A common scare tactit to try and advise parents not to give their sons unisex names is that he won’t like his name and sharing it with females (which is something that [name]Pam[/name] and [name]Linda[/name] mentioned in one of their earlier books). I thought that I’d ask and see if this hypothesis is true or not. If you know of any boys or men with unisex names and what they think of their name (like, dislike, indifferent, etc.) I’d like you to share it here.
Believe it or not, I’m in the minority here and I’m a man myself and I have a name that would be on the gender-neutral list (I’m not sharing it right now, but if someone would like to guess what it is they’re welcome to). As for my opinion on my name, for the most part I like it. Other than the occasional wrong salutation on mail, etc. the only time I had a problem with it is one kid who liked to joke about my name (he was someone who had a reputation of teasing others so I took it with a grain of salt).
[name]Jordan[/name], [name]Taylor[/name], [name]Casey[/name], and [name]Peyton[/name] are the most common unisex names that I run into, and I know several of each gender. One of the male Jordans actually likes his name a lot, which kind of surprised me since [name]Jordan[/name] has always sounded very femine to me shrug must be a personal thing. Though several of the male Taylors I know dislike their name. It may be because there are many more girl Taylors running around now, or because of some female cebrities such as [name]Taylor[/name] Swift that are really big where I’m at right now. I’m not sure how any of the Caseys feel, they never say anything either way. But the Peytons (and various spellings) have never really had anything nice to say about their name. Though I think it’s more of the spelling issue that bothers them. Well, thats just what I’ve heard and I’m sure there are many that feel differently. But imo, there are so many wonderful, clearly masculine names to give your baby boy instead. That being said, I don’t think you should not use a name that you really love just because it is unisex or fear that it might become unisex.
I have never met a man who loved to talk about names except my grandpa [name]Bernard[/name] who was the first person to tell me about how names have meanings. [name]How[/name] interesting and cool that you love names. But it’s a good thing my husband doesn’t like to talk about names, or we’d never get anything done!
My cousin is married to an extremely handsome and successful chef named [name]Terry[/name]. I’ve never asked him if he likes his name, but I bet he does. I think it fits him well.
On the other hand, there are some quadruplets at our church named [name]Ella[/name], [name]Emma[/name], [name]Hailey[/name], and [name]Jordan[/name]. If I’d named them, first of all, I would have given the girls either classic or vintage names that aren’t so popular and not matchy. [name]Emma[/name] and [name]Ella[/name] are too matchy, I think. Also I never would have named the one boy in a set of quadruplets [name]Jordan[/name], a unisex name. I think it would be better to give him a very masculine, not too unusual boy’s name. He has enough on his plate with three sisters his own age. I would have named him [name]Jack[/name], [name]William[/name], [name]Thomas[/name], [name]Henry[/name], or something like that.
Thinking of names including middle names for a set of quadruplets is one of the ways I fall asleep at night. I love to work with various odd last names, too, to make it more challenging. Like [name]Winthrop[/name], one of my fave last names ever!
I know a male [name]Kelly[/name] with brothers [name]Stacy[/name], [name]Morgan[/name] & [name]Shannon[/name] and would happily use [name]Morgan[/name] myself! But that’s about it that I know. But then, I like boys names that lend out to girly sounding nicknames, [name]Magnus[/name], nn [name]Maggie[/name] is a favorite.
I find those unisex names, in general, better on a guy. [name]Morgan[/name]? Sexy on a guy, blah on a girl. [name]Kelly[/name]? Awesome on a guy, boring on a girl, [name]Addison[/name]? [name]Sharp[/name] on a guy, ugly on a girl. And so it goes.
I’m one who generally prefers clearly identifying names on her kids. My siblings & I have them and they were a definite bonus during puberty when we were all stringy and kind of boyish looking and thought it would be a favor to bestow those types of names on mine. Luckily, my other half agrees.
