Hello! I have baby boy number 2 on the way and my husband and I really like the name [name_u]Haley[/name_u]. We are having trouble deciding whether to do it or not for fear of what other people may think even though we both love it. When I have mentioned it to a few people I have had the response that they would be worried about him being teased for having “a girls” name. I feel like [name_u]Haley[/name_u] hasn’t been popular since the 80’s and by the time he starts school the other kids probably wouldn’t even associate it with being a girls name would they? There are some pretty weird and wonderful names around these days surely a boy called [name_u]Haley[/name_u] won’t be the weirdest? 
Not sure where you are located, but in the U.S. I think [name_u]Haley[/name_u] would definitely still be associated with girls by the time he’s in school—it was quite popular for a long time (and [name_f]Hailey[/name_f] is still in the top 100), so even if there are no girl Haleys in his class, people are likely to know Haleys who are adults.
I won’t comment on whether you should name your son [name_u]Haley[/name_u]—just adding my two cents on the question of popularity.
Honestly names aren’t what most children go to for teasing material. And I feel like children generally are more easily dismissive of gendered concepts than adults are.
Admittedly I’ve always preferred [name_u]Haley[/name_u] on boys. It’s a wonderful name and if you both love it you should use it!
And just to add to your last point, my son’s name is [name_m]Archimedes[/name_m], I have friends with boys his age named [name_m]Fox[/name_m], [name_m]Alistair[/name_m], and [name_u]Quincy[/name_u]. I recently encountered a toddler at the park named [name_m]Fairchild[/name_m]. [name_u]Haley[/name_u] definitely isn’t the weirdest choice.
I do associate it with a girls name, I was born 1990. I had a doll called it actually. This is the first time I’ve considered it being a possibility for a male, but I think that today’s generation of children will be fine with it, even if their parents have to re-adjust their mind’s expectation that [name_u]Haley[/name_u] is a female name. The adjustment the parents will have to make won’t cause teasing in the school yard though - I doubt kids today know females called [name_u]Haley[/name_u], so go and give it to your son. 
I think he’d be fine. I associate it with girls mostly but also with [name_u]Haley[/name_u] [name_m]Joel[/name_m] [name_m]Osment[/name_m], the little boy from the Sixth Sense, so I think it’s versatile. I feel like most people have probably encountered more female [name_u]Haley[/name_u]’s in their everyday lives but clearly a male [name_u]Haley[/name_u] is not unheard of. If you both love it, I’d go for it.
Have you considered [name_m]Hale[/name_m] and putting the nick-namey EE sound on it as an official nick name?
Or perhaps you’d go for something like [name_u]Harley[/name_u] with an “Ay” sounding middle name.
I understand you’d be worried about mis-gendering. I have Sisters named [name_m]Archer[/name_m] and [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u], and they love their names! Both of them go to school with multiple children of both genders with the same name.
My son [name_m]Lincoln[/name_m] constantly gets called “she” and “her”. Absolutely no idea why. I think maybe people see the “[name_f]Lin[/name_f]” on paper and assume its [name_f]Linda[/name_f], [name_f]Linnea[/name_f], [name_f]Lina[/name_f]. Maybe your [name_u]Haley[/name_u] would get confused with a [name_u]Harley[/name_u] anyway.
Overall, I think a little boy named [name_u]Haley[/name_u] might get some glances to begin with but would be fine once people got used to it. If you love it, then it’s right.
So much in this world is changing. Outdated concepts and norms are being abandoned, it seems. In regards to names and gender, I think there seems to be an increase in parents trying to find gender neutral, unisex, or otherwise ‘fluid’ names. Would a male [name_u]Haley[/name_u] get teased on the playground? Nah, I don’t think so. Kids are probably not going to bat an eye. They’ll grow up with it and, even then, I doubt they’ll know “hey, that’s a girl’s name!”
I could see some adults (mainly from my generation) having an issue with it, or at least raising an eyebrow. I was born in the early 90s. I grew up with tons of female [name_u]Haley[/name_u]'s. My first association would be that, but I also know it has been used on males (someone else mentioned [name_u]Haley[/name_u] [name_m]Joel[/name_m] [name_m]Osment[/name_m]…that’s a rather famous one). They’ll get used to it. If you both love the name, then use it.
Oh my. I don’t know where you live, but I believe [name_u]Haley[/name_u] was most popular in the late 90’s/early 2000’s rather than the 80’s in the US. I was born in 1983 and never knew a [name_u]Haley[/name_u] growing up. My kids were born between 2006-2012 and off the top of my head I can count 10 that we know in the age range, all girls, most with different spellings!
I think it’s a little naive to say “the culture is changing, the world is more open, names are more fluid” and believe that is true all over. Kids are kids and whether or not they have malicious intent they certainly won’t hesitate to say, “[name_u]Haley[/name_u]? That’s a girl name!” and whether or not that offends your child is dependent on their personality and how they’re prepared for it. I wouldn’t discount the fact that they will likely only ever share their names with girls and they will likely have more than one in their grade, school, office, etc. throughout life. There is really no way to know if this would bother your son.
