Rose and June as MALE names?

Recently I saw an intriguing first+middle combo on a grown man - [name_m]William[/name_m] [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. Hmm! After I pondered it for a bit, it grew on me. In that position, [name_f]Rose[/name_f] sure sounds surname-y; it most likely was a family surname. The sound is pretty masculine anyway and the image provides some soft balance against the first name.

Also, I met a fellow who goes by [name_u]June[/name_u]. That spelling is the English equivalent of the sound of his foreign name. Similarly, not too strange; the firm, simple sound is just as masculine as plenty of other names, and there’s no particular reason a month name needs to be feminine. It’s like [name_u]August[/name_u]!

Folks have brought up how one-sided the gender-bending norm is - we can borrow names from the boys’ side for girls, but there’s no real case of the reverse happening. Could these be candidates? I don’t think I’d use such names myself just because I have way too many others that I like, but they’re curious possibilities.

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I definitely think [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and [name_u]June[/name_u] can work as male names, [name_u]June[/name_u] especially. While I think they might be brave in the first name spot, I can totally see both working easily as middles.

I can see [name_u]June[/name_u] on a boy. I’m not sure about [name_f]Rose[/name_f]. In Icelandic, there are the names Rósar and Rósi, both masculine. I like those, especially Rósar. So [name_f]Rose[/name_f] on a boy doesn’t sound all that strange to me, but I’d still go with one of those two, and maybe not [name_f]Rose[/name_f].

[name_m]Jun[/name_m] and Joon are pretty common names outside English. I also know guys who go by [name_m]Jun[/name_m] as a nn for [name_m]Junior[/name_m] when they are named after their dads. So [name_u]June[/name_u] is familiar to me.

I really like [name_f]Rose[/name_f] for a male. I automatically wonder what other flower names boys have been missing out on-- [name_f]Aster[/name_f], Goldenrod, Chamomile?

Personally, I wouldn’t use [name_f]Rose[/name_f] or [name_u]June[/name_u] on a boy. Where I live at least (I’m not sure about other countries), they are very much feminine names, and a boy named [name_f]Rose[/name_f] or [name_u]June[/name_u] would likely have to deal with gender confusion for his whole life.

I agree that there’s no particular reason why a month name (or a floral name) should be feminine, but historically the names [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and [name_u]June[/name_u] have been used for girls in English-speaking countries and this historical usage means that most people perceive them to be feminine names.

I struggle with the concept of names HAVING to stay in one gender, the typical gender is certainly something to consider but names shouldn’t be exclusively one gender in my opinion. I have [name_f]Rose[/name_f] in some of my guy combos and if I liked [name_u]June[/name_u] I probably would use [name_u]June[/name_u] as well.

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I love genderbending names so I am all for it (especially since we rarely see girls names used for boys)!! I have seen a few boys combos recently that have used [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and [name_f]Willow[/name_f] in middles and I just found them so whimsical. Sadly, I do not think that the world is ready for boys to have the first names [name_f]Rose[/name_f] and [name_u]June[/name_u] yet but middles are fair game! Also, I think that if enough people were to start genderbending names for middle names, there would soon be people brave enough to use them as first names.

I have [name_f]Rose[/name_f] on my list for a boy ([name_u]Elliot[/name_u] [name_m]Wilder[/name_m] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] or [name_m]Oliver[/name_m] [name_m]Wilder[/name_m] [name_f]Rose[/name_f]!), but I probably would never use it as a first name. That said, I would never use traditional “boy” names (like [name_u]James[/name_u], [name_m]Andrew[/name_m], [name_u]Elliot[/name_u], etc) on a girl.

I do not like [name_f]Rose[/name_f] for a boy. I think it is a stretch to say that name would be perceived as anything but feminine.

However, I love the idea of using [name_u]June[/name_u] for a boy! I think it works well, and it is obscure enough as a name that it should not be an issue. Also, who is to say that months are feminine? Flowers have a connotation to femininity, but months are just months. I think this is totally reasonable.

I can see [name_f]Rose[/name_f] for a boy’s middle. I agree and quite like [name_u]June[/name_u] for a boy, after all, boys are often named [name_u]August[/name_u] and that’s a month name and softer than most. It sounds like [name_u]Jude[/name_u].

I personally like [name_u]Juniper[/name_u] for a boy too.

They might work as a nickname or middle name which a guy goes by. I like [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m] a lot, and [name_m]Junius[/name_m] might work for [name_u]June[/name_u].

I think [name_u]June[/name_u] works well for either. [name_f]Rose[/name_f] I think could work as a middle name, but not as a first. if people can get away with [name_u]James[/name_u] as a middle for a girl, why can’t you use [name_f]Rose[/name_f] as a middle for a boy?

[name_u]June[/name_u] would make an AMAZING boy’s name!!! and I’ve long been a fan of [name_f]Rose[/name_f] a middle for a boy. I think there are enough famous men with the surname [name_f]Rose[/name_f] ([name_m]Axl[/name_m], [name_m]Derrick[/name_m]) to justify giving it as a middle. Especially if the first name is traditionally masculine. [name_m]William[/name_m] [name_f]Rose[/name_f] is amazing!

I know a man who added [name_f]Rose[/name_f] as his second middle when he married his first wife. It was her maiden name. That never struck me as odd because it sounded (and was) a surname.

But [name_f]Rose[/name_f] or [name_u]June[/name_u] as firsts? Yes, you can do that, but I would first go interview some males and see how keen on the idea they would be. Probably about as keen as I would be about being called [name_u]Michael[/name_u] or [name_m]Harold[/name_m].

I like them both a lot!

I have heard of a woman named [name_m]Robert[/name_m], so [name_f]Rose[/name_f] or [name_u]June[/name_u] for a man doesn’t sound too strange.

I know way more men with the name [name_u]June[/name_u]. Never heard [name_f]Rose[/name_f] on a boy but it wouldn’t bother me.

My first instinct was ‘only as a middle’ for both of them, but after reading the thread, I agree, I think [name_u]June[/name_u] would work beautifully for a boy/man as a first or a middle. [name_f]Rose[/name_f] maybe has a little further to go, but I love it in the middle name spot!

I could see [name_u]June[/name_u] working as a first on the right sort of man, but I wouldn’t use [name_f]Rose[/name_f] as a first. [name_m]Ambrose[/name_m], yes.

Both are actually quite nice for middles