After a lot of painful negoiating we decided our 4th child, a boy, would be named [name]Elliot[/name]. (Siblings are [name]Myles[/name], [name]Leila[/name] and [name]Bronwen[/name]) but after asking about spelling someone posted that [name]Elliot[/name] could be a girls name too! I am not a fan of unisex names for boys and do not want to name my son the next new crossover name…WDYT? And if you think it is unisex can you suggest some classic, timeless boys names…
Traditionally, [name]Elliot[/name] is not a unisex name. I think the main reason why it’s being used for a boy is that parents are looking for a new way to get to the nickname [name]Ellie[/name].
[name]Elliot[/name] is being used on girls, mostly because it lends itself to the nickname “[name]Ellie[/name]”. In my mind though, it is fully a boys name. Traditionally it has been used on boys, and I think most people still see it as a boys name. Classic, timeless boys names, to me are a long the lines of [name]James[/name], [name]William[/name], [name]Thomas[/name], [name]Patrick[/name], [name]Theodore[/name], [name]Alexander[/name], [name]Oliver[/name], [name]Christopher[/name], [name]Fredrick[/name], [name]Nicholas[/name] and [name]George[/name]. [name]Elliot[/name] is a great name though and I think if you love it and agree on it you should use it.
i don’t view it as a unisex name. i recently did see a posting about someone using it for a girl, but i don’t think it is the norm. 
I actually know 3 little girls - 4 and under, named [name]Elliott[/name], so i think it may be going to the girls. Also, one of the main characters from the show Scrubs was named [name]Elliott[/name], so that may have caused some people to think of it as a girl’s name.
i like it for a boy though - and i don’t think there are going to be tons of girls w/ it, but i am sure you will hear it at some point.
I recently saw someone post something about naming their daughter [name]Elliot[/name] as well. I love the name [name]Elliot[/name] but don’t like it on a girl. Not everyone seems to have the same opinion though so I think you’re right to worry about it becoming a crossover name.
Some other names that I can think of that have a similar sound are [name]Emmett[/name], [name]Everett[/name], [name]Ellery[/name], [name]Elias[/name], [name]Emery[/name] (although if you look up this boy’s name on nameberry they suggest that it’s better for girls than boys - ? - and that [name]Amory[/name] is a better spelling for boys - go figure).
I think it’s like [name]Ashley[/name]. Originally all boy, but got taken over by the girls.
Although I strongly prefer it for a boy, I do think it’s becoming unisex. I’ve known a few people who have considered it for daughters, although ultimately none of them used it.
[name]Elliot[/name] is still a male name. There may be a girl here and there with it, but it’s uncommon enough that I don’t consider it unisex. The Social Security Administration lists top 1000 names by year and [name]Elliot[/name]'s use for boys has been on the rise from #501 in 1999 to #332 in 2008. It’s NOT in the top 1000 in the last 10 years for girls. I think [name]Elliot[/name] fits in great with your children’s names.
Dear libby, to me [name]Elliot[/name] is a boys name. There are so many gorgeous girls names why take a boys names. I have also seen girls with the name [name]Ellery[/name] and [name]Emery[/name]. You could name him [name]Henry[/name] and it could turn out to be the next big cross over! good luck
Although there are a few girls being named [name]Elliot[/name], I think most people still see it as a boy’s name by default. If you like it I think you should go for it! (Maybe what you can do is use a middle name that has almost no chance of crossing over, if there are any such names.)
Parents using names like [name]Elliot[/name] for their daughters are only half of the “stealing the boy’s names” problem; the other half is that parents of boys are abandoning such names when they hear them on girls. If you want these names to stay (at least somewhat) masculine then continue using them for your sons!
I think you are safe in using it for your son. While I have heard it used once on a girl, it currently doesnt rank in the top 1000 for girls at all, where it is the 300’s for boys. I think people still view it as a boys names, it is very traditional. Some people probably like it for girls because of the nn [name]Ellie[/name]. It is like [name]Ryan[/name] to me. I have heard [name]Ryan[/name] used on a girls several times, but the vast majority are boys and it is still viewed as a boys names (and probably always will be).
Not unisex…
I certainly find it weird on a girl; never heard of that until this site. Therefore, I have heard of it on girls. It’s not popular on that side… yet. I won’t say it couldn’t be, though.
However, that probably won’t make it a girl’s name per se. These days, a name rising for girls doesn’t necessarily drop its popularity for boys.
It seems that anything that’s risen recently for boys also starts being used for girls, even if it doesn’t sound like what was previously thought of as a girls’ name. It doesn’t seem that a name crosses over at a point when it’s unpopular for boys. Take [name]Ashley[/name]: it became uncommon, then came back for boys, rapidly followed by its gender shift. The only safe way to get a male name is to take something completely out of style for boys. Or, I suppose, to take a male name so consistently common that I’d never consider it.
While I think it works well for girls, I don’t see it as a unisex name and I think most people still see it as mainly a boy’s name.
Go for it, it’s so stunning!
I have always loved the name [name]Elliot[/name] (for a boy), but I must confess that I considered it for my daughter’s middle name previously because I liked it so much. The only girl I had ever heard it on was [name]Elliot[/name] from the t.v. show Scrubs. I am now having a boy and am considering it again–and I don’t want it to be unisex either!
definitely unisex! but that’s ok go, for it, it’s super cute!
I think [name]Elliot[/name] is unisex. I actually like it on girls.