I’m drawn to softer, more feminine boys’ names and I was wondering what side of the line these names fall on for you guys- too feminine, or not?
[name_u]Noel[/name_u]- I would say no-el, but I hear many people say nole. Which do you like?
[name_u]Dana[/name_u]- I know one girl and one boy with this name, so it seems unisex to me.
[name_u]Seneca[/name_u]- [name_m]Roman[/name_m] patronymic with a feminine sound
[name_u]Elisha[/name_u] (e-LIE-sha)- I’ve heard about the Biblical prophet since childhood, so it seems exclusively masculine to me, but some people think it sounds too close to [name_f]Alicia[/name_f] and similar. Thoughts?
[name_u]Ashley[/name_u]- dated on a girl, romantic on a boy?
[name_u]Rene[/name_u]- Masculine in [name_f]France[/name_f], what about for English speakers?
[name_u]Beck[/name_u]- meaning stream. Too close to [name_f]Rebekah[/name_f]/[name_f]Becca[/name_f]?
[name_u]Day[/name_u]- I feel this is one of those new word names that could end up either way.
Hananiah(ha-na-[name_m]NYE[/name_m]-uh)- shows up several times in the Old Testament and a couple times in the NT in the form Ananias.
I think the right guy could pull off any of these names. [name_u]Noel[/name_u] and [name_u]Elisha[/name_u] are the most versatile in my opinion. [name_m]Elijah[/name_m]'s popularity helps [name_u]Elisha[/name_u] a lot.
[name_u]Noel[/name_u] - I’ve usually heard it pronounced as ‘[name_m]Nole[/name_m]’ when it’s a boy and ‘No-elle’ when it’s a girl but it’s probably more a question of preference. I like it for either gender.
[name_u]Dana[/name_u] - I’ve met about equal amounts of girls and guys with this name. I don’t really lean one way or the other on it.
[name_u]Seneca[/name_u] - Sounds masculine to me, though I don’t really care for it personally.
[name_u]Elisha[/name_u] - In my head I want to pronounce it like [name_f]Alicia[/name_f], so for me it’s a bit more girly.
[name_u]Ashley[/name_u] - Not a big fan of this name on either gender, but [name_u]Ash[/name_u] as a nickname could be nice.
[name_u]Rene[/name_u] - It’s alright. Definitely more boy than girl in my opinion.
[name_u]Beck[/name_u] - My favorite of your list for sure. I also think it sounds the most masculine.
[name_u]Day[/name_u] - I [name_u]LOVE[/name_u] nature/word names as middles for both genders, so this one is a yes for me on a boy or girl.
Hananiah - Not really a fan, but it doesn’t lean one way or the other to me.
[name_u]Noel[/name_u] – I like this spelling for a boy. I pronounce the word like no-ell but the name like [name_m]Nole[/name_m]. I’m not sure why! [name_u]Dana[/name_u] – I don’t like this name on either gender. [name_u]Seneca[/name_u] – The only person I have ever known with this name is a guy… so it’s totally masculine to me! [name_u]Elisha[/name_u] – This is a masculine name to me! I don’t think it’s so close to [name_f]Alicia[/name_f]. [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] – I work with a guy named [name_u]Ashley[/name_u], he’s only in his 20’s, I would guess. [name_m]Even[/name_m] though it’s been so popular for a girl, I still think of it as a boy’s name and now working with a guy named [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] has made it even more so. [name_u]Rene[/name_u] – This spelling is masculine to me. I used to know a guy with the name. He had a brother named [name_u]Dorian[/name_u]. [name_u]Beck[/name_u] – I don’t think this is feminine at all! [name_u]Day[/name_u] – Since this is a word, I think this can go either way. Hananiah – This is solidly masculine to me.
I know a [name_u]Noel[/name_u] and he pronounces it [name_m]Nole[/name_m]" so if pronounced that way I think it works fine. If [name_u]Rene[/name_u] is pronounced the [name_m]French[/name_m] way it is all-boy to me. My favourite is definitely [name_u]Beck[/name_u]!
