Traditionally female names that work on males

General Name Discussion
1

I’m curious! Unisex names and names crossing genders is such a controversial topic, and this idea in particular is something that people don’t really talk about too much, so I want to know if there are any female names that you think could work on males.

There are a lot of nature names that don’t seem to have much of a history of use on men that I think could actually work nicely:

[name]Beryl[/name]
[name]Brooke[/name]
[name]Lark[/name]
[name]Holly[/name]
[name]Ivy[/name] (I actually recall learning about a man named [name]Ivy[/name] in a class I took a few years ago on the history of media, but I can’t recall his last name. I was struck by how well it worked.)
[name]Jade[/name] ([name]Emma[/name] “[name]Baby[/name] Spice” Bunton’s husband is named this, and I’ve heard of a few other male Jades.)

Are there any you like? What characteristics do you think a name would have to have to make that cross over? Thoughts about the idea itself?

2

I know a few boys called [name]Ashley[/name]…

English soccer player [name]Ashley[/name] [name]Cole[/name] for example.

3

None? I like strong masculine names for boys. IF I was going to use a unisex name it would be for a girl and it would have to still be sound like a girl’s name firstly and a boys secondly. [name]Just[/name] my opinion on the issue.

4

I think [name]Brook[/name] could work on a boy, not so sure about the [name]Brooke[/name] spelling.

I like unisex or names that were traditionally male but are now considered feminine names better on boys, such as [name]Ashley[/name], [name]Kelly[/name], [name]Casey[/name], [name]Taylor[/name], etc. I hate [name]Kelly[/name] for a girl, but it’s one of my guilty pleasure boy names.

5

I love [name]Jade[/name] on a boy! I think it is great. I also happen to have a huge crush on the nickname “[name]Bonny[/name]” for a boy.

Others:
[name]Juna[/name]
[name]Topaz[/name]
[name]Fable[/name]
[name]Nova[/name]
[name]Demi[/name]
[name]Hadley[/name]
[name]Valerie[/name]

6

I don’t think there are any girl names that are used for boys. There are unisex and boy names that have been so overtaken by girls that many think they’re girl names ([name]Ashley[/name], [name]Alexis[/name], [name]Loren[/name], [name]Madison[/name], etc).

I don’t count word names or nature names as girl names just because more girls have them. They’re words; they are gender-less. [name]Beryl[/name], [name]Brook[/name], [name]Lark[/name], [name]Holly[/name], [name]Ivy[/name], and [name]Jade[/name] are more common for girls but they’re unisex

Boy names that are derived from girl names are
[name]Artemas[/name]/[name]Artemus[/name] from [name]Artemis[/name]
[name]Dorian[/name] from [name]Doris[/name]
[name]Isidore[/name] from [name]Isis[/name]
[name]Demetrius[/name] from [name]Demeter[/name]

7

I read a book as a kid with a main character named Uncle [name]Merry[/name]. It was short for something else but [name]Barry[/name] and [name]Larry[/name] work so why not [name]Merry[/name].

8

I think [name]Sloan[/name], without the “e” works well for boys.

9

I’ve heard [name]Ember[/name] a few times and for some reason I keep thinking it would be cute as a boy’s name. I don’t like it enough to try, but it was a thought I had!

10

I actually prefer [name]Lark[/name] on a boy, it doesn’t sound girlish to me at all!

Other options I prefer on boys over girls:
[name]Juniper[/name]
[name]Wren[/name]
[name]Jade[/name]
[name]Sapphire[/name]

11

[name]Beryl[/name] to me is the Yiddish Berel which is distinctly male (although i’ve seen it spelled both ways) - so it’s not technically the same but it comes across that way.

[name]Shannon[/name] comes to mind as a female name (a Celtic goddess) that has been used on men.

12

My mom dated a [name]Brooke[/name] once. :slight_smile:

Erm, I know on the SSA list around the turn of the century, a lot of vintagey/classic girls’ names ([name]Ivy[/name], [name]Anna[/name], [name]Pearl[/name], [name]Katherine[/name], etc.) all ranked in the lower half of the SSA list for boys.

As for legitimate girls’ names (and not unisex ones like [name]Avery[/name], [name]Bailey[/name], [name]Taylor[/name], [name]Emerson[/name], [name]Aubrey[/name], etc.) that could work on girls, maybe [name]Hero[/name]? I know it’s traditionally a girls’ name, was used by [name]Shakespeare[/name] for a girl, but I don’t know why it couldn’t be used for a boy. A lot of nature/virtue names could be like this, too, but then I guess that would make them more unisex, since they don’t have any gender in English. Hmm, I guess some of the -et names could cross over to the boys, since there are so many for both genders. But honestly, I see [name]Emmett[/name], [name]Everett[/name], [name]Elliot[/name], [name]Bennett[/name], etc. crossing over to the girls way before [name]Juliet[/name], [name]Violet[/name], [name]Charlotte[/name], [name]Ayelet[/name], Adalet, [name]Lisette[/name], etc., would ever be considered on a boy!

Maybe some -o ending names, too. Like [name]Cleo[/name], [name]Echo[/name], [name]Calisto[/name]/[name]Calypso[/name]/[name]Callisto[/name]/etc., [name]Cameo[/name], [name]Dido[/name], Emiko, [name]Io[/name], [name]Juno[/name], [name]Kato[/name] (saw it listed somewhere as a form of [name]Katherine[/name], but I can easily see it being confused for the masculine [name]Cato[/name]!), [name]Margo[/name]/[name]Margot[/name], [name]Mio[/name] (looks more like the masculine word for “mine” in Spanish, rather than a feminine Japanese name, to me, though), [name]Rosario[/name] (I always thought this looked masculine, anyway!), etc.

