Some of my friends and I were having a movie night to relax before finals, and we were watching “Gone with the Wind.” I’ve seen it before, but not for a while, and I’d forgotten that there’s a male character named [name_u]Ashley[/name_u]. I’ve only ever met female Ashleys (and a lot of them, being born in the 90s), but I for some reason really like the idea of a little boy named [name_u]Ashley[/name_u]!
So, I’m curious - what are your favorite names that have gone to the girls that you like better for boys?
UPDATE: I asked my mom about this because I remembered that she had a male friend in high school named Kelly, and she said his brother’s name was Tracy!
[name_u]Morgan[/name_u], [name_u]Rowan[/name_u], and [name_u]Elliot[/name_u] I think would be my top ones - though it’s debatable if [name_u]Elliot[/name_u] has really gone to the girls.
I’m a big proponent of reclaiming originally-male names that have become more popular for girls. I think it’s unconscious sexism that means names only go from male to female and are thought of as unusable for boys after. These are my favorites for boys:
[name_u]Shannon[/name_u] is a favourite for boys. My grandpa was [name_u]Evelyn[/name_u] which is definitely feminine now. Another I really like that surprises me on girls in [name_u]Bryn[/name_u]. It’s very male in [name_m]Wales[/name_m] so seems odd to me on girls.
I really dislike the term “gone to the girls” though. Like, so what? A boy can be [name_u]Bryn[/name_u] with a female classmate named [name_u]Bryn[/name_u] and live to tell the tale. [name_m]Just[/name_m] doesn’t seem like a big deal to me.
Edited: Oh and [name_u]Remy[/name_u]! I had a thread about my boys combos a few days ago mentioning my [name_u]Remy[/name_u] combo, and someone said that I should be aware it’s used on girls too. Why? I can still have a boy named [name_u]Remy[/name_u]. It’s weird to me that someone would discount a name they love because of the chance their son encounters a girl with the same name. There’s a teenage boy in my building who shares my name and he’s moved on with his life (lol).
I loooove [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] for a boy, little [name_u]Ash[/name_u]! Wonderful. I wish it would make a comeback! And [name_u]Kelly[/name_u]! swoon
I love love [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] [name_u]Sidney[/name_u] and [name_u]Robin[/name_u] for a boy, although I have noticed that most girls use the spelling [name_u]Sydney[/name_u] and [name_f]Robyn[/name_f]. I also really like the idea of [name_u]Paris[/name_u] on a boy.
I love [name_u]Bailey[/name_u] for a boy. I have met several girls with the name, and just one boy named [name_u]Bailey[/name_u]. It is a great “soft but strong” boy name imo.
[name_u]Morgan[/name_u]
[name_u]Kelley[/name_u]
[name_u]Harper[/name_u]
[name_u]Rhys[/name_u] in all forms… can we just leave this one for the boys please?!
[name_u]Reagan[/name_u]
[name_u]Riley[/name_u]
[name_u]Jordan[/name_u]
I feel like [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] can still be used for boys but I do know a LOT of women with that name, aw I love gwtw what a great film, tough question, there are a LOT… and I think it just goes to show that names really dont have genders
[name_u]MADISON[/name_u]! Oh dear, I love the name [name_u]Madison[/name_u] so much! The only thing it lacks it some type of meaning (relevant to me, of course).
[name_u]Kelly[/name_u] is nice too ([name_u]Kelly[/name_u] Severide Chicago [name_m]Fire[/name_m]), [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] is awesome (I don’t like the other [name_u]Ash[/name_u]-names at all) and [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] has been a fave for years (my inspiration was probably a TV character).
Someone mentioned [name_u]Paris[/name_u] and guess who has “[name_m]John[/name_m] [name_u]Paris[/name_u]” as double given name honoring her brother? Yeah, me.
I think of [name_u]Avery[/name_u], I love this name for a boy! I also love [name_u]Aspen[/name_u], but I’m not sure it was a masculine name at the first place.
