I’m not exactly sure where I stand on unisex names, but if we are talking naming a boy [name_f]Caroline[/name_f] and a girl [name_m]Wyatt[/name_m], that is when I probably won’t [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] it… But girls named [name_u]Ryan[/name_u] and boys named [name_u]Whitney[/name_u], I actually tend to really like those names and are drawn towards them.
[name_f]My[/name_f] name is unisex, though it leans to the blue side more often then not: [name_u]Jameson[/name_u], shortened and girlified to [name_u]Jamie[/name_u]. I am the second youngest in our family of eight (seven boys and me…to paraphrase, it was a struggle) and my little brother’s middle name is [name_u]Jamison[/name_u]. Yes, the same name spelled differently. [name_m]How[/name_m] creative mom
I then went on to name my oldest son [name_u]Whitney[/name_u], so I guess I fall into the unisex name lover category by default…
In an ideal world, I would like unisex names more. As it is, well I might give a pet a unisex name but things are complicated enough without burdening my child with that. Especially for boys. Things are getting better, depending a bit how conservative the community is but guys being nurses, playing with dolls or wearing their hair long is becoming more acceptable so I think hopefully someday soon being teased for being “like a girl” will be less prevalent, and hurt less. As it stands though, guys have much less freedom than girls this way because as a society we put more value on “manly” traits than “feminine”. That’s why you see unisex names go girl but not the other way. I find it frustrating that parents will give their daughters names that are mostly given to boys now (whether their unisex surnames or more traditional boy names). Are girl names not good enough? Not strong enough? I like more “feminine” names for boys, names that are softer sounding like [name_u]Emmett[/name_u], [name_m]Sebastian[/name_m], [name_m]Adrian[/name_m], [name_m]Julian[/name_m] (I like masculine names too) or when people say, I want to name my daughter [name_u]Elliott[/name_u] because it sounds like a girls name, or [name_u]Addison[/name_u], or [name_u]Harper[/name_u], or [name_u]Morgan[/name_u]. I like these names on boys! And while on an individual level I think girl’s with boy names is fine and can work really well on that particular girl, as a whole it makes me frustrated that parents both feel the need to use a boy name and call the boy name feminine!
I like unisex names that genuinely are unisex names. For me, this means a name that has a legitimate male and female counterpart that it could - but doesn’t have to - be short for.
Charlotte > Charlie < Charles
Alexandra > Alex < Alexander
Margaret > Maggie < Magnus
Lauren > Laurie < Laurence
Maxine > Max < Maxwell
I also view nature names as unisex.
It seems to me that nowadays people are borrowing the word unisex to make themselves feel better whenever they decide that they like a traditionally male name for a girl. Elliott and Ryan and Logan etc fall into this category in my opinion.
Personally, I believe that as there’s already such a huge pool of names for either gender to choose from, that I shouldn’t feel the need to think about borrowing a name from the ‘wrong side’.
I also see place names as (generally) unisex. For instance, if you name your kid [name_u]London[/name_u], I am not going to have any idea whether to expect a boy or a girl. There are obviously names that are also names of places (like [name_f]Victoria[/name_f], for example) that are not unisex.
[name_u]Truly[/name_u] gender neutral names are fine, heck, if you want to name your daughter [name_m]William[/name_m] and give her a buzz cut and raise her in a gender-fluid household, that is fine, too.
I just specifically dislike when people give little girls traditionally masculine names (like [name_u]James[/name_u] or [name_u]Ryan[/name_u] or [name_m]Maxwell[/name_m]) and then get offended when I assume their baby daughter is a son. If you want to give your daughter a boy’s name, you are barred from being offended when people assume she is a boy.
In general, I’m not fond of “unisex” names. I say that because most names I consider to be unisex are something like some place names or nature names as the pps said before. Part of my problem with unisex names is that it seems to be just boys names that keep getting taken as “unisex” so fewer and fewer names are for the guys while girls have so many more choices. I’ve also seen a friend with a unisex name go through a lot of hassle and tears with her name (maybe she was one of the unlucky ones who got a lot of hassle compared to other girls), so that also made unisex names a turn off.
I remember how sad I was in one of my classes when there was a female [name_u]Ryan[/name_u]. I used to have [name_u]Ryan[/name_u] on the top of my boys list, because I considered it a boy name only, but now it’s off the list. I’m not even into really masculine guys, but I feel like I’m going to have to name any future son a overly masculine name to avoid the awkwardness of a girl with the same name; a daughter I wouldn’t have to worry about since I doubt there would be many male Natalies (just an example).
