Traditionally "girls" names that you think could work for boys?

Boy Names
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I’ve been trying to put together a list of girls names that I think would work for boys

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I’m after traditional female names (not names that became female after originally being male like [name_f]Mackenzie[/name_f], [name_f]Madison[/name_f], [name_m]Shannon[/name_m], [name_m]Kelly[/name_m], [name_f]Aubrey[/name_f], [name_m]Casey[/name_m] etc or most nature/word names like [name_m]Rowan[/name_m], [name_f]Rain[/name_f], [name_f]Lark[/name_f], [name_m]River[/name_m], [name_f]Winter[/name_f] etc as I think 95% are generally unisex anyway). I’d love to know any exceptions to these though!

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(This isn’t for a real baby btw just a fun thought)

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I figure if [name_f]Madison[/name_f] can become a girl name eventually then why can’t girl names become boy names too?

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They don’t have to be names you would use or even like, but I’m mostly curious as to what names we think could gain traction for boys one day that are currently/historically used for girls?

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Here are some I already thought might work:

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[name_f]Belle[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- probably spelled [name_m]Bell[/name_m]?

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[name_f]Rose[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- [name_f]Penrose[/name_f] is a Cornish surname that has some history of usage as a given name for boys. [name_f]Rose[/name_f] I think could therefore work too

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[name_f]Hazel[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- similar sound to [name_m]Hayes[/name_m] and the -el ending of names like [name_m]Gabriel[/name_m]

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[name_f]Kate[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- if [name_m]Kit[/name_m] works then I think [name_f]Kate[/name_f] could too

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[name_f]Ruby[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- similar to [name_m]Ruben[/name_m]

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[name_f]Nell[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- I don’t think this is overly feminine in sound. A refresh on [name_m]Nelson[/name_m]?

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[name_f]Jade[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- I think this definitely works. If you’ve seen the TV show “From”, there’s a male character named [name_f]Jade[/name_f] and as soon as I heard it I thought “oh yeah, that does work!”

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I think [name_f]Alba[/name_f] would work for a boy.

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I really love [name_f]June[/name_f] for a boy. The whole [name_f]June[/name_f] family would be super cute on a boy [name_f][/name_f]— [name_f]Juniper[/name_f], [name_f]Juni[/name_f], [name_f]Juno[/name_f] though maybe [name_f]Juneau[/name_f] would work better

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Some of these are traditionally unisex and just not used as much for boys but I’ll just list them:

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[name_f]Alva[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Anouk[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Ara[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Avis[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Bee[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_m]Bela[/name_m]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Clare[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Clementine[/name_f] (total GP but I think it would be cute)
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Cleo[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Clove[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Elowen[/name_f] / [name_f]Eluned[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Fran[/name_f] / [name_f]Franny[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Jane[/name_f] / [name_f]Janey[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Joy[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Lavender[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Lupine[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Marion[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Maris[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_m]Mel[/name_m]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Opal[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Orly[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Pearl[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Penny[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Romy[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Scout[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Soleil[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Sunny[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Sybil[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Tansy[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Tiggy[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Vesper[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Winnie[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Winter[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_m]Zooey[/name_m]

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I think many two syllable names ending in a could work, a la [name_m]Jonah[/name_m] and [name_m]Noah[/name_m] [name_f][/name_f]- see [name_f]Kyra[/name_f], [name_f]Jessa[/name_f], [name_f]Nora[/name_f], [name_f]Willa[/name_f]. [name_f]Alma[/name_f] is already considered a masculine name in Mormon culture, since he’s a male figure in the Book of Mormon.

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[name_f]Heather[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- Similar to [name_m]Heath[/name_m], a bit tied to the 80s on a girl, but could be fresh on a boy. Amber’s another good one, a la [name_m]Jasper[/name_m].

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[name_f]Waverly[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- I could see [name_m]Wave[/name_m] really working for a boy.

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[name_f]Gwen[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- Feels similar to [name_f]Quinn[/name_f] and [name_m]Morgan[/name_m].

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[name_f]Grace[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- Similar to Grayson/Gray/Ace. If I heard this name with no prior associations, I’d probably assume it was masc based on the sound.

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[name_f]Elly[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- I admit I love [name_f]Elly[/name_f] on a boy and have for years. There’s something so playful and bright there. It could be short for [name_m]Elijah[/name_m] or [name_m]Elliott[/name_m], but would work as a standalone too. Side note: if Elijah/Elias is masculine, why not Eliza/Elise?

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Maybe…

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[name_f]Alma[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Della[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Delta[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Cleo[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Scarlett[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Florence[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Janie[/name_f] / [name_f]Janey[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Sylva[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Lucy[/name_f]

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For me ‘ence’ names have always felt masculine

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[name_f]Florence[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Temperance[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Cadence[/name_f]

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Thank you so much everyone! These are exactly what I was looking for.

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@ediebee[name_f][/name_f] I definitely agree that [name_f]Alba[/name_f] could work too. I don’t think [name_f]Alba[/name_f] is a very popular name for girls, at least not here in [name_f]England[/name_f], so I think that would possibly help it work for boys too. Thank you!

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@lateaugust[name_f][/name_f] I definitely agree about the [name_m]Jun[/name_m]- names. I have always had a soft spot for [name_f]Juniper[/name_f] for a boy. I love your list [name_f][/name_f]- my favourites are probably [name_f]Anouk[/name_f], [name_f]Clementine[/name_f], [name_f]Cleo[/name_f], [name_f]Eluned[/name_f], [name_f]Jane[/name_f], [name_f]Lupine[/name_f], [name_f]Penny[/name_f], [name_f]Romy[/name_f], [name_f]Tansy[/name_f] and [name_f]Winter[/name_f]!

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@freybytheway[name_f][/name_f] Great choices! I like [name_f]Heather[/name_f] and I think you’re right that it could feel fresher on a boy than it would on a girl right now. I think the idea of “grace” is more linked to stereotypical female ideals so it’s become a girls name, but I do agree that it sounds so much like Grayson/Gray/Ace that it would definitely work. I honestly think a lot of word names could work for both

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@greyblue[name_f][/name_f] I like [name_f]Alma[/name_f] [name_f][/name_f]- another commenter suggested [name_f]Alba[/name_f] and I think [name_f]Alma[/name_f] works in the same way. I like [name_f]Cleo[/name_f], I actually meant to put that on my original post but forgot! Names ending in -o are quite popular for boys right now so I think [name_f]Cleo[/name_f] would fit nicely.

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@libelluleclaire[name_f][/name_f] I think you’re onto something! I hadn’t considered -ence names but you’re definitely right that they could feel masculine too. [name_m]Florian[/name_m] is a boys name so why not [name_f]Florence[/name_f]? [name_f]Temperance[/name_f] and [name_f]Cadence[/name_f] are both words so I think there’s a good argument for them both working as technically unisex names!

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I think J names work the best going both ways
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Jane[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Jenny[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Josie[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Joanie[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Julie[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Jade[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Jocelyn[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Joy[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Jolie[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Jill[/name_f]
[name_f][/name_f][name_f]Janet[/name_f]

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