Many of you may not agree with boy names crossing over to the girls’ side and vice-versa, but not all of them can be bad.
I remember expressing that I thought Sebastienne was kind of interesting. And I recently posted something about the girl name, “[name]Hero[/name]”. It’s cute for either gender to me.
Now I’m running into the name “[name]Felix[/name]” for a girl. After watching the most recent season of [name]Gordon[/name] [name]Ramsay[/name]'s “Master Chef”, I saw that a female contestant has this name!
Suddenly, I’m thinking [name]Felix[/name] wouldn’t be so bad on a girl. Maybe I’m just crazy.
And not all of these “feminizations” of once traditionally-masculine names are so nice. For example, I don’t favor [name]Felicia[/name] to [name]Felix[/name]. I don’t like the way it looks or sounds. So once the time came that I had to choose the name for a baby girl and I felt “[name]Felix[/name]” fit - maybe I’d use it!
For any [name]Berry[/name] (expectant or name-dreaming): What names would you like to see cross over? Are there names you’re considering naming your (future) child that isn’t traditionally a boy’s or girl’s name? [name]Share[/name] please I’d also be interested in your reasoning behind the decision.
I love [name]Marley[/name], [name]Bailey[/name] [name]Oakley[/name], and [name]Jessie[/name] which can be used as girls names but i prefer them on boys.
For girls I like [name]Hadley[/name], [name]Finley[/name], and [name]Saxon[/name]…
To me these names just seem to ‘fit’ those genders and although I know female [name]Bailey[/name]'s and male [name]Finley[/name]'s I see them as opposite.
I quite like more “feminine” names on boys, so on our list for [name]Baby[/name] we’ve got:
[name]Zooey[/name], [name]Meredith[/name], [name]Marion[/name], [name]Darcy[/name], [name]Innes[/name], [name]Jules[/name], [name]Quinn[/name] and [name]Robin[/name]. Most of these are of course really male names. [name]Zooey[/name] is from J. D. [name]Salinger[/name]'s novel [name]Franny[/name] & [name]Zooey[/name], and he’s one of my favourite characters of all time. I think [name]Zooey[/name] would be adoreable on a boy.
For girl I’ve got [name]Indigo[/name], [name]Domino[/name] and [name]Mio[/name]. And I’m starting to like [name]Jasper[/name]…
I have a secret crush on the name [name]Kelly[/name] for a boy.
I know that originally it was a boy name… and it always sounded like a name one of [name]Cary[/name] [name]Grant[/name]'s male contemporaries would be named. c’smom
Not so much cross over, but cross back. I’d love to see more male Mackenzies- I absolutely love [name]Mackenzie[/name] for a boy. I also like [name]Auden[/name] for boys and girls, but right now it’s so rare you really can use it for either.
I would love to see parents become less afraid of boys’ names that could be construed as less masculine or even feminine. I hate the phrase “gone to the girls.” I’d love to never see that again.
I completely understand why you don’t like [name]Felicia[/name], because it seems very dated to me - I would expect a [name]Felicia[/name] to be in her 40s or 50s. I can’t say that I really “get” [name]Felix[/name] on a girl, though, and that’s coming from someone who doesn’t really have a problem with traditionally masculine names on girls. Maybe it’s just because I like [name]Felicity[/name] so much. [name]Felix[/name] on a girl just doesn’t click with me at all.
Usually I’m not too keen on boy names on girls and vice versa, but lately I’m liking [name]Percy[/name] for a girl. I never really liked it as a boy’s name; it always seemed kind of, well, girly.
I also really like [name]Sage[/name] for a boy. There’s only one other person I know who doesn’t think that’s ridiculous!
[name]Saxon[/name] is just God awful for either gender.I love [name]Rowan[/name] but just for girls…I love [name]Felix[/name] and [name]Jasper[/name] for girls…all of the names listed above should only be girls and I hate [name]Blair[/name]
Yes, I forgot to mention “crossing back”.
[name]Mackenzie[/name] is a great name and I don’t see it as often on a boy than a girl.
It has a lot to do with the demographics in my area and the need to pick something less “English mainstream”.
To nono: [name]Felicity[/name] is a nice four-syllable name with a lot going for it, IMHO. But I think the fact that [name]Felix[/name] is so short that makes it appealing to me.
ottilie: Wow, I had no idea [name]Zooey[/name] is the eponym of a male character in J.D. [name]Salinger[/name]'s “[name]Franny[/name] & [name]Zooey[/name]”.
cookiesnatcher: I’d love to meet a boy named, [name]Sage[/name]. I actually like it better on boy too.
I [name]LOVE[/name] unisex and cross over names! They are always my favourites. I’d love to see [name]Harry[/name] on a girl, it’s too pretty for a boy and [name]Felix[/name] one of my favourites for both genders, even though I’d never name one of my own kids [name]Felix[/name].
