Hello there, we’re expecting our second child, (and we have two from previous relationships), and are having trouble agreeing on any sort of name save for both liking boy names for girls.
For example, he likes ‘[name_u]Sam[/name_u]’, or rather [name_f]Samantha[/name_f]… But I dislike [name_f]Samantha[/name_f]. I’d like a boy name, not a girls name with a boy nickname.
Any suggestions for other boy names for girls? I knew a female [name_u]Randy[/name_u], and while I adore [name_u]Charlie[/name_u], he does not.
I love the idea of [name_m]Stephen[/name_m] (pn ST-EH-PHEN) as a girls name. I never liked [name_f]Stephanie[/name_f]. I can’t think of any others but maybe [name_m]Lucas[/name_m]. [name_m]Just[/name_m] an idea.
I see you’re fairly new to Nameberry… [name_m]Just[/name_m] a warning, boys’ names on girls are VERY contentious on Nameberry and a lot of people are strongly against them. That doesn’t mean you’re bad or wrong for liking them, just be prepared for the reactions. (Personally, they’re not my style but I see no problem with them.)
Unisex names*:
[name_u]Harper[/name_u]
[name_u]Rowan[/name_u]
[name_u]Addison[/name_u]
[name_u]Madison[/name_u]
[name_u]Ashley[/name_u]/[name_u]Ashton[/name_u]- and has unisex nn [name_u]Ash[/name_u]
[name_u]Vivian[/name_u]
[name_u]Evelyn[/name_u]
[name_m]Mitchell[/name_m] (I love this on a girl because of [name_f]Margaret[/name_f] [name_m]Mitchell[/name_m], but I seem to be the only one. Has feminine nn [name_f]Ellie[/name_f].)
[name_u]Scout[/name_u]
[name_u]Leslie[/name_u]
[name_u]Lindsay[/name_u]
[name_u]Hudson[/name_u]
I’m not fond of the trend because of the stuff they might have to deal with that another girl with a name that is unisex or primarily for girls wouldn’t have to go through. But, it’s your child and if you like the name, go for it.
I’ve also known a female [name_u]Logan[/name_u], [name_u]Ryan[/name_u], Charlie, James, and [name_u]Tyler[/name_u].
Thanks for the responses so far. I didn’t realize it was a contentious issue. That’s unfortunate. There’s plenty of names out there that I dislike, but respectfully, to each his own. Trends have been around for as long as we’ve been naming babies!
I don’t understand a lot of the celebrity baby name trends, for example. [name_m]How[/name_m] weird do you have to go?!
TBH with out tying to sound rude at all this is one naming trend that has always really annoyed me. I’ve just always thought that with the exception on unisex names that boys names belong on boys and girl names belong on girls. But that being said that’s just my opinion and people should be free to name their child whatever that want. I went to school for a couple of years with a girl named [name_u]Tyler[/name_u]. But I really don’t mind boy nicknames of girls with a longer form of a girl name.
Good [name_m]Luck[/name_m]! You are right, trends will always be around and names will always change. Heck, at one time [name_u]Madison[/name_u], [name_u]Taylor[/name_u], [name_u]Tracy[/name_u], vivian, [name_u]Dana[/name_u], [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u], jocelyn, [name_f]Kristen[/name_f], [name_f]Claire[/name_f], [name_f]Jade[/name_f], [name_u]Whitney[/name_u]…(the list goes on) were all originally boy names. Personally, I still love both [name_u]Addison[/name_u] and [name_u]Avery[/name_u] for a boy, although some may argue they’ve gone to the girls, I would still use them on a boy. It all comes down to personal preference. Opinion is a wonderful thing…Some will love and some will hate…thats how it always is =)
I have a unisex name, which is more often used for boys. A compromise you might make with DH is to make the middle name something feminine. I didn’t like having a “boys name” when I was young and wouldn’t give my daughter a boys name for that reason, but I am cool with my name now. However, I almost always use my full name in business. I am used to people mistaking me for a man and don’t really care, but, with our electronic world, some people get very uncomfortable if I have to correct them via email re: my gender. So I’m not really against unisex/boys names, but would recommend something like [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] [last name] over [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] [name_u]Spencer[/name_u] [last name].
I have met girls named (some of which are unisex I suppose):
[name_u]Cody[/name_u]
[name_u]Cory[/name_u]
[name_m]Levi[/name_m]
[name_u]Ellis[/name_u]
[name_u]Ryan[/name_u]
[name_u]Luca[/name_u]
[name_u]Shea[/name_u]
[name_u]Rory[/name_u]
[name_u]Riley[/name_u]
[name_m]Finnian[/name_m] nn [name_u]Finn[/name_u]
[name_m]Bodhi[/name_m] nn [name_u]Bo[/name_u] – Struggled to let this one go for my girl. [name_f]Adore[/name_f] [name_u]Bo[/name_u].
[name_u]Bo[/name_u]
That’s all I can think of off the top of my head without going into unisex territory. Otherwise, without a female association, I have a hard time picking full-on boys names that I’d give to a girl. I love the name [name_u]Harper[/name_u], despite it’s popularity. And I also love the more girlish yet still quite tomboy [name_f]Briar[/name_f]. I also love the feminization [name_f]Eliette[/name_f].
p.s. [name_u]Charlie[/name_u] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is a talk show host….just to throw that out there. And male!
