I specifically chose Nameberry as the site to ask this question because it seems like the audience is a bit more modern-minded, and I value your opinion.
I have come to love the name [name]Lincoln[/name] for my daughter. It sounds cute and feminine to me, and I can picture a little girl with pigtails. It also feels more fresh than some of the other names I have on my short list. I got really excited about it (hubs loves it too), and I started to seriously consider it. HOWEVER, I did some online research and found a few forums of people’s opinions of a girl named [name]Lincoln[/name] (including the reaction to [name]Kristen[/name] [name]Bell[/name] and [name]Dax[/name] [name]Shepard[/name]'s daughter) and was really surprised by [name]HOW[/name] NEGATIVE the general response was to the name. People seemed downright angry about it. I obviously don’t want to ignore something that large and name my wonderful daughter something that everyone seems to hate…but I also can’t shake the feeling that maybe I’m reading the opinions of a small group of people who may be more conservative about names. So I have come to Nameberry to ask your honest opinion. What do you think of the name [name]Lincoln[/name] for a girl?
I’m always baffled when people think that giving their child an eye-rollingly trendy, downmarket name is somehow interesting, bohemian, or nouveau, something that detractors are just too square to understand. Boys’ names for girls, specifically the names of dead white guys, are beyond mainstream. There’s nothing edgy or modern about them. In fact, they’re downright conservative. [name]Lincoln[/name] is instantly dated, a slight, silly, faddish choice that will sit at the table with [name]Jennifer[/name], [name]Madison[/name], [name]Mackenzie[/name], and [name]Jayden[/name]. I’m bracing myself for the flood of [name]Lincoln[/name], Linkin, Leinkyn, and Lynkenne.
You will get some people who don’t like it because they have a strong dislike of unisex names (even on Nameberry) and some people who don’t like it because it bothers them that people think it’s cool to give a girl a boy’s name…because that implies being boyish is cooler than being girly, which frankly is kind of sexist. However, [name]Lincoln[/name] isn’t traditionally a girl’s name or a boy’s name, it’s a surname. People have been using surnames as first names for both boys and girls as a way to carry on a family name or to name a baby after someone they admire for a long time and I think it’s perfectly fine to use [name]Lincoln[/name] on a girl if you want to.
Did you happen to see the reaction thread to the [name]Bell[/name]-[name]Shepard[/name] baby’s name on Nameberry? Because it was largely (if not all) negative IIRC.
Personally my biggest issue with this name is that [name]Lincoln[/name] on a girl is going to be tied SPECIFICALLY to that child, so now if you use it, everyone will assume you’re copying those celebrities. As far as the whole “traditionally male name/surname on a girl” issue goes, I say the same thing I always do: if you and your husband love it more than every other name on your list, use it.
If you’re concerned about other people’s opinions, have you tried asking friends and family what they think of the name? Or even using it yourself (like giving it as your name at Starbucks or somewhere else they would call you by name) to see how it feels? I would value those opinions much more than the opinion of random strangers on an online forum Good luck!
I love the name [name]Lincoln[/name] on a little boy. I think the nn [name]Link[/name] is adorable. I love the association with good old [name]Abe[/name]. All in all, I think it’s a fantastic, strong, name.
On a girl though? NO [name]WAY[/name]! It’s so heavily masculine. I’m not a fan of unisex names in the first place but to me this one should just be left to the boys. Give your little girl a prettier, more feminine name. Or at least a womanly heroic namesake to look up to.
Sorry, I have the same reaction. I think [name]Lincoln[/name] is adorable on a boy, but horribly sexist and trendy on a girl. I love the idea of giving your little girl a great namesake though! Maybe you should look at some great female role models as inspiration for your daughter’s name.
Heh, if you’re expecting people to say they love Lincoln for a girl, I’m sorry, but you’re out of luck! Actually, I don’t think this site is very open-minded at all, especially when it comes to boys names on girls. If you saw the original thread discussing Kristen Bell’s daughter’s name, you’ll see that the general reaction was very negative. Personally, I usually dislike boys names on girls (even though Lincoln technically is a place name and not a boys name) and I dislike Lincoln on girls a lot. It’s very trendy at the moment and won’t age well. Unless you ADORE the name, I’d choose something else.
[name]Ah[/name], sorry to disappoint you. I’m okay with unisex names, but dislike [name]Lincoln[/name] for girls. I cannot not think about [name]Abraham[/name] [name]Lincoln[/name] and it’s also a very masculin name to me.
No love here, either. Before I realized you were asking about it as a girls name, I was going to say that it’s something I’d like if it wasn’t so trendy. However, once I realized you were asking about it for a girl? Umm… NO. I agree that there’s nothing feminine sounding in [name]Lincoln[/name], especially since it has the nickname [name]Linc[/name]/[name]Link[/name].
I’m not particularly fond of modern unisex names as names for girls (I much prefer them for boys) but I will suggest them to some people. However, I greatly dislike boys names being used for girls.
I’ve always thought of [name]Lincoln[/name] as a boy’s name. Sorry, I don’t like it on a girl and I especially don’t like it now that a ridiculous “celebrity” used it for a girl.