@[name_m]Ziggy[/name_m]: Yes [name_u]Remi[/name_u]/[name_u]Remy[/name_u] is a french boy name. I don’t know why Americans use it for girls
I think [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] could totally work on a boy these days, and I don’t think anyone can say that [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] and [name_u]Jordan[/name_u] have “gone to the girls” even if they’re not so unusual for girls anymore. I think [name_u]Avery[/name_u] and [name_u]Emery[/name_u] are great on boys too, better than girls, and [name_u]Morgan[/name_u] and [name_u]Riley[/name_u] also wouldn’t raise any eyebrows on boys.
The thing about some of these names is that using them for girls is very recent. [name_m]Just[/name_m] because some celebrities decided to name their daughters [name_u]James[/name_u] or [name_m]Wyatt[/name_m] doesn’t make them girls names now: it just means they gave their daughters masculine names.
I think [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] is a really great name for boys, I don’t really care too much for the name on girls. Other names I like that typically go to girls are:
[name_u]Sidney[/name_u]
[name_u]Robin[/name_u]
[name_u]Emerson[/name_u]
[name_u]Peyton[/name_u]
[name_u]Addison[/name_u]
[name_u]Casey[/name_u]
[name_u]Jamie[/name_u]
[name_u]Kendall[/name_u]
[name_u]Hayden[/name_u]
I would like to see more names become truly unisex, totally acceptable on both boys and girls even if you may have a personal preference for it on a particular gender. Why is it such a bad thing for boys and girls to share names? There are lots of people named [name_u]Alex[/name_u] or [name_u]Sam[/name_u] who share their name with people of the opposite gender and no one has a problem with that.
I’d like to see these become truly unisex:
[name_u]Darcy[/name_u]
[name_u]Robin[/name_u]
[name_u]Ashley[/name_u]
[name_u]Aubrey[/name_u]
[name_u]Vivian[/name_u]
[name_u]Hudson[/name_u]
[name_u]Meredith[/name_u]
[name_u]Hadley[/name_u]
[name_u]Robin[/name_u]
[name_u]Riley[/name_u]
[name_u]Marlow/name_u
[name_u]Shawn[/name_u] (with this spelling)
These already feel truly unisex to me:
[name_u]Dylan[/name_u]
[name_u]Taylor[/name_u] (more girl but still okay on a boy)
[name_u]Avery[/name_u]
[name_u]Mackenzie[/name_u]
[name_u]Rowan[/name_u]
[name_u]Morgan[/name_u]
[name_u]Jamie[/name_u]
[name_u]Sage[/name_u]
[name_u]Bailey[/name_u]
[name_u]Jordan[/name_u]
[name_u]Addison[/name_u] (more girl)
Names that feel more masculine or feminine based on spelling:
Admittedly, all my girls have “unisex” names. But, I believe some names really can just be used for either. My middle daughter is [name_u]Ryley[/name_u] but if she had been a boy…would’ve been [name_u]Riley[/name_u]. And we aren’t having anymore children but [name_u]Cameron[/name_u] is at the top of my list for a fourth child…either gender.
My daughter goes to school with a boy [name_u]Mackenzie[/name_u] “[name_m]Mack[/name_m]” and I went to school with boys [name_u]Lindsey[/name_u] and [name_u]Kiley[/name_u]. I also went to school with girls named [name_u]Rikki[/name_u], [name_u]Roni[/name_u], [name_u]Robi[/name_u], and [name_u]Billie[/name_u] (not related to each other).
Anyway, I like [name_u]Ashley[/name_u], [name_u]Kelly[/name_u], and [name_u]Jesse[/name_u] on boys. And a bunch of others that both boys and girls use. I really don’t see why it matters if a name is used by both genders. If you want to name your son [name_u]Aubrey[/name_u] or [name_u]Tracy[/name_u] or [name_u]Morgan[/name_u]… go for it.