I feel like I am getting pretty annoying posting all the time about the same names, but please bear with me – I am having such a tough time with this little boy’s name!
DH likes [name]Nicholas[/name] nn [name]Nico[/name] the best so far, and of all of our choices I like it the best too, although I don’t feel as strongly about it as I did about our daughter’s name ([name]Louisa[/name]). I loved [name]Louisa[/name] but I just like [name]Nicholas[/name]/[name]Nico[/name].
Anyway, my question is this: Is [name]Nico[/name] really a unisex name? For me personally I can only see it on a boy, but I’m curious what others think. I really don’t want to use a unisex name, and I’m wondering if [name]Nico[/name] falls into this category. Or maybe I’m just trying to talk myself out of another name.
Thank you all so much for your patience and your help!
Yes, it’s one of those names that I feel to be totally unisex. The [name]Velvet[/name] Underground & [name]Nico[/name] is a pretty strong association for me, as well as the handsome and masculine short form of [name]Nicholas[/name] or …[name]Nicodemus[/name]!
I’ve never heard of a girl being named [name]Nico[/name]. Maybe if their full name was [name]Nicole[/name] it could be used as a nickname, but all the [name]Nicoles[/name] (or any of the [name]Nic[/name]- variants) have always gone by [name]Nic[/name] or [name]Nikki[/name] if they used a nickname. So, no, I don’t see [name]Nico[/name] as unisex. It’s completely male to me.
I could see it as unisex since it’s a viable option for women with names like [name]Nicole[/name] and [name]Nicolette[/name]. However, I don’t really think it matters because A) It’s a nickname, not what’s on his birth certificate B) To my knowledge it’s not super common. I’ve only ever met one, and he was a dude whose full name was [name]Nico[/name].
There’s a pretty popular computer game series called Broken Sword in which the main female character is called [name]Nico[/name] (short for [name]Nicole[/name]). She’s French and the way she says her name is adorable (as is the way she says [name]George[/name] - the male main character).
To me, it leans heavily toward the boy side. I do know a [name]Nicole[/name] who went by [name]Nico[/name] but she’s a rich girl playing at being an artist, so I think she may have picked a more masculine/unisex nn for the image she wants to put forward.
I see [name]Nico[/name] as a boy name. I’ve only ever heard it on real people in terms of two [name]German[/name] Formula 1 drivers, [name]Nico[/name] Rosberg and [name]Nico[/name] Hulkenberg. [name]One[/name] is born [name]Nico[/name] and the other [name]Nicolas[/name], according to Wikipedia. I think it’s a legit first name in some European countries as a form of [name]Nicholas[/name], so it screams boy to me.
I’ve also seen it used on TV for minor characters a couple of times, both on boys. I think on a girl it would only ever be as a nickname to [name]Nicole[/name]/[name]Nicola[/name]/[name]Nicolette[/name], but I’ve not known any that go by anything other than their full name or some spelling of [name]Nikki[/name]. I don’t think it’s unisex at all, don’t worry. Anyway, just cos someone names their daughter a boy name doesn’t turn that name unisex. [name]Maxwell[/name] is still boy, [name]Elliot[/name] is still boy, [name]Rory[/name] is still boy, [name]Nico[/name] is definitely still boy.
I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Nico[/name] as a nickname for [name]Nicholas[/name]. Yes, it may be a unisex nickname, but so is [name]Sam[/name], [name]Max[/name], [name]Alex[/name], etc.
It makes me think of somebody Italian or Greek, but whichever ethnicity [name]Nico[/name] is all boy to me! I happen to think it’s a terrific nickname.
I do think it’s unisex in theory, but I just looked up the number of boys and girls named [name]Nico[/name] on the official US extended list for 2011 – 522 boys and 35 girls, which tips it very heavily toward the male side. [name]Even[/name] if we’re including those with [name]Nico[/name] as a nickname, there are many more boys named [name]Nicholas[/name] than girls named [name]Nicole[/name] – 8517 to 2633 – so I think you have an answer you can quantify.
[name]Nico[/name]/[name]Nicholas[/name] is a great name, both cool and classic, masculine yet open-minded, and I’m sure a lot of female berries are envious that your husband likes it!