I love some unisex names. It’s great really that we can have names that aren’t strictly masculine or feminine. That we can have names that will work on any child. To me I guess it just depends on the name and the child. It’s a hard thing because we all have our own idea of which unisex names lean more toward female and which are more male. I know [name_u]Rowan[/name_u] can be a girls name, but to me I picture a little redheaded boy (the meaning is “little redhead”). But if I had a son named [name_u]Rowan[/name_u], that doesn’t mean someone else would think that was a girly name, or even have a daughter named that. Again, with the name [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u] I picture a boy I know. But others may see a girl. To me, [name_u]Carson[/name_u], [name_u]Jude[/name_u], [name_u]Aiden[/name_u], [name_u]Flynn[/name_u], [name_u]Elliot[/name_u], and [name_m]Austin[/name_m] are all masculine. Now with other names it’s the opposite. When I hear [name_u]Riley[/name_u], I think of a girl (although that’s a name I think still works fairly for either gender). Same with [name_u]Sage[/name_u], [name_u]Mackenzie[/name_u], [name_u]Harper[/name_u], [name_u]Emery[/name_u], and [name_u]Teagan[/name_u]. I think it’s just our own perceptions and people we’ve met with those names. I’ve known both genders to have the names [name_u]Peyton[/name_u], [name_u]Hadley[/name_u], [name_u]Hayden[/name_u], [name_u]Parker[/name_u], [name_u]Blake[/name_u] and [name_u]Reagan[/name_u]. It can be a good thing or a bad thing. I’d like to think a kid wouldn’t get teased for having the same name as someone else in their class who’s the opposite gender but you never know. I think you should just think carefully and if it’s a name you’re really not sure about, I’d say research a little. In the last few years are their more males or females with that name? While you may like it one way, if 9/10 times it’s used for the opposite sex, that could make it harder on the child. Like I said, it can be a good thing and a bad thing.
[name_f]My[/name_f] name is [name_f]Taryn[/name_f]. When I started kindergarten, I discovered to my horror that there was a little boy named [name_f]Taran[/name_f] in my class. We were both teased for this. They teased him for having a girls name and me for having a boys name. This was very horrible at the time, when I was five years old and had never been to school before. But then I got my first pair of glasses, and the teasing for having a boy’s named just paled in comparison with the teasing for the glasses.
The point here is, most kids will get teased at some point for something. Sometimes parents name a kid something and you wonder, why didn’t you just name him [name_m]KICK[/name_m] ME? But kids will tease and be teased and that is just going to happen.
[name_f]My[/name_f] son is named bailey ashton… the middle name when he was born to me was considered unisex but bailey was blue for me then after it was all bailey is a unisex name… which now looks as though he has 2 unisex names then richard after his father!
But i do like unisex names… [name_f]My[/name_f] daughter is named liberty < apparently many moons ago liberty was classed as unisex… well i didnt know that either… liberty to me is female only…
And On my next child if a girl will be Kairi Peyton < i know peyton is considered unisex but again i see it as being female. yet payton with an A i see more male. if a boy most likely phoenix will be in there…
So yeah, oh dear… i guess if i look at it that way i am a unisex name liker!! lol But i like it when they lean toward the gender. I.e Bailey on a girl wouldn’t sound right to me.
The problem with most “unisex” names is that they really aren’t unisex, and there tends to be a tremendous double-standard when it comes to naming girls vs. boys. For example, a mother might decide to name her daughter [name_m]Guy[/name_m] or [name_m]Thomas[/name_m] or [name_u]Elliot[/name_u] or something, and then PRESTO! The name is unisex, and we’re all supposed to accept that. But suggest [name_u]Avery[/name_u] or [name_u]Quinn[/name_u] (both legitimate boy’s names) for a son, and invariably, someone will swan in and tell you that you’re giving your son “a girl’s name”–in other words, what’s good for girls isn’t generally good for boys.
Having said that, there are some names I truly consider unisex that I like. I just don’t like a) boy’s names arbitrarily being dubbed as “unisex” and b) the double-standard that often renders those names as off-limits to boys in the eyes of society, even though people say they’re unisex
Elliott and Ryan and Logan etc fall into this category in my opinion.