Well, I know tons of [name]Tyler[/name]'s, which is now, unfortunately, considered unisex. I don’t know any girl’s named [name]Tyler[/name]. Luckily for all of the Tylers I know, [name]Tyler[/name] for a girl wasn’t popular then, so they don’t know any girls named [name]Tyler[/name].
I also know lots of Taylors, boys and girls. In my homeroom, there are two Taylors: a boy and a girl. [name]Taylor[/name] (the boy) doesn’t mind having a unisex name.
Well, here’s one that’s not unisex: I know a guy named [name]Chance[/name], and a girl named Chanse. He hates have a girl named Chanse because he is confused when people are talking about him or her.
[name]Taylor[/name], [name]Jordan[/name], [name]Ashley[/name], [name]Peyton[/name], [name]Hayden[/name] etc. I personally like [name]Peyton[/name] for a girl though!
[name]Ashton[/name]. In the past three years, I’ve had at least five students with this name; three girls and two boys. I also know of two singer/songwriters named [name]Ashton[/name], one a girl and one a guy. [name]Even[/name] though I know just as many girls as boys with the name, it’s still wholly masculine to me and I’m always a little startled to see it on a girl!
I much prefer the name “[name]Lindsey[/name]” on a boy than a girl. As a male name, it sounds…crisp, to me. Fresh. I first heard it on the TV show [name]Angel[/name], where [name]Lindsey[/name] [name]McDonald[/name] was this smokin’ hot one-handed cowboy lawyer who grew up in poverty…lol, quite a twist from the name’s usual associations.
Also…hm, lesse: my step-dad works with a [name]Stacey[/name]. I go to school with two boy Taylors and one girl [name]Taylor[/name]. All the Taylors are teenagers. [name]Stacey[/name] is in his forties. None of the guys have ever seemed to have any issues with their names. The guy-Taylors don’t act hypermasculine (a la, A Boy Named [name]Sue[/name]) and none of them have turned into shrinking violets just because they might have met a girl or two with their name.
I hate the double standard that you can give girls boy names to give them an edge, but you can’t give boys girly names because…um, what? Feminity is bad all of a sudden…?
My husband’s name is [name]Kelly[/name] and he likes it. I don’t think there was ever an issue with it. Although I did want to name our son [name]Kelly[/name] and he did put up a fight. Hmmm. I also know a guy named [name]Ashley[/name] and I love that name for a boy but he made me promise not to use it- he got made fun of quite a bit apparently. Having said all this… I still think both names are cool for a boy.
that is exactly my association with [name]Lindsey[/name] on a guy! He was seriously hot! And I was a little obsessed with [name]Angel[/name], [name]David[/name] Boreanaz is still my favorite celebrity. On the other hand, on Fresh [name]Prince[/name] of [name]Bel[/name]-[name]Air[/name] there was a [name]Lindsey[/name] applying to be their babysitter and it turns out to be this big burly guy, haha, it was funny.
Let’s see, I knew a [name]Shelby[/name], he seemed to like his name, but I didn’t know him very well. My little brother was friends with a few Taylors, they’re all teenagers/early 20s now, I never heard about them having problems with it. My maiden name is [name]Taylor[/name], and I wish the name didn’t get so ruined so I could use it to honor my dad. Boo. Also, I went to school with an [name]Angel[/name], I thought the name was suuuper feminine when I met him when I was 11, but then I found out that it’s really much more a boys name than a girls.
@lyndsay: What are the chances?! Haha, I’ve never met anyone who had that same association. It’s even cooler because of your name! I, too, am a DB fan…I thought he was the cuuu~test a few years back (siiigh That brooding brow…), but now that I’ve come to my senses (?) I lean a bit towards [name]Nathan[/name] Fillion…which gives me all sorts of pleasant associations with the name [name]Malcolm[/name], but none with the name [name]Caleb[/name]. Anyone who can follow this conversation will undoubtedly know why. XD
But yes! I love “[name]Lindsey[/name]”! It can be manly too, dernit! >.>
Oh, and I’ve also met some Shelbys. One male, one female. Once again, neither seemed to have any point of contention with their name. A cousin of mine is friends with a [name]Casey[/name] and an [name]Andrea[/name]. No idea about those two.