I also saw [name]Picabo[/name] (like the child’s game) listed as a girls’ name, but if it were used (which I definitely wouldn’t recommend! lol), I think it sounds more masculine.

I could sort of see [name]Eliza[/name] being used on boys, too, since it sounds so close to [name]Elijah[/name].

13

While [name]Ashley[/name] is considered a girl’s name in the US this is not really the case in the UK where [name]Ashley[/name] [name]Cole[/name] is from. In the UK [name]Brooklyn[/name] is also more popular for boys than girls the last time I checked and [name]Eden[/name] is somewhat popular on boys as well as girls too.

Other names I have seen used that some might say are traditionally more girl names used on guys are [name]Kelsey[/name], [name]Erin[/name] and [name]Tatum[/name]. I also know a male [name]Brooke[/name] in Australia.

I am with Ashthedreamer in thinking [name]Hero[/name] would be kind of cool for a boy, and I quite like [name]Jade[/name] too.

[name]One[/name] name a bit more of a stretch is [name]Honor[/name]. I see nothing feminine really about it.

Also, I would be remiss in not adding [name]Chelsea[/name] to the mix.

14

[name]Ashley[/name] is originally a boys name, not a girls. :stuck_out_tongue:

15

Is [name]Sasha[/name] originally a boy’s name, because I remember in Make it Or Break It their Gym Instructor’s name was [name]Sasha[/name]…

16

[name]Sasha[/name] is often used as a nickname for [name]Alexander[/name] in [name]Russia[/name] and other Eastern European countries.

17

Female names that work on boys

[name_f]Cynthia[/name_f]
[name_f]Caroline[/name_f]
[name_f]Pauline[/name_f]
[name_f]Bonnie[/name_f]
[name_f]Ava[/name_f]
[name_f]Amelia[/name_f]
[name_f]Charlotte[/name_f]
[name_f]Victoria[/name_f]
[name_f]Nina[/name_f]
[name_f]Sophia[/name_f]
[name_f]Sophie[/name_f]
[name_f]Ella[/name_f]
[name_f]Ellie[/name_f]
[name_f]Alicia[/name_f]
[name_f]Lexa[/name_f]
[name_f]Zoey[/name_f]
[name_f]Hannah[/name_f]
[name_f]Stella[/name_f]
[name_f]Susan[/name_f]
[name_f]Juliet[/name_f]
[name_u]Julianne[/name_u]
[name_f]Julia[/name_f]
[name_f]Brianna[/name_f]
[name_f]Savannah[/name_f]
[name_f]Penelope[/name_f]
[name_f]Leah[/name_f]
[name_u]Brooklyn[/name_u]
[name_f]Samantha[/name_f]
[name_f]Maya[/name_f]
[name_f]Georgia[/name_f]
[name_f]Carol[/name_f]
[name_f]Sarah[/name_f]
[name_f]Aurora[/name_f]
[name_f]Vanessa[/name_f]
[name_f]Veronica[/name_f]
[name_u]Kimberly[/name_u]
[name_f]Michelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Madeline[/name_f]
[name_f]Matilda[/name_f]
[name_f]Madeleine[/name_f]
[name_f]Cheryl[/name_f]
[name_f]Elena[/name_f]
[name_f]Serenity[/name_f]
[name_f]Ariana[/name_f]
[name_f]Melanie[/name_f]
[name_f]Gianna[/name_f]
[name_f]Donna[/name_f]
[name_f]Brielle[/name_f]
[name_f]Jacqueline[/name_f]
[name_f]Josephine[/name_f]
[name_f]Natalie[/name_f]
[name_f]Natasha[/name_f]
[name_f]Natalia[/name_f]
[name_f]Johanna[/name_f]
[name_f]Joanne[/name_f]
[name_f]Annabelle[/name_f]
[name_f]Faith[/name_f]
[name_f]Alexandria[/name_f]
[name_f]Alexandra[/name_f]
[name_f]Ivy[/name_f]
[name_f]Lilliana[/name_f]
[name_f]Jade[/name_f]
[name_f]Jane[/name_f]
[name_f]Margaret[/name_f]
[name_u]Nikki[/name_u]
[name_f]Jasmine[/name_f]
[name_f]Belle[/name_f]
[name_f]Rose[/name_f]

18

Ones that I’ve loved:

[name_u]Sage[/name_u]
[name_f]Esther[/name_f]
[name_f]Aster[/name_f]
[name_u]Scout[/name_u]
[name_u]Marian[/name_u]
[name_u]Noel[/name_u]
[name_u]Rory[/name_u]
[name_u]Page[/name_u]
[name_u]Eden[/name_u]
[name_u]Wren[/name_u]
[name_u]Harper[/name_u]
[name_f]Heather[/name_f]

1 Like
19

Not necessarily “traditional,” but I think a lot of nature names that have been used more for girls should be considered unisex. I would love to see [name_u]Juniper[/name_u], [name_u]Sequoia[/name_u], and [name_u]Raven[/name_u] used for boys more often! I don’t understand why they’re considered mostly female names. I also really like Lierre, an old [name_m]French[/name_m] word meaning “ivy,” which I think is sometimes used for girls but rarely for boys. I find it more appealing than [name_m]Pierre[/name_m], and would love to see it on more boys!

20

Girl names I don’t mind boys

[name_u]Addison[/name_u]- I know this use to be a boys name and switched over to the girls, but I still like it on a boy
[name_f]Jade[/name_f]- I know a boy with this name and it suits him well
[name_u]Sage[/name_u]
[name_u]Brooke[/name_u]
[name_f]Willow[/name_f]
[name_f]Olive[/name_f]
[name_u]Eden[/name_u]