My husband and I have started talking about names for our yet to be, but hopefully soon to be conceived, child/ren. For a boy we are drawn to several andro, surname type names. The trouble, I fear is that our favorites are much more popular for girls than they are for boys. I worry that if they they skew too girly they would be a burden for a boy to wear. To give you an idea of my thinking, [name]Avery[/name], [name]Cameron[/name] and [name]Quinn[/name] are a little girly (in my mind) but still not a big deal for a boy to pull off. On the other hand [name]Ashley[/name], [name]Madison[/name] and [name]Kendall[/name] feel (to me) feminine enough that they would be troublesome for a boy. What do you think of the usability, for a boy, of these names:
[name]Emerson[/name] - The -son ending makes it more masculine and Most girl Emersons are probably going by [name]Emmy[/name] or [name]Emme[/name] or [name]Emma[/name], right? or am I wrong?
[name]Harper[/name] - I [name]ADORE[/name] the image of this on a little boy, but I once heard someone refer to it as the new [name]Ashley[/name]…I knew a boy naked [name]Ashley[/name] in the 90s and I felt bad for him. If you met a little boy named [name]Harper[/name], what would your reaction be, would you feel bad for him?
Although [name]Emerson[/name] initially sounded masculine to me, I immediately think of the name [name]Emmy[/name] as a nickname now. As for [name]Harper[/name], even though I’ve only ever heard it on a girl, it sounds like it should strictly be for boys in my opinion. I think [name]Harper[/name] could definitely work for a boy.
[name]Harper[/name] could be cute on a boy but it is very popular on a girl so you’d have to be prepared for him being the only boy with 2/3 girls with the same name.
I think [name]Ashley[/name] is one of those names that is popular for each gender. [name]Ashley[/name] in my opinion is a boy (my cousin is called [name]Ashley[/name] and he was born in the 90s), [name]Ashleigh[/name]/Ashei/[name]Ashlee[/name]/[name]Ashlea[/name] are girls names variations.
[name]Cameron[/name] Iv only ever know. As a surname or as a boys name I don’t know many [name]Cameron[/name]'s as girls.
[name]Madison[/name] and [name]Kendall[/name] to me are both girls names.
[name]Quinn[/name] - is a unisex name. See [name]Harper[/name].
[name]Avery[/name] - is a also a a unisex name. But I think it’s more towards girls than boys.
Yes, I also knew a boy [name]Ashley[/name] in the 90’s and felt bad for him. So I feel for you but if the name is currently trending heavily for girls it is pretty burdensome. However, I’m really loving the idea of little boys named [name]Ashley[/name] and [name]Whitney[/name] now! Maybe I’m the cruel one…
I know a 30 year old male [name]Emerson[/name], who goes by his full name (his mom calls him [name]Emme[/name] sometimes). He is all male and wears his name very well.
[name]Harper[/name] is a bit tricker, especially with the celeb attention it has.
But overall, I think it would be refreshing to see [name]Harper[/name], [name]Ashley[/name], [name]Madison[/name], or [name]Kendall[/name] (I also know a 20 something male [name]Kendall[/name]). All the names still have “masculine” sounds in them.
I [name]LOVE[/name] [name]Whitney[/name] on a boy. I actually don’t like it at all for a girl, but on a boy = awesome.
I think people have been usurping too many historically male names for the girls - and girls have so many more options to begin with! I think when names go unisex that is a way of saying “eventually, boys with this name will be made fun of” and that isn’t fair. As long as we keep these unisex names actually unisex then that won’t happen! People just need to stop being afraid of giving their sons names they think are too “girl”. That’s how names like [name]Ashley[/name], [name]Kelly[/name], [name]Carole[/name], etc became “only girl” names to begin with. If parents had continued to name sons that as well we would still be calling them unisex names.
I just started my own thread on [name]Emerson[/name] so I’ll be watching this one closely.
In answer to your question, I wouldn’t be considering it for my bub if I didn’t love it and I certainly would not feel sorry for a boy named [name]Emerson[/name]. I think it is a name that should stay with the boys, just like the majority of -son names, all boy to me!
[name]Harper[/name] hit the SSA Top 1000 in 2004 and hit #24 last year. That’s 7,154 girls, and a very fast rise. It has a longer history for boys (periodically in Top 1000 since 1881) and was #605 for boys last year, with 414 births.
However, that #24 is hard to overcome. Put another way, [name]Harper[/name] for boys is about as common as [name]Xzavier[/name] (not a typo), [name]Dayton[/name], [name]Rohan[/name], or [name]Zayne[/name]. [name]Harper[/name] for girls is about as common as [name]Lillian[/name] or [name]Amelia[/name], and more common than [name]Sarah[/name], [name]Zoe[/name], or [name]Katherine[/name].
I just don’t think it’s useable.
[name]Emerson[/name] hit in 2002 and was #244 for girls last year, with 1301 births. For boys it was #364 with 828 births, about as popular as [name]Landyn[/name] or [name]Karson[/name]. For girls, it’s roughly as popular as [name]Isla[/name], [name]Jacqueline[/name], or [name]Juliet[/name]. [name]Emersyn[/name], on the other hand, was #622 for girls, with 455 births. I personally know an [name]Emmerson[/name] but that’s not in the top 1000. [name]Add[/name] the spellings together, and the name’s as common as [name]Margaret[/name] or [name]Hazel[/name].
