Female Versions of Male Names?

Girl Names
1

I am wondering what folks think of female versions of male names.

Some of them I find unpleasant, such as [name_f]Danielle[/name_f], [name_f]Erica[/name_f], [name_u]Andrea[/name_u], [name_f]Roberta[/name_f], [name_f]Edwina[/name_f], [name_f]Marka[/name_f].

Others I like, odd as they seem: [name_f]Jamesina[/name_f], [name_f]Thomasina[/name_f], [name_f]Philippa[/name_f], even [name_f]Benjamina[/name_f]. Probably because I am drawn to old-fashioned names.

All these names could be seen as inferior for stemming from a male name. Or they could be viewed as a successful annexation of a male name. Or as just another name, no big deal.

Also curious if anyone can think of any (currently) wildly popular names of this type or wildly ugly ones (beyond my crazy preference list above!).

2

Well, one of my religious (not-legal) names is [name_f]Yosefa[/name_f], which is a feminine form of [name_m]Yosef[/name_m], which is translated to [name_m]Joseph[/name_m].

I’d say [name_f]Alexandra[/name_f], [name_f]Josephine[/name_f], [name_f]Michaela[/name_f], and [name_f]Gabriella[/name_f]/[name_f]Gabrielle[/name_f] are reasonably popular? [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_f]Johanna[/name_f], and [name_f]Louisa[/name_f] are all pretty classic. You could even argue that [name_f]Hannah[/name_f]/[name_f]Anne[/name_f] were originally feminizations, but the male form is, today, quite obscure and never really made the jump to English.

I prefer a feminized form to just calling a girl a boy’s name. Personal taste there. I also like old fashioned names.

I like some where I do NOT like the male name: I like [name_f]Caroline[/name_f], [name_f]Thomasin[/name_f]/[name_f]Tamasin[/name_f]/[name_f]Tamsin[/name_f], [name_f]Petra[/name_f], [name_u]Simone[/name_u], and [name_f]Theodora[/name_f] but dislike [name_m]Charles[/name_m]/[name_m]Carl[/name_m], [name_m]Thomas[/name_m], [name_m]Peter[/name_m], [name_m]Simon[/name_m], and [name_m]Theodore[/name_m].
Of ones where I like both male and female and both are known in English in any case, my favourites at the moment are probably: [name_f]Raphaela[/name_f], [name_f]Gillian[/name_f], [name_f]Alexandrina[/name_f], [name_f]Alastriona[/name_f], [name_f]Ramona[/name_f], and [name_f]Isidora[/name_f].

I can never decide how I feel about [name_f]Frances[/name_f]/[name_f]Francesca[/name_f].

I find [name_f]Henrietta[/name_f], [name_f]Harriet[/name_f], [name_f]Roberta[/name_f], [name_f]Louise[/name_f], and [name_f]Michelle[/name_f] unappetizing. (Though I like [name_m]Henry[/name_m] and [name_u]Michael[/name_u]).

3

I really like [name_f]Georgia[/name_f] and it is becoming increasingly popular.

4

For me too it depends on the particular name. Some I find dastardly others I love.