Unisex names from a 1980's British name book

General Name Discussion
1

I was looking last night for an old 1980’s name book that I thought I had somewhere buried with some other books which I guess must have belonged to my mother. I had a look at it, and this is a list of unisex names taken from the book. Any thoughts? Comments on how times have past. This is also a British book.

Chels’

[name]Beverley[/name]
[name]Bobby[/name]
[name]Brett[/name]
carol
[name]Caryl[/name]
[name]Casey[/name]
[name]Charlie[/name]
[name]Christian[/name]
[name]Christie[/name]
[name]Christy[/name]
[name]Courtney[/name]
[name]Dee[/name]
[name]Evelyn[/name]
[name]Fran[/name]
[name]Frankie[/name]
[name]Freddie[/name]
[name]Georgie[/name]
[name]Gerry[/name]
[name]Ginger[/name]
[name]Hilary[/name]
[name]Hyacinth[/name] (noted as rare for both genders)
[name]Jackie[/name]
[name]Jamie[/name]
[name]Jay[/name]
[name]Jerry[/name]
[name]Jess[/name]
[name]Jo[/name]
[name]Jocelyn[/name]
[name]Jody[/name]
[name]Johnny[/name]
[name]Jules[/name]
[name]Julian[/name]
[name]Kay[/name]
[name]Kelly[/name]
[name]Kerry[/name]
[name]Kim[/name]
[name]Kimberley[/name]
[name]Kingsley[/name]
[name]Kit[/name]
[name]Kyle[/name]
[name]Laurie[/name]
[name]Lee[/name]
[name]Lesley[/name] [noted [name]Leslie[/name] more used on boys]
[name]Lindsey[/name] and [name]Lindsay[/name]
[name]Lou[/name]
[name]Meredith[/name]
[name]Morgan[/name]
[name]Nicky[/name]
[name]Ollie[/name]
[name]Pat[/name]
[name]Patsy[/name]
[name]Phil[/name]
[name]Randy[/name]
[name]Robin[/name]
[name]Ronnie[/name]
[name]Rowan[/name]
[name]Sal[/name]
[name]Sam[/name]
[name]Sammy[/name]
[name]Sandy[/name]
[name]Sasha[/name]
[name]Shelley[/name]
[name]Sidney[/name]
[name]Troy[/name]
[name]Val[/name]
[name]Valentine[/name]
[name]Viv[/name]
[name]Wynne[/name]

2

[name]Hi[/name] Chels, as someone who has studied names for years, I did know about these British unisex names. A couple did surprise me: [name]Ginger[/name] and [name]Patsy[/name]! I wonder if a boy was named [name]Ginger[/name] because of his hair colour? I guess [name]Patsy[/name] could be a nn for [name]Patrick[/name] but I only ever heard of [name]Paddy[/name]. Many of the names are still with us in male form : [name]Sidney[/name], [name]Julian[/name], [name]Troy[/name] and [name]Robin[/name] for example. It’s amazing how many names have transferred over to the girls in a relatively short time. [name]Meredith[/name], [name]Beverley[/name], [name]Hyacinth[/name], [name]Jocelyn[/name], [name]Kimberley[/name] and [name]Shelley[/name] are rarely heard on boys now. Thanks for sharing! [name]Mischa[/name].

3

[name]Hi[/name] [name]Mischa[/name],

I think even back then some of those names were pretty much exclusive to females but maybe listed for historical reasons, or there were still older guys around with those names and so the book was reflecting the demographics of the time.

I think you are right re: [name]Patsy[/name] although there was a comment about this only being used on males in mostly Irish communities, but I’ve never known a male [name]Patsy[/name] and I have known two male [name]Paddy[/name]'s.

I think [name]Ginger[/name] may have been more a nickname than a real name. I remember hearing it used on tv though in [name]England[/name] I think to some sports people - either boxing or horse racing. Can’t remember for sure now.

This was all from a list, but there are more details in the book and I can check on some of the others. A quick look says [name]Morgan[/name] and [name]Meredith[/name] are mostly male for example, [name]Kimberely[/name] is mostly female.