the man who likes NO names has just informed me that he likes the name [name]Leighton[/name] for a boy. What do you think about that, I know that there is that popular girl named [name]Leighton[/name] Meester, but I think it’s still masculine. Also how would you pn it, [name]Lay[/name]-ton or [name]Lee[/name]-ton? Also, could [name]Lee[/name] be a nn even for the [name]Lay[/name]-ton pn? Thanks Berries!
I think [name]Leighton[/name] is all girl & [name]Layton[/name] is all boy.
Oddly, I know two male Leightons. [name]One[/name] is a very rugged plantsman and sailor, with a big bushy beard. The other is a talented interior designer and social butterfly. So I have two conflicting associations with the name. There’s also [name]Frederick[/name], [name]Lord[/name] [name]Leighton[/name], the painter. It’s a surname, perfectly acceptable for either gender imo. I like it, probably because I feel warmly toward these two gents. The first [name]Leighton[/name] I mentioned likes to say, “You can call me Leight if you want, just don’t call me late to dinner!” What a goofball.
And yes, I think [name]Lee[/name] would easily work as a nn.
I love this name for a boy. My only association with it is [name]Leighton[/name] Meester, but I wouldn’t bat an eye over a little male [name]Leighton[/name] – in fact, I’d [name]LOVE[/name] it! I would pronounce it [name]LAY[/name]-ton, just because that’s how Meester pronounces it. To be honest, prn [name]LAY[/name]-ton sounds more male to me and [name]LEE[/name]-ton sounds more female. I’m not sold on [name]Lee[/name] as a nn if you prn it [name]LAY[/name]-ton, especially since [name]Lee[/name] sounds female to me for some reason.
I also think of [name]Leighton[/name] Meester but I think the name could definitely work for a boy, too. I like the pronunciation [name]Lay[/name]-ton a lot. I don’t really like [name]Lee[/name]-ton. I think most people would pronounce it [name]Lee[/name]-ton if they hadn’t already heard the name, though.
[name]Lay[/name]-ton is how I pn it and it reminds me of Professor [name]Layton[/name] from the DS Games, which I am addicted to. So it’s all boy to me, never would have thought of it being on a girl!
I wouldn’t say it as [name]Lee[/name]-ton, because that’s not how it’s traditionally supposed to be said 
so [name]Lee[/name] to me wouldn’t be intuitive…
I would pronounce it lee-ton since I’m not familiar with the name. Blame all the parents who wanted to give their kids “unique” names like [name]Ryleigh[/name] and [name]Ashleigh[/name]. If I wanted lay-ton I’d spell it [name]Layton[/name]/[name]Leyton[/name] to avoid confusion.
And yes, calling him [name]Lee[/name] would be very confusing if you’re pronouncing it lay-ton.
I know of [name]Leighton[/name] Meester but I know nothing about her; I don’t think she’s famous enough to really own that name (like [name]Halle[/name] [name]Berry[/name] or [name]Charlize[/name] [name]Theron[/name]). [name]Leighton[/name] just seems like a surname which are all masculine so it’s perfectly fine on a boy
I know someone with it as a lastname, and he says lay-ton so that would be my guess for pronunciation.
There’s a famous Australian male tennis player first name [name]Lleyton[/name], (pronounced lay-ton as well) which does look masculine to me, probably because I associate double-l’s with male names like [name]Lloyd[/name] and [name]Llewellyn[/name].
No version is genuinely my taste. I would be especially baffled by [name]Lee[/name] as a nickname for [name]Leighton[/name] pronounced lay-ton.
[name]Leighton[/name] is completely masculine whatever the spelling, and yes I’d say it as [name]Lay[/name]-ton. It’s a pretty trendy choice in the UK at the moment because a so called celebrity named her son [name]Leighton[/name] recently so I’m hearing it more and more.
If you are worried about the pronunciation you could think about [name]Layton[/name] or [name]Leyton[/name], or even [name]Lleyton[/name] like the Australian tennis player, [name]Lleyton[/name] [name]Hewitt[/name].