What do you think of [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_m]Smith[/name_m] for a girl? Possibly [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_m]Smith[/name_m] in full. Her older brother is [name_m]Milo[/name_m].
I’m not not fond of [name_u]River[/name_u] on a girl but paired with [name_m]Smith[/name_m] it does sound very masculine to me (even if that’s the last name).
Honestly, I thought this thread was mistakenly posted in the girls section. I prefer [name_u]River[/name_u] for a boy and [name_m]Smith[/name_m] makes it even more masculine. I adore [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] but it seems out of place in a combo with [name_u]River[/name_u] and [name_m]Smith[/name_m].
I guess if the only problem people have with it is that it sounds masculine, I’m okay with that.
[name_u]River[/name_u] to me - with any surname - just sounds like the name of a river.
I love the name [name_u]River[/name_u] for a girl! [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] is lovely:)
I actually like [name_u]River[/name_u] for a girl but in the middle only.
[name_u]River[/name_u] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] is nice enough. She always has [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and it’s plethora of nicknames to fall back on if she decides she wants a more feminine name. It’s a nice choice.
Also, regarding the name [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_m]Smith[/name_m] when said aloud it sounds quite a bit like “river’s myth”. That’s something to consider.
I mostly agree with [name_u]Finch[/name_u]. I like [name_u]River[/name_u] on a girl (as long as it’s accompanied by a decidedly feminine middle), but not so much with [name_m]Smith[/name_m]. And while I like [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f], I also wouldn’t pair [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] with [name_m]Smith[/name_m] because the repeated th- sounds lispy. [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] or [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_f]Isabel[/name_f] [a variation of [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f]], maybe?
All I can think about is the doctor who refrences
Personally, I dislike [name_u]River[/name_u] for either gender. It has two issues that diminishes the name in my estimation: (1) everytime I hear or see the name it conjures up the tragic death of actor [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] and (2) it often sounds like the description of a body of water no matter what middle name is paired with it. In your case, there is a third issue: I wouldn’t want my daughter to have a more masculine sounding name than my son. It just wouldn’t feel right for my comfort level. I prefer names to be gender specific. Gender neutral names just aren’t my style. Since we don’t use our mn’s very much in real life anyway, whether it’s a feminine mn like [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] or another unisex name is kind of a moot point.
I have to say that I find your statement here very odd. I can’t help but be curious and ask the question: would it be ok with you if anyone thought your son’s name was “feminine” or “girly”? [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t get me wrong. I love [name_m]Milo[/name_m] and one of the reasons I do is the fact that it has a “softer” vibe.
[name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_m]Smith[/name_m] would be great, but with [name_u]River[/name_u] in the FN spot, I would assume it was a boy. [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] does make it a bit more girly, which is better.
I love the name [name_u]River[/name_u] on a girl, I think its cute.
I guess I personally don’t see many nature names as for one gender or another–particularly a name like [name_u]River[/name_u]. To me it’s pretty feminine because of Firefly and Dr. Who and more and more people are giving it to girls every year. If it was a name like [name_m]David[/name_m], let’s say, that name is very masculine and doesn’t really have a chance of being feminine at all.
I really don’t know about the [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u] thing but I feel like the connection would be stronger if I were naming a boy [name_u]River[/name_u].
As a [name_u]Mischa[/name_u]–if that’s your real name–are you speaking from experience with the masculine name problem?
I’m unfamiliar with Dr. Who and Firefly, and I do think of [name_u]River[/name_u] as more a boy name, though I think that’s mostly because of [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_u]Phoenix[/name_u]. I don’t think I’ve ever met a [name_u]River[/name_u] of either gender, but I can see it on a girl. [name_u]River[/name_u] seems a little less popular than [name_m]Milo[/name_m]. I tend to agree with you that nature names can seem less obviously gendered, although girls get more floral names and boys get more animal names in my experience. Intuitively, [name_u]Brook[/name_u], [name_u]Brooke[/name_u] and [name_m]Brooks[/name_m] have each been used on both genders, so while I do think more people might expect [name_u]River[/name_u] to be a boy, in theory I don’t see a problem with [name_u]River[/name_u] on a girl.
I think the only issues I have with [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] [name_m]Smith[/name_m] are repeating sounds - the short “i” that comes up in all three names and (less problematically since the middle name tends not to be used very often) the “-th” endings in [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] and [name_m]Smith[/name_m]. [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_f]Eliza[/name_f] [name_m]Smith[/name_m] or [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_f]Elena[/name_f] [name_m]Smith[/name_m] would fix both of those to a degree, leaving [name_u]River[/name_u] and [name_m]Smith[/name_m] with the shared vowel sound, which would probably bother me somewhat, though if I were you and [name_u]River[/name_u] was my #1 favourite name, I’d use it anyway.
I really love it! I almost scrolled past it and had to come back and comment. Beautiful 
It reminds me do [name_m]Doctor[/name_m] Who, [name_u]River[/name_u] is a female character and [name_m]Smith[/name_m], like [name_m]Matt[/name_m] smith the actor for the 11th doctor.
I’m a huge Firefly fan, so I do love it on a girl. I’d probably be more likely to name a boy [name_u]River[/name_u], but that’s just personal preference. [name_u]River[/name_u] [name_f]Elizabeth[/name_f] is beautiful.