[name_u]Drew[/name_u]
[name_u]Ryan[/name_u]
[name_u]Tyler[/name_u]
[name_u]Blake[/name_u]
[name_u]Logan[/name_u]
[name_u]Noah[/name_u] - I met a female [name_u]Noah[/name_u] once and yes with this spelling, not the feminized [name_f]Noa[/name_f]
[name_u]Avery[/name_u]
[name_u]Quinn[/name_u]
[name_u]Taylor[/name_u]
[name_u]Taite[/name_u] - feminine form of [name_u]Tate[/name_u]? I’ve seen it once on a girl.
[name_u]Harper[/name_u]
[name_u]Parker[/name_u]
I have always found it a little amusing with the number of people who hate the “boy names on girls” trend… Given how many “Girl Only” names used to be 100% boy names once… So you’d have to be a hater of so many “girls” names like [name_u]Whitney[/name_u], [name_u]Kelley[/name_u], [name_u]Tracy[/name_u], [name_u]Lindsay[/name_u], [name_u]Leslie[/name_u], [name_u]Kim[/name_u], [name_u]Lynn[/name_u], [name_u]Hilary[/name_u], [name_f]Beverly[/name_f], [name_u]Aubrey[/name_u], [name_u]Alexis[/name_u], [name_u]Allison[/name_u]…
I read this list and even I was surprised… [name_u]Aubrey[/name_u]? Sounds so pretty… So sure, you can say the cultural shift happened years ago, but the cultural shift has been going on and still goes on and will always go on…
What’s weird is how girly things are never cool for boys… Never gonna name your little boy [name_f]Lily[/name_f] or [name_f]Rose[/name_f]… And you’ll never dress your boy in pink… But little girls can wear as much blue as they want and a name like [name_u]Ryan[/name_u] or [name_u]James[/name_u] isn’t far fetched for a girl. Makes me wonder if subconsciously we still have a negative attitude towards the feminine… Sorry, totally went off track, but it was interesting…
My name is Jo, works for both male and female
Other suggestions:
Riley
Rory
Matilda- nn Mattie, Tillie
Charlotte- nn Charlie, Lottie
Harriet- Harri, Hattie, Ettie
Eliette- sounds like Elliot
Emery
Avery
Sawyer
Andi
I’m not into boy names for girls, but I do like boyish nicknames for traditional girl names. I loved your point that name trends have been around as long as there are names.
To cut down on confusion I’d avoid using a very traditional, standard boy name as a first name. [name_m]Daniel[/name_m], [name_m]David[/name_m], [name_m]John[/name_m], [name_u]Michael[/name_u], [name_m]Paul[/name_m], [name_m]Peter[/name_m], [name_m]Edward[/name_m], [name_m]Steven[/name_m], [name_m]Patrick[/name_m], [name_m]William[/name_m], [name_m]Henry[/name_m]… you get the picture. That’s going to make her life tricky. But nicknames of those names, especially ending with -y or -ie, aren’t uncommon, like [name_u]Charlie[/name_u], [name_u]Dannie[/name_u], [name_m]Louie[/name_m]. This is hardly a new thing: [name_u]Johnnie[/name_u] and [name_u]Willie[/name_u] both ranked in the top girls’ names over 100 years ago, and I think we’ve all heard of middle-aged ladies named [name_f]Bobbi[/name_f] and [name_f]Toni[/name_f].
Unless you go with a nickname I’d stick to more androgynous names, whether they’re surnames, place names, or names that have frequently been used for both boys and girls. Like:
[name_u]Parker[/name_u]
[name_u]Harper[/name_u]
[name_u]Rowan[/name_u]
[name_u]Casey[/name_u]
[name_u]Eliot[/name_u]
A lot of those Irish Surname-names, like [name_u]Kennedy[/name_u], [name_u]Flannery[/name_u], etc. Maybe think of nice-sounding surnames in your family trees.
[name_u]Morgan[/name_u]
[name_u]Spencer[/name_u]
[name_u]Reese[/name_u]
[name_u]Mason[/name_u]
Or, the ones that started as boy names and “went girl” a while ago. These all still feel a touch boyish:
[name_f]Beverly[/name_f]
[name_u]Leslie[/name_u]
[name_u]Cassidy[/name_u]
[name_u]Tracy[/name_u]
[name_u]Stacey[/name_u]
[name_u]Cary[/name_u]
[name_u]Darcy[/name_u]
[name_f]My[/name_f] favorite is the traditional girl name with the boyish nickname ([name_f]Lucille[/name_f] nn [name_m]Louie[/name_m], [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] nn [name_u]Joey[/name_u]) but there are many other ways you could get the boyish name you want.
I love [name_u]Spencer[/name_u]/ [name_u]Spenser[/name_u] for a girl. And yup, I did know of one personally. It sounds stylish and dashing on a girl, [name_f]IMO[/name_f]!
Also, I seriously considered using [name_m]Zane[/name_m] as a middle name, should I have had a daughter instead of a son. I would spell it [name_f]Zhane[/name_f], which is a slavic form of [name_f]Jane[/name_f], according to [name_m]Bruce[/name_m] Lansky.
[name_m]Orlando[/name_m] would make a cool girls name as well.
Or how about a lovely nature name?
[name_u]Aspen[/name_u]
[name_u]Dakota[/name_u]
[name_m]Forrest[/name_m]
[name_u]Rowan[/name_u]
[name_u]Wren[/name_u]
I would also consider [name_u]Addison[/name_u], [name_u]Blake[/name_u], [name_u]Shelly[/name_u], etc. These names have a soft sound, even though they are traditionally masculine. “Middle of the road” unisex names work better. I once knew a girl named [name_m]Frank[/name_m], nn “[name_u]Frankie[/name_u]”. It was a dreadful name which did not suit her and caused her much pathos.