@evervesca- [name]Lindsey[/name] was one of the best characters, [name]Angel[/name] was on the other morning and it was an episode with him in it, and I was happy, haha. I didn’t recognize the name [name]Nathan[/name] Fillion, but I looked him up, and I like him too! [name]Caleb[/name] was definitely bad, and somehow I never watched Firefly, but I loved him in Waitress. [name]Just[/name] curious, have you been watching [name]Joss[/name] Whedon’s new show Dollhouse? It’s really good. Oh yeah, and I loved [name]David[/name] Boreanaz so much that i had a HUGE bulletin board covered in pictures of him, and I even had a VHS tape that I recorded things with him on, like when he was on MadTV, and when he and [name]Sarah[/name] [name]Michelle[/name] Geller had that [name]Christmas[/name] commercial. Oh jeeze, I’m revealing exactly how much of a nerd I really am! Two of my friends have met him, one of them actually kind of hung out with him, the other saw him in tights. I’m so jealous.
I don’t blame you one little bit for your fangirlism! I cannot tell you how many times I watched [name]Dido[/name]'s “White Flag” music video [name]JUST[/name] to see him in it. When I found out he was gonna appear in the made-for-TV movie [name]Valentine[/name], I went absolutely bananas. When Bones first started, I claimed to really like it, but only because he starred in it. XD Not to mention, when I was going through one of my more obsessive phases, I resolved to name my firstborn son [name]David[/name] [name]Jaden[/name], after…[name]David[/name] and his son. So, so sad. But those were gooood days, haha.
I could never meet any of my favorite celebrities. I would feel unworthy, and there would be fainting, and, and- hyperventilates
For a while I didn’t think I’d like Firefly, but now I’m all over it. [name]Nathan[/name]'s portrayal of [name]Malcolm[/name] made that name shoot to my Top 10. [name]Adam[/name] [name]Baldwin[/name] as [name]Jayne[/name] [name]Cobb[/name] even had me second-guessing just how feminine “[name]Jane[/name]” really was (aha! This post isn’t totally off-topic, after all!) …buahaha.
And as big a [name]Joss[/name] fan as I am, I haven’t seen Dollhouse- thanks for the tip, I’ll have to check it out. :}
yeah, the White Flag video is how one of my friends met him! His girlfriend was [name]Dido[/name]'s double or whatever and he went to the shoot. He said that the people working on the video were acting like [name]David[/name] was just some guy, like, not the star of the video and all (though, that video is ALL about [name]Dido[/name] loving her own face, am I wrong?). He said [name]David[/name] was kinda sad. And then my other friend does extra work and she was an extra on Bones and he was wearing tights. I was super bummed that not only one, but TWO of my friends met him! AND, that was all in [name]California[/name], but now I live in Pennsylvania, and his dad is a weatherman here and he grew up realllly close to where I live. I worked at a market until I had my baby and lots of the newscasters and small celebrities would come in, I prayed that he’d be home for [name]Christmas[/name] and would come in or something, but he never did. Haha, I think maybe I’ll meet him someday, I hope. I think I’m probably his biggest fan. Though, I never planned to name my son [name]David[/name] [name]Jaden[/name], but my sons middle name IS [name]David[/name], purely coincidence though! Weirdly, I really don’t like the show Bones at all, I’ve only watched it a few times, but I just don’t like the girl, I really wish I did, though.
I don’t really care about meeting most celebrities. Most of the celebrities I like, I wouldn’t actually go talk to if I saw them… but if I ran into him somewhere, man oh man, I don’t even know, I’d probably faint before I ever got to meet him! I’m making myself sound like a stalker or something, I swear I’m not! He’s just my absolute favorite and I never meet anyone else who likes him!
