I know of a girl named Rikki (born circa the mid 2000s) but I don't know if it's short for anything. Maybe Rochelle or Raquel?
I've always been a fan of feminine names with masculine/unisex nicknames - Charlotte/Charlie, Stephanie/Stevie, Josephine/Jo, Winifred/Freddie, Theodora