Most of the time I dislike cross-overs…but there are SOME exceptions: [name]Sol[/name], [name]Pax[/name], [name]Austen[/name] and [name]Indigo[/name] for girls and [name]Ash[/name] and [name]Kendall[/name] for boys. ;).
I don’t necessarily want to see any name change over (although I would [name]LOVE[/name] to have [name]Bailey[/name] and [name]Avery[/name] seen as more masculine!), but I do think [name]Brady[/name] would be adorable for a girl! I don’t want it to change over, because I know what it feels like to have a unisex name, and I hate it (I love my name, just hate that it’s unisex), and I wouldn’t want to put my daughter through that. Or anyone else’s daughter. But it is a huge GP for me.
ETA: All this Mackenzie talk has me thinking–how usable is Mackenzie on a boy? Up until this Saturday, I have known/met five boys named Mackenzies, and no female Mackenzies. This Saturday, I met the new baby girl in my church (yes, Mackenzie! :(). It seems like everyone else knows only girl Mackenzies, but for the longest time, I’ve only known boy Mackenzies (which, I not-so-secretly am pretty psyched about…).
i had no idea just wanted to read through this thread as i find this topic interesting and from what others have said i am going to second!
I can SO see [name]Felix[/name] on a girl! i think its cute!
[name]Percy[/name]! omg!!! i actually [name]LOVE[/name] this suggestion! [name]Posy[/name] is too ring a ring a rosy a pocket full posy for me and just too cutesy but [name]Percy[/name] is PERFECT!! I actually think this one you could get away with easily as [name]Percy[/name] is no longer very popular for boys (i dont think, i’ve never met a [name]Percy[/name] in my life apart from on thomas the tank engine) and to me is sounds soft and gentle! i love it! i’m gonna play with combos now… hehe
[name]Jasper[/name] i dont know why but i can also see this on a girl pretty easily. reminds me of words like ‘whisper’ and ‘jasmine’
i’m not usually a cross over girl though i dont actually mind when names are crossed over and some sound really good but [name]Percy[/name] is one i am really really liking right now! i will probably have to sleep on it in case this is crazy hormones lol!
@cookiesnatcher: Yep, you’re not! The [name]Jane[/name] [name]Austen[/name] connection makes me totally dislike it for a boy, lol :). I actually am considering adding it to my name-list, I’m starting to like it that much
[name]Bailey[/name] and [name]Avery[/name] are the two “unisex” names that I’d like to see more on boys as well – Especially [name]Avery[/name].
I remember I thought that was the perfect name for a boy when I was 16 years old (I’m 20 now)… but then I heard it on all these newborn baby girls… Not to mention, I realized there’s a brand of shipping labels called, “[name]Avery[/name]”.
So I’ve tossed it for now.
Who knows how I’ll feel when I cross the baby-naming bridge, though!
As for the case of “[name]Mackenzie[/name]”, I think it’s very usable! “[name]Mack[/name]” or “[name]Mac[/name]” goes along well with the big “Surname-name” and “Cool Irish/Scottish/Gaelic” trends. People who are fond of those kinds of names may find [name]Mackenzie[/name] to be an attractive choice!
It’s long enough and even though it ends with an “-ie”, that’s probably what gives it energy: the “ee” sound that stretches it out. What may make it most attractive and masculine-sounding is the rhythm in which a person pronounces “[name]Mackenzie[/name]”.
On another note, I feel like children will like the “[name]Zach[/name]”-like nn of “[name]Mac/name”. It could be the new “[name]Zach[/name]” for all we know. Time will only tell.
I agree with other posters who’ve expressed [name]Austen[/name] is cool for a girl! If you don’t know who [name]Jane[/name] [name]Austen[/name] is, I wouldn’t be surprised if you thought it absurd.
[name]Percy[/name] has always been one of my favorite names for a girl, but my entire family considers it unusable on any gender due to the horrible character by that name in The [name]Green[/name] Mile.
I also love [name]Rowan[/name] on a girl, but strongly dislike it on a boy. I believe those are the only unisex names I actually like on a girl (although I do love feminizations such as [name]Harriet[/name], [name]Josephine[/name], and [name]Georgina[/name]). I love the idea of giving a girl a male middle name, like [name]William[/name] or [name]James[/name].
As for the boys, I wish some of the “softer” names were socially accepted these days. Years ago no one would have batted an eye at a male [name]Evelyn[/name] or [name]Meredith[/name], but now it’s virtually unheard of. I have always much preferred [name]Evelyn[/name] on a boy, and I really, really want to use it.
I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Mckenzie[/name], [name]Madison[/name], [name]Ashley[/name] & [name]Cleo[/name] for a guy. I also love [name]Winslow[/name], [name]Ferris[/name] & [name]Ansel[/name] for a girl. For me it’s more about the way the name sounds than what gender it’s connected to.
I’d also be interested in your reasoning behind the decision.
c’smom