I think I’ll give Firefly a try, I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. [name]Jayne[/name] for a guy, interesting. I think whatever you hear a lot you get used to. I knew a boy named [name]Clare[/name] ([name]Clarence[/name]) and it was perfectly normal. See. On Topic.
Hmmmm…I love this topic! I know a lot of men with unisex names: [name]Payton[/name], [name]Shannon[/name], [name]Terry[/name], [name]Kelly[/name], [name]Macy[/name], [name]Cassidy[/name], [name]Ashley[/name], [name]Courtney[/name], [name]Chandler[/name] and [name]Stacey[/name] are the ones I can think of right now. I haven’t talked to all of them about it, but the only ones I know that dislike their names are [name]Macy[/name] and [name]Cassidy[/name]. They are brothers and go by [name]Mace[/name] and [name]Cass[/name]. I don’t mind [name]Macy[/name] as much, but [name]Cassidy[/name] is definitely female to me. I only know one male [name]Ashley[/name] and dozens of females so I would think this might bother him, but it doesn’t seem to. He is in his late 30s and is a rugged, masculine man.
And none of them seem to have problems with it. The funny thing is that, because of these associations, I consider all of those male names at first glance! In general, I prefer “unisex” names on males, where they generally originated in the first place. It would break my heart if slightly feminine-sounding names like [name]Noah[/name], [name]Asa[/name], [name]Elliot[/name], and [name]Ezra[/name] went over to the girls!
After keeping it secret for awhile, I’m going to reveal my name (as I said in the original post to this thread I am a guy with a unisex name). It is [name]Kelly[/name]. FYI, I’m 24 years old so I was born well after the name became more popular for girls.
I actually think that [name]Kelly[/name] would be quite nice to use for a boy these days, since it’s popularity has dropped quite a bit for girls in recent years (and like some others have mentioned I think it sounds fresher when used on a boy, unlike [name]Pam[/name] and [name]Linda[/name]‘s idea for “fresh on the opposite gender” names [the “Geezer Names for Girls”]). I group [name]Kelly[/name] in with names like [name]Robin[/name], which had enough masculine usage in the past to keep most of us thinking of them as unisex during the names’ heyday of female usage, and now no longer being popular for girls might be feasible for a boy again. Contrast that to the group containing names like [name]Ashley[/name] and [name]Madison[/name], which were rarely used for boys even before they were co-opted by the girls and got very popular for girls when they became popular as such; these are the kinds of names that even I (being someone who generally is okay with unisex names on boys) would put on a “not recommended for a boy these days” list.
Great topic, everyone! You’re all so smart about names, these discussions are such a pleasure to read. I think you’ll all be really interested in the three blogs I wrote about the new boys’ names that are going to run [name]Monday[/name], [name]Tuesday[/name], and [name]Wednesday[/name] of this week. We are really seeing a surprising shift in that parents seem not to be bothered by using unisex names for boys that are also being widely used for boys. This is a positive change, we think, in that it bespeaks a wider, more inclusive stance on gender roles.
On [name]Wednesday[/name], we’re running a poll on how people feel about these boys’ names and the image they set forth, so I hope you’ll all set down your feelings!
I know a Chanon ([name]Shannon[/name]) who is 21 now. His middle name is [name]Thomas[/name] which makes it more boyish. I love the spelling of his name. I also know twins [name]Dylan[/name] and [name]Morgan[/name] (both boys) who are around 10 and super cute.
I once had a male [name]Taylor[/name] and female [name]Taylor[/name] in the same class when they were 6! I think that happens quite a bit now if you think about all The [name]Alex[/name]'s and [name]Sam[/name]'s too.
I first heard it on the TV show [name]Angel[/name], where [name]Lindsey[/name] [name]McDonald[/name] was this smokin’ hot one-handed cowboy lawyer who grew up in poverty…lol, quite a twist from the name’s usual associations. 
On the other hand, on Fresh [name]Prince[/name] of [name]Bel[/name]-[name]Air[/name] there was a [name]Lindsey[/name] applying to be their babysitter and it turns out to be this big burly guy, haha, it was funny.