I definitely wouldn’t do it. It’s so popular for girls right now that it feels akin to naming a son [name_f]Olivia[/name_f]. I’m all for breaking down gender roles but on a real child this feels like it would be a burden.
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it is unisex, but in my opinion, very feminine leaning. I think it’s cool on a boy, but i probably wouldn’t use it for the child’s sake. I like the suggestion of [name_u]Hayes[/name_u] for a nickname though, and i think you could definitely do it as a middle name.
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i’m all for people choosing to name their kids or themselves regardless of perceived gender connotations of said name.
but, speaking realistically i think giving a boy the name hazel, i don’t think the world would be so kind to him. just because the name is so heavily geared towards girls. hazel used to be a name given to males in the 19th century, particularly in southern portions of america. it’s almost like how the names ashley, allison, madison, etc. all started as male given names but at the turn of the 20th/21st century, it fizzled out gradually into standard “girl” names.
with all that being said, how about hazael (HA-zai-ell)? it’s one of my favorite biblical names and i would love to see it get used more tbh
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[name_u]Hazel[/name_u] is one of my favorite boy names. Yeah it’s more popular for girls right now, but I think the popularity of [name_u]Hayes[/name_u] for boys makes it doable. If [name_u]Hayes[/name_u] is seen as masculine, does that extra L really make that big of a difference?
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I second this, myself. Beyond, I prefer Hazel as a girls’ name. I think it works as a boys’ name, but it’s meh to me. Feels so dainty and vintage, old-lady and warm as a girls’ name already! (I’m biased, likely, as I am a girl named Hazel, but that’s my two cents.)
Similar feeling names I’d suggest:
Lark
Ellis
Golden
Grey
Griffin
As a person who did not grow up in an [name_f]English[/name_f] speaking country, I never heard about [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] until I watched Umbrella Academy last year. It was on a boy. Since then, I associated it with boys and I thought it was a boy names only until I came to Nameberry and people told me “It is a girl name too”. So, I still associate it more with boys to be honest and find that for me personally it does not even lean that femenine. But that is because I heard it first on boys maybe!
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Gosh this is such a hard one. If I met a boy called [name_u]Hazel[/name_u] I would be thrilled. Really, it should be no different to [name_u]Cedar[/name_u], [name_u]Rowan[/name_u], [name_u]River[/name_u], [name_u]Robin[/name_u] etc. But if I were a boy would I want to be called [name_u]Hazel[/name_u]? Probably not.
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