It is much more unisex, and I agree it has a nicely masculine sound to the ear. It’s about twice as common for girls as boys, you could use it, but now’s the time. Like [name]Morgan[/name] and [name]Jocelyn[/name], it probably won’t be unisex forever.
As I said on one of the other forums you posted on (since you basically asked about the same names I’m assuming so), I’m a guy with a unisex name who hasn’t had any major problems. I think the ones that are still widely used for both genders (such as [name]Avery[/name] and [name]Emerson[/name]) are perfectly usable - just be sure the middle name is clearly masculine for best results. I’d hesitate more with the ones like [name]Ashley[/name], which have been bestowed on very few boys and lots of girls in recent times.
I think [name]Emerson[/name] can be used a boy no problem. [name]Harper[/name] is such a girl’s name in my mind now that I would be shocked to meet a boy named [name]Harper[/name].
We LOVED the name [name]Quinn[/name] for our little boy and we did a random poll of people we know from all over to get their thoughts on it boy vs. girl without revealing our intentions for the name. No one thought it could be used for a boy’s name. And that naming trend is currently 50/50, but a few years ago it wasn’t even close to that, it swung for the boys much more. So I see it falling the way of [name]Ashley[/name] soon. So look at the past naming trend for boys and girls and think of the future of the name, not just the current popularity. Maybe some names are trending down for girls.
It was put to me this way that made me decide we couldn’t use [name]Quinn[/name], “Would you mind if most other [name]Quinn[/name]'s he meets in his life are girls?”
I only feel bad for children with horribly spelled names
My top boy names ([name]Shea[/name], [name]Ashley[/name] & [name]Jade[/name]) and my mom’s top choices for her future grandsons ([name]Kendal[/name] & [name]Eden[/name]) are deemed too girly by many but that’s their hangup. I’ve known several guys with “girly” names and they’ve made it through life just fine. Nothing to feel bad about.
And today’s kids have very diverse names so a boy [name]Emerson[/name] or [name]Harper[/name] will have it a lot easier than the boys you grew up with. [name]Remember[/name] that popularity is relative. I’ve never met a [name]Harper[/name] or [name]Emerson[/name] and I’ve worked and volunteered in daycares. In my state last year there were 270 baby girls named [name]Harper[/name] but there were over 200,000 babies born. The names ranked #1 for boy and girls were given to less than 1% of newborns
I think where there is even a question of this type of thing, don’t do it. [name]Do[/name] you want your son to share a trendy/popular name with a bunch of girls? If I were a boy, I sure wouldn’t want to. All these you listed, except [name]Quinn[/name], feel very feminine to me.
My dad is [name]Kendall[/name]. I cringe every time I hear it on a girl. It’s a guy’s name to me, as is [name]Cameron[/name]. [name]Quinn[/name], [name]Avery[/name] and [name]Emerson[/name] are unisex. [name]Madison[/name], [name]Harper[/name] and [name]Ashley[/name] would make me assume the person was a girl, but I could be open-minded about them.
I like [name]Emerson[/name] more on a boy than a girl. [name]Harper[/name] I think has had the female boost because of the Beckhams, but I still wouldn’t feel bad for a boy named it, I know people with it as a surname so I think in that respect it can still be used on a boy, especially if it’s a family surname.
I’m a female [name]Ashley[/name], and I think I’ve had more grief about being an [name]Ashley[/name] than my uncle has sharing his middle name with me. Honestly, it can really go either way. [name]Both[/name] [name]Avery[/name] and [name]Bailey[/name] are on my short list for boys, and I adore [name]Emerson[/name] and [name]Harper[/name], as well. I think it takes a brave person to go for it, but [name]Harper[/name] is still on the rise for boys, despite its popularity for girls (same for [name]Avery[/name]!), and [name]Emerson[/name] is holding his own, as well. I think, honestly, it depends on the person, both the parents and the son. Honestly, if you love unisex names on boys like I do, I think it’s important to be prepared for the possibility that your son will catch some serious flack for your name choice. On the other hand, I think it’s your job (and my job!) as a lover of unisex names on boys to make sure our little boys don’t feel like we wished they were girls, or that we thought it’d be fun to give them a girls’ name. Someone gave me that advice on one of my threads, and it’s something I really appreciated. I think all kids really like to know that you love their name, but with a unisex name, where a kid is more likely to catch some flack, I think it’s important to really emphasize it, to make sure they feel special, too, and that giving them a unisex name isn’t a bad thing, but rather a good one.
But as for whether I would feel bad? Absolutely not. If I met a little boy named [name]Avery[/name], [name]Harper[/name], or [name]Emerson[/name], I’d probably run up to his parents and hug them, hahaha.
Would I feel bad for a boy who did ballet, played with dolls or wore pink? No. Sharing a name with girls won’t affect your son’s masculinity — he’ll be fine. And [name]Emerson[/name] has been consistently used for boys, unlike —say— [name]Ashley[/name] or [name]Beverley[/name] which were rare before they became popular on one genders.
Plus the “son” is popular sound among boys ([name]Hudson[/name], [name]Jakson[/name]), as is “[name]Em[/name]” ([name]Emmett[/name], [name]Emmanuel[/name], [name]Emilio[/name]) and so are many “soft” names like [name]Mason[/name], [name]Liam[/name] or [name]Ethan[/name]. He can go by [name]Emer[/name] or [name]Sonny[/name] if he likes.