[name_u]Noel[/name_u] - I love this name, I actually prefer the pronunciation as No-ell, but I know a lot of people would consider that too feminine.
[name_u]Dana[/name_u] - The only person I know named [name_u]Dana[/name_u] is my uncle, so I see this as masculine.
[name_u]Seneca[/name_u] - I think it seems masculine, it might be because of the Hunger Games for me though.
[name_u]Elisha[/name_u] - I must prefer [name_m]Elijah[/name_m], but I can see this as either way.
[name_u]Ashley[/name_u] - I absolutely love this as a boy name, but I think it may be way too far in the girl’s camp now.
[name_u]Rene[/name_u] - The spelling is masculine, but I’ve known way too many girl [name_f]Renee[/name_f]'s I think.
[name_u]Beck[/name_u] - I only see this as masculine.
[name_u]Day[/name_u] - It can go either way.
[name_u]Noel[/name_u] is pronounced, or should be, as you said, no-el, becuse the original spelling is Noël.
[name_u]Ren[/name_u]é is the male form, the female is [name_u]Ren[/name_u]ée, so there’s no confusion about whether a [name_u]Ren[/name_u]é is a boy or a girl.
[name_u]Seneca[/name_u] is also male.
[name_u]Noel[/name_u]- this to me is No-ell, [name_u]Christmas[/name_u] and girl. I do like [name_m]Nole[/name_m] for a boy though.
[name_u]Dana[/name_u]- I grew up with a boy [name_u]Dana[/name_u] (and his brother [name_u]Cary[/name_u]) and always thought it was funny they both had girl names
[name_u]Seneca[/name_u]- not a fan of the name
[name_u]Elisha[/name_u] - I also grew up with a girl [name_u]Elisha[/name_u], pronounced ee-lee-sha. It is similar to [name_f]Alicia[/name_f]. Maybe go with [name_m]Elijah[/name_m], they sound very very close to each other.
[name_u]Ashley[/name_u]- all girl to me
[name_u]Rene[/name_u]- [name_u]Rene[/name_u] is masculine. [name_f]Renee[/name_f] is feminine. With the accents of course
[name_u]Beck[/name_u]- I didn’t think of [name_f]Becca[/name_f] at all. I first thought [name_m]Beckett[/name_m], which is climbing in popularity. I like it.
[name_u]Day[/name_u]- [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t particularly like it as a name.
Hananiah – this is a mouth full.
Wow, thanks for all the feed back! Seems like [name_u]Beck[/name_u] is seen as the most masculine and [name_u]Ashley[/name_u], [name_u]Elisha[/name_u], and Dana as the more feminine ones. [name_m]Just[/name_m] to be clear these all ARE boy (or unisex) names, I’m just asking about your perception of them, not whether they should be or are used for boys.
Anybody else? I’d also love to hear suggestions for more names in this style. Thank you guys!
I don’t find any of these overly feminine, and think all of them could work well on males today. Personally, I like [name_u]Seneca[/name_u], [name_u]Elisha[/name_u], [name_u]Ashley[/name_u] & [name_u]Day[/name_u].
[name_u]Noel[/name_u]- I only pronounce it no-el & consider it masculine
[name_u]Dana[/name_u]- unisex but very dated
[name_u]Seneca[/name_u]- I know a man with this name & he wears it well
[name_u]Elisha[/name_u]- I’ve only known males with this name. It’s one of my favorites
[name_u]Ashley[/name_u]- one of my favorite boy names. I know males & females but it’s very dated on females
[name_u]Rene[/name_u]- with this spelling, it’s 100% masculine
[name_u]Beck[/name_u]- never heard of it as feminine or unisex. Sounds completely masculine
[name_u]Day[/name_u]- it’s just a neutral word to me. Can’t picture it as a name
Hananiah- I can see people thinking it’s feminine due to similarity to [name_f]Hannah[/name_f]. I prefer [name_m]Ananias[/name_m]