If you were choosing a “girl” name that is less used all around like [name_u]Shannon[/name_u] or [name_u]Leslie[/name_u], then kids would likely not even know it’s used more on girls and there wouldn’t be an issue, but using names that are so widespread on the opposite gender like [name_u]Haley[/name_u], [name_u]Madison[/name_u], [name_u]Alexis[/name_u], etc on boys is pretty unfair. And yes, I believe it is equally unfair to name a girl [name_u]Dylan[/name_u], [name_u]Ryan[/name_u], [name_m]Sean[/name_m], etc. It’s about the amount of use on one gender and not the origin of the name that matters, in my opinion.
I personally would go with something like [name_u]Hayden[/name_u], [name_m]Hayes[/name_m], or [name_u]Harley[/name_u].
Many people would be fine with meeting a boy named [name_u]Haley[/name_u], but the most important consideration has to be for your son. You really have no way of knowing his personality. If he happens to be a very sensitive child and someone telling him that he has a girl’s name, it is likely to bother him. I really like the suggestion of naming him [name_m]Hale[/name_m] and you can still call him [name_u]Haley[/name_u] as a nickname but he would officially have a more masculine name if he should prefer to use it.
There’s the actor [name_u]Haley[/name_u] [name_m]Joel[/name_m] [name_m]Osment[/name_m]. He could always go by “[name_m]Hal[/name_m]” or “[name_u]Lee[/name_u].” I like it.
I think if adults question it, mentioning [name_u]Haley[/name_u] [name_m]Joel[/name_m] [name_m]Osment[/name_m] would keep most people quiet about it. I actually think [name_u]Haley[/name_u] is a really nice, strong name for a boy and I also prefer it for males than females. It might be a good idea to make sure he has a decidedly masculine middle name just in case.
First person to come to mind is [name_u]Haley[/name_u] [name_m]Joel[/name_m] [name_m]Osment[/name_m]. I think it’d be a fine choice and as long as you both love it, there is nothing wrong! If it makes you feel any better, one of my top choices for a boy is [name_u]Vivian[/name_u]! Name your son what you like, be proud about it and teach him to embrace his name
I don’t think it’s gonna be a big problem. The’re girls getting named [name_u]James[/name_u] and [name_m]Felix[/name_m] so [name_u]Haley[/name_u] (which is unisex anyway) really shouldn’t be a problem for a boy.
I think it’s cute, I recently met a boy named [name_u]Bailey[/name_u] and I loved it on him! But, I would definitely pair it with a more masculine middle name in case he doesn’t like it when he’s older or does get teased too much, then he could just go by the middle name.
I did know a boy named [name_u]Sidney[/name_u] growing up that got teased a bit for having a “girl” name (even though it’s really unisex).
To my [name_u]Haley[/name_u] seems all girl but I’m biased cuz that’s my sisters name. As far as popularity goes, it still feels like a pretty popular girls name. I know 6 [name_u]Haley[/name_u]’s all under 25. Plus add all the other spellings as well. I think most people will assume he’s a girl before meeting him. So if that doesn’t bother you then use it. My sons name is Allister and we call him [name_u]Ali[/name_u] prn as ([name_u]Allie[/name_u]) all the time and no one (except family) has said oh but that’s a girls name.
My association is [name_u]Halley[/name_u]'s [name_f]Comet[/name_f]!
I was bullied in school and my name was very commonplace.
I agree names are not the trigger for teasing.
[name_u]Haley[/name_u] is fine for a boy. If you both love it, use it. I have always preferred [name_u]Haley[/name_u] spelled this way too.
[name_u]Ashley[/name_u] used to be a boys’ name after being established as a surname, so I feel like it is in the same category as [name_u]Haley[/name_u] in vibe and style.
Of course there are plenty of names that are unisex and can be easily used for boys or girls, then there are unisex names are are heavily used for one gender over another. With those names, I would caution parents that even though names are becoming more and more diverse, there are still certain societal norms. [name_f]Do[/name_f] I agree with those norms? Not really, I think making names gender specific is dumb but I don’t make the rules…or rather I don’t choose what society accepts or doesn’t accept.
A name like [name_u]Haley[/name_u] is mostly used for girls. I would caution against using it for a boy. Unconventional names like [name_m]Arrow[/name_m] and Helix and [name_m]Ptolemy[/name_m] are more accepted because they are still used in a conventional way. And sadly, horribly, a girl having a masculine name is much more accepted than a boy having a feminine name. It’s horrible but it’s true.
I think we have an obligation to our future kids to not make life harder for them than it already will be… especially in middle school when kids are the meanest. No one can tell the future, whether or not your kid will be one of the popular ones who will be accepted even if his name is unusual or if he will be bullied and his named used as fuel. We can’t predict those things, but I think we can do our best to help our kids be their most successful selves.
[name_m]Just[/name_m] my two cents…
I think [name_u]Haley[/name_u] on a boy is lovely.
My nearly 30-year-old brother’s name is [name_f]Jade[/name_f], and he has never really copped any flack for having a ‘girl’s name’. My parents and family in general never saw it as a girl’s name to be worried about, so neither did he. So my suggestion be, if you use it, to be confident in using it, and your little [name_u]Haley[/name_u] will be just fine.