I am really starting to like [name_u]Noah[/name_u]. It is in my top three, along with a few other biblical names. I don’t mind popular names. However, I dislike unisex names when used for boys. Once girls start using an originally boys name and it becomes commonly used as a girls name (ie [name_u]Avery[/name_u], [name_u]Aubrey[/name_u], [name_u]Kelly[/name_u], [name_u]Morgan[/name_u], [name_u]Taylor[/name_u]…) then I am not drawn to that name for boys. I have seen a few people post here they are thinking of using the name [name_u]Noah[/name_u] for a girl (I know it can be also spelt like [name_f]Noa[/name_f], but they were going with the [name_u]Noah[/name_u] spelling). I wonder if this is rare or if this trend will take off? I know one girl named [name_u]Tyler[/name_u], and to me that is a name that is still planted firmly in boy territory.
What do you think? Is [name_u]Noah[/name_u] still completely masculine?
I’m having the same issue with two other biblical choices of mine. [name_u]Asa[/name_u] and [name_m]Elijah[/name_m]. I don’t think it is feminine but I only know male [name_u]Noah[/name_u]'s. I could see how it would be heard as feminine because it doesn’t have any hard sounds but if you love it, go for it. Are you pregnant now?
Not at all. And when [name_u]Noah[/name_u] is the most popular boy’s name in [name_u]America[/name_u] (combined spellings excluded), I don’t think you have to worry about people mistaking him for a girl. Plus there’s [name_u]Noah[/name_u] and the ark. Everyone’s familiar with that story.
Ugh – please no! I would absolutely hate to see this name on a girl! Sorry to any moms of female Noahs out there, but that just makes me cringe. I can’t imagine a girl named [name_u]Noah[/name_u]. It seems just as bad as naming a girl [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_m]Peter[/name_m], [name_u]Michael[/name_u], etc., although I noticed on the main page that some celebrity just named their daughter [name_m]Alijah[/name_m], and I never ever would have been able to picture that name on a girl ([name_m]Elijah[/name_m] that is – don’t know if [name_m]Alijah[/name_m] is a valid separate name). Still, as far as I’m concerned, [name_u]Noah[/name_u] is all boy and, though it does have a softer sound to it, very masculine.
People are using [name_u]Noah[/name_u] for girls? Oh no. I’d leave [name_u]Noah[/name_u] to the boys and use [name_f]Noa[/name_f] instead. As catheyc mentioned [name_u]Noah[/name_u] does have a softer sound to it but still all male (that spelling at least).
Maybe there’s something wrong with me, but I don’t think names are made masculine or feminine by sound alone. A name with a history shouldn’t be separated from its origins or its meaning just because it might sound “cute on a girl” or whatever the excuse is. There is a legitimate way to name a girl [name_f]Noa[/name_f], and it’s using [name_f]Noa[/name_f] not [name_u]Noah[/name_u]. The two names are not interchangeable.
I agree that [name_u]Noah[/name_u] should be a boys name, even if it does have softer sounds, it still sounds masculine. I also don’t see the appeal of the name [name_f]Noa[/name_f] for a girl when it sounds exactly like the boyish [name_u]Noah[/name_u]. [name_f]Glad[/name_f] to know others feel the same way.
I am one of those people that thinks [name_u]James[/name_u] if fresh and daring on a girl. [name_f]My[/name_f] father and grandfather, etc, etc, etc are named [name_u]James[/name_u] and it can get old, though it is still such a nice name. [name_u]Noah[/name_u] sounds soft and I feel that it will be fairly unisex even sooner than [name_u]James[/name_u] ( which I think will stay mostly on the boy side).
Well if it would bother you to have your son share a name that is sometimes given to girls then you should probably stay away from [name_u]Noah[/name_u], because as you pointed out [name_f]Noa[/name_f] is a popular Hebrew name for girls, and additionally non-Jewish families are staring to use [name_f]Noa[/name_f]/[name_u]Noah[/name_u] more and more often and using both spellings. [name_m]Just[/name_m] realize that names, like gender, are socially constructed and culturally bound. So no matter what you name your son there is probably going to be a woman out there somewhere who has the same name. So while it’s not an entirely avoidable thing, I’d say you should stay away from [name_u]Noah[/name_u]/[name_u]Morgan[/name_u]/[name_u]Taylor[/name_u]/etc. names if it’s a pet peeve for you. It wouldn’t bother me in the least if my son shared a name with kids of either gender, but if it’s something that you know bothers you (for whatever reason) then you shouldn’t go out of your way to use a name that’s becoming unisex. If you do decide to give your son a name that you know is also commonly given to girls then you shouldn’t get upset about girls having the same name as your son because you’re the one naming him. It’s your decision.
I have a cousin name [name_u]Noah[/name_u], and he is in fact, a boy. Mostly, I think of [name_m]Adam[/name_m] Levine though (his middle name is [name_u]Noah[/name_u], and [name_m]Adam[/name_m] [name_u]Noah[/name_u] just sounds gorgeous), because I don;t have much contact with my cousin, haha. I don’t think you get more masculine than [name_m]Adam[/name_m] Levine
In all seriousness though, it’s a boys name. The only female [name_u]Noah[/name_u] I know is [name_f]Miley[/name_f] [name_m]Cyrus[/name_m]’ sister, and I remember cringing at all the [name_m]Cyrus[/name_m] kids’ names, [name_u]Noah[/name_u] on a girl was no exception.
