If you met a baby called River.....?

See the results of this poll: I would think a baby called River was

Respondents: 73 (This poll is closed)

  • A boy : 35 (48%)
  • A girl : 7 (10%)
  • I’d ask before assuming: 31 (42%)

I’d say girl because the first time I heard it was on [name_m]Doctor[/name_m] Who. But because of the character (and the fact I dislike her), it’s really put me off (sorry). That’s just personal feelings though, and I do like that it’s different, and pretty cool. :slight_smile: I know you didn’t ask for opinions, but I think it’s usable for both genders, and fine for a girl, especially because you love it. I love your signature names btw.

I slightly lean toward preferring it on a boy but can honestly see it on either gender.

It’s all boy to me.

I would ask, as [name_u]River[/name_u] is a name that I like on boys and girls. It doesn’t lean one way or the other for me.

Most nature names are very unisex. I think [name_u]River[/name_u] works well on a boy or a girl. Honestly, I can’t decide. [name_u]River[/name_u] on a boy reminds me of [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]. [name_u]River[/name_u] on a girl is very sci-fi.

[name_f]My[/name_f] teacher has a son named [name_u]River[/name_u], so Id assume a boy. But I can see it on either gender

I would assume a child named [name_u]River[/name_u] was a boy. I think it’s a lovely for a girl though given it’s similarity to [name_f]Riva[/name_f]/[name_f]Reva[/name_f].

I know an equal number of boy [name_m]Rivers[/name_m] and girl [name_m]Rivers[/name_m]. It really seems truly gender neutral to me. So I voted that I would ask before assuming. BUT I wouldn’t actually ask. I would just say, “what a beautiful name!” If people want you to know the sex of the baby, they usually find a way to work that in. Like they will respond, “Thank you! We wanted to name him after his grandpa, but when it came down to it, we just couldn’t name a baby [name_m]Herman[/name_m], so we named him [name_u]River[/name_u] b.c [name_m]Herman[/name_m] liked rivers.” Something like that. I really don’t mind not knowing, though, especially when it comes to babies. The idea of gender is pretty irrelevant for the first few years anyhow.

Let’s assume that I am a potential employer looking at applications. One applicant is named [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_m]Smith[/name_m]. I am going to say that I would have no idea if this was a man or a woman (barring really obvious giveaways, like listing involvement in a fraternity or sorority). Also I would not care (unless I am looking to hire male strippers or something.)

IF you as the parent really want people to immediately know that little [name_u]River[/name_u] is a girl or a boy, then I would advise a very obviously gendered middle name. Then when you introduce the baby, you can say, “This is our daughter, [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]/this is our son, [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_m]Herman[/name_m].”

I can’t say I see it one way or another. It’s a really great unisex name. I love the name as well, it’s actually in my top 3 to use for a boy but I would still consider it for a girl.

I can totally work for a girl. When I hear it my first thought is [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_m]Tam[/name_m], a female character from Firefly. But I also think of [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]. It can go either way.