Does it sound more masculine or feminine?
Nope, not at all. Cardigan is a sweater, not a name.
I do not think Cardigan works well as a name. If you’re looking for the nn Cardie, then Cardinal would be more appropriate, but I am not wild about that either.
I don’t think it would make such a great name. I agree with casilda, it’s definitely a sweater and should stay that way.
It just makes me think of the sweater. I do like [name_m]Cadogan[/name_m] on a boy.
Being someone who likes these kinds of out of the box names I would totally put Cardigan on my list of names I like.
Cardigan is not a name, it’s a sweater (that I am actually wearing now;))
No, a cardigan is a sweater and will always be associated with sweaters. It’s equivalent to naming your child Camisole nn [name_f]Cami[/name_f].
I’d actually thought of [name_f]Cami[/name_f] as well, oops!
I don’t like it. Generally, I think word names don’t work, because they bring up images of things. Cardigan = Sweater, not a little kid.
Uh Cardigan is a a sweater… it’s something you wear, would you name your kid Shirt? Pants? Underwear? I don’t think so…
I’m a big fan of word names, but Cardigan isn’t one of them. I love Carrigan, and [name_u]Madigan[/name_u] is really cute. But clothes names? I don’t think it would work.
Maybe for a pet bunny rabbit.
Hahaha oh gosh, I’d be so embarrassed if my name were Cardigan… I do get the appeal, it’s like Carrigan, [name_m]Remington[/name_m], [name_u]Madigan[/name_u], and names like that.
But there was a woman on an episode of [name_m]Say[/name_m] Yes to the Dress named Duvae, named after a duvet. People live with it, I guess.
And to be fair, [name_m]Marius[/name_m] is a sweater pattern and it’s still one of my favourite names 
Cardigan is not only a sweater but a Welsh dog Corgi breed name. It’s really not an attractive word name for any child.
And indeed a Welsh town.
that would actually be a really awesome name for a rabbit!
I like the suggestion of Cardinal for a boy. Out there, but not crazy.
lol, at the suggestion of Cardigan and Camisole as siblings! Interesting idea for a children’s book 
So the thing about Cardigan is, it sounds like it should be a name.
It’s pronounced as it’s spelled. It sounds like a nice last name, which lately is a trend of making it a first name ([name_u]Emerson[/name_u], [name_u]Sutton[/name_u], [name_u]Jamison[/name_u], etc.).
Linguistically, Cardigan is very appealing. It blends the best of Car- names with a soft ‘n,’ similar in beauty to [name_f]Megan[/name_f], [name_u]Allison[/name_u], and [name_f]Katelyn[/name_f] but updated 20 years later, combining what could be a stylish last name + nice syllables together.
Unfortunately, Cardigan is also the name of a sweater: a cardigan.
I understand it’s hard to see Cardigan as anything but beautiful; it’s actually quite a nice word! But for that matter, so is sofa. It combines popular [name_f]Sophie[/name_f] with popular [name_f]Ava[/name_f] in a name that is short, easily pronounced and also recognizable. Would you name your daughter Sofa? Probably not.
Cardigan is appealing because the sweater is named after an [name_m]Earl[/name_m] of Cardigan. It originated as a name and may be reclaimed as a name in the future, but for right now and in the next 5 or so years, I believe naming a child Cardigan is equivalent to Sofa 
Yes, not all words that sound nice should be a name. A cardigan is and always will be a sweater. It’s not something you’d want to be named after, not like a flower or a gemstone, it’s a sweater, you’d always and forever hear jokes about it.
The cardigan, sweater with buttons down the front, was named after [name_u]James[/name_u] Brudenell, 7th [name_m]Earl[/name_m] of Cardigan, a British [name_m]Army[/name_m] [name_m]Major[/name_m] [name_m]General[/name_m] who led the Charge of the [name_m]Light[/name_m] Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War. Brundenell is mostly depicted an antagonizing way. The cardigan is modelled after the knitted wool waistcoat that British Officers supposedly wore during the war.
Cardigan has come to mean sweater after a place that a person ruled. It’s technically a place name.
I prefer Carrigan or [name_u]Madigan[/name_u] personally. This post has made me see Cardigan in a whole new light. I would probably use the nickname [name_u]Cary[/name_u] or Igan (e-gehn).