I laughed (and then shook my head) as I read this quote:
“My favorite unisex name would be [name]Aubrey[/name] but I would only use it as a girl. Another one would be [name]Ashley[/name]… but i would also only use it on a girl.”
To me a unisex name means that it can be used on both boys and girls, but so often I see statements like these and I wonder if instead some people define unisex names in a different way, perhaps something like “girl’s names that used to be boy’s names,” or the other way around, but which they now see as really associated specifically with one gender or the other.
So I am curious how others would define unisex names or see comments like the above.
I would define unisex as a name that can be used on a boy or girl, or one I would not be at all surprised to see on either a boy or girl. That’s not quite the same as saying that I would use it on either a boy or girl. I tend to like gender ambiguous names but I usually prefer them on one sex or the other. For example, I’d consider [name]River[/name] and [name]Rowan[/name] firmly unisex, but I would be more likely to use them on girls, even though I have absolutely no issue with anyone else using them on a boy.
I think in the case above, the poster’s definition of unisex is likely a name that is or has been used for boys and girls.
I guess I would mostly say they were girl’s names that used to be boys names. What I hate though is when Berries complain that someone is using one for a girl, but then when one is suggested for a boy, they say ‘oh it’s much too feminine’… uh, ok?
btw, sutton is in my top two right now. You’re the only other person I’ve seen with it on a list
My definition is based on etymology, not actual usage. I define a truly unisex name as one that originated or came into use on both genders at the same time or independent of each other in different cultures. [name]Micaiah[/name] and [name]Noah[/name] are examples of the former; both are biblical and used on both men and women in the bible. They originated so long ago that their original gender (if they had one) has been forgotten. [name]Rosario[/name] would be an example of a name that originated on different genders in different cultures. In Spanish, it is exclusively feminine, and in Italian, it is exclusively masculine.
I also think nicknames and diminutives are unisex. There’s no reason [name]Alex[/name] (or even [name]Alexis[/name]) can’t be derived from [name]Alexandra[/name] instead of [name]Alexander[/name].
No matter how many female Mackenzies or Aubreys there are, I will always consider them boys’ names that are used on girls, not really unisex.
I’d consider most place names, word names, and non-patronymic surnames unisex as well. That said, I do assign at least a preferred gender based on sound: [name]Cairo[/name] sounds more masculine to my ears, [name]Vienna[/name] more feminine. [name]Meadow[/name] sounds more feminine, [name]River[/name] more masculine. Practical limitations also come into play: I love [name]Mackenzie[/name] for a boy, but I wouldn’t subject a child to a lifetime of strange looks and mistakes for his “feminine” name.
There are several unisex names that I like. Generally I prefer them on one gender or the other - I like [name]Aubrey[/name] and [name]Rowan[/name] best on a boy, and prefer [name]Quinn[/name] on a girl, for example. However, I’d love to see those names on either gender for someone else’s child - and I think it would be cool to see the trend of using boys’ names on girls reversed for once! I think [name]Gale[/name] may be going back to the boys because of Hunger Games, and that makes me happy.
When I think of a unisex name, I picture looking down at my attendance list (I’m a teacher) and truly not knowing if a girl or boy will answer “here!”. Examples that come to mind are: [name]Taylor[/name], [name]Mackenzie[/name], [name]Jordan[/name], [name]Rowan[/name], [name]Casey[/name], [name]Bailey[/name], [name]Jayden[/name]/[name]Hayden[/name], [name]Quinn[/name], [name]Morgan[/name], [name]Charlie[/name], [name]Cameron[/name], [name]Alex[/name]…there are so many!
I think a unisex name is a name that has been/is still used on both genders and can therefore be comfortably used on either gender. This, BTW, goes for unisex names, not boys names on girls.
I agree with this! Well put!
Except I see [name]Alexis[/name] as masculine, and my ex boyfriend’s name is [name]Mackenzie[/name] and had I not dated him, I think it would still be one I’d consider (I fell in love with the name about a week before he and I met)
[name]History[/name] and etymology matter most to me, too, not usage.
I always think ‘unisex’ means that I don’t know if a boy or girl will answer by that name (also, saying this as a teacher). I think of names like [name]Harper[/name], [name]Aubrey[/name], [name]Jayden[/name], [name]Hayden[/name], [name]Morgan[/name], [name]Taylor[/name], [name]Jordan[/name], etc.
I tend to think that our first, or most extensive, exposure to a name determines how we view it. I always see [name]McKenzie[/name] as a girl’s name, because I knew so many girls with that name as a child, and [name]Jayden[/name] as a boy’s name, again because a good friend named her son that.
Then there are the nicknames- [name]George[/name], [name]Alex[/name], [name]Sam[/name], [name]Freddy[/name], [name]Charlie[/name], etc- I often think ‘boy’ for most of those (when I see them written down) even though I’ve known so many girls by those names. Still, I’m never surprised to call out ‘[name]Charlie[/name]’ and see a girl respond.
To me, unisex names are names that have been used (at least for some amount of time–I would not consider [name]Oscar[/name] a unisex name just because five girls are given the name each year or so) for each gender. I consider [name]Bailey[/name] unisex because it started out being used by boys, but now it has more usage on girls, but at least a hundred boys are still given the name in the US, and it’s fairly well-used on boys in the UK and Australia and New Zealand, so it’s perfectly usable on a boy. I do lean toward putting 90% of unisex names on boys, since that’s where they originated… From what I’ve been told, there are very few names that actually have unisex origins–most are boys’ names that were used on girls, but since they have strong usage on both genders, it’s considered unisex.