But, Augs, you’ve got [name]Marlowe[/name] on your girl list… D.W.G. (Hey, I thought we were together in the [name]Marlowe[/name]-is-for-Boys camp? Am I all alone there now…?)
I am going to say that I think [name]Lincoln[/name] is horrible for girls and boys. It’s not a nice sounding name. It’s a cute-ish town in [name]England[/name], and I get that mr [name]Abraham[/name] [name]Lincoln[/name] is a big deal (and I get that people would want to name their sons [name]Lincoln[/name] after seeing the movie with dashing DDL), but it’s not a nice name. However, that is my personal opinion.
[name]Lincoln[/name] does not strike me as very feminine nor very masculine. It’s absolutely perfectly in the middle. You can call a girl [name]Lincoln[/name] [name]Linn[/name] or [name]Linnie[/name]. But I hope I never meet a little [name]Lincoln[/name]; boy or girl.
I’ll go against the grain and say I don’t really mind [name]Lincoln[/name] on a girl. Would I use it? No, but I wouldn’t be flabbergasted if someone else did. Having lived in the south surnames, unisex names, and even just flat out male names on girls don’t phase me that much, and it fits in fairly well with that trend.
The reason I wouldn’t consider [name]Lincoln[/name] for a girl at this point is it would be immediately associated with [name]Kristen[/name] [name]Bell[/name] and [name]Dax[/name] [name]Shepherd[/name] and because there will probably be a flood of Lincolns in the next couple years thanks to its presence in the media. Plus having known a gorgeous soccer player that went by [name]Linc[/name], the nn is all boy to me.
I can see the appeal in [name]Lincoln[/name] on a girl, it’s got a lovely ring to it with the N sounds, brings to mind ringing bells personally. It’s start with “[name]Lynn[/name]”, and it’s a very sleek, and urbane looking name. It’d fit right in with the Londons, and Spencers of the time.
However, all I picture is masculinity when I actually hear it.
[name]Lincoln[/name] Cars
[name]Abraham[/name] [name]Lincoln[/name]
[name]Lincoln[/name] [name]Alexander[/name] (who is a historical figure in my country of [name]Canada[/name] and therefore has a school named for him)
And considering the fact that this past year seems to be the Year of [name]Abraham[/name] [name]Lincoln[/name] with, what was it…two movies starring his character? being released, and the [name]Dax[/name]-[name]Shepard[/name] baby…it’s just far too pop-culturey.
I don’t like the name [name]Lincoln[/name] on a girl, for more than one reason, and to sum it all up: A girl name [name]Lincoln[/name] is cute in theory but in reality, the vibe of “pop culture trendy wannabe” comes to mind.
[name]Lincoln[/name] on a boy is dashing, on a girl it falls flat.
You know, perhaps I’m the open-minded person you’re looking for, I Cannot Stand when people go crazy over “that’s a boy’s name, that’s a girl’s name”. Names go back and forth ALL the time. If you don’t like stealing boys’ names for girls then nobody should name their daughters [name]Ashley[/name] or [name]Kelly[/name] or [name]Courtney[/name], etc. So forget all that nonsense and if you love it, go for it. The truth is, even if people don’t like the name, as they get to know your DD they’ll get over it. Nobody in my family liked our name for our DS (Riloh) and I always get the question “Is that a family name?” when I tell new people his name, but you know what, it does not affect how people treat him whatsoever and now my family admits it fits him well. I really don’t think people will treat your DD differently because of her name, and if they do then they are ignorant small minded people who really aren’t worth the effort!
It also drives me nuts when people get in an uproar over what other people name their child, what does it matter what [name]Kristen[/name] [name]Bell[/name] named her daughter, sheesh people, get a life!
The problem with this, and I think the problem we all have with boys names on girls (those of us that do), is that they don’t go back and forth. Boys names only go to girls, and girls names never go to boys. Hell, there’s a whole [name]Johnny[/name] [name]Cash[/name] son about the curse put on a boy who gets a girl’s name. It suggests a mentality that it’s ok to be a boy, and it’s ok for girls to be masculine, but it is never, ever ok for boys to suggest femininity or have feminine traits, and it suggests that a girl can’t get ahead in the world while being feminine–rather, that she has to be masculine in order to be respected. It frankly suggests a pretty sexist mentality, and that’s why people don’t like boys names on girls, and some extend it to unisex names, though I personally don’t.
I don’t see [name]Lincoln[/name] as a unisex name, it’s strictly masculine to me, and like I said before, I’m all for it on a little boy. (And so disappointed it won’t work with my SO’s last name!) As for [name]Marlowe[/name], contrary to everything I just said, I consider it a strictly female name, because I’ve only ever heard of the [name]Marlo[/name] spelling on women. However, if you think of it from a literary perspective and get the name from the playwright, then it would be a boy’s name.
I’m also a pretty offended that you don’t think the rest of us are open minded just because we don’t agree with you. [name]How[/name] very close minded of you.
It’s been my experience that I keep my mouth shut if the child is born and named already. If you and your husband truly believe your daughters name can not be anything but [name]Lincoln[/name] then use it. There is a sweet little girl I know named [name]Carter[/name]. Yes I think [name]Carter[/name] on a girl is unacceptable but, I’ll never say what I think about it to her having a boys name to her parents because she makes her own personality not her name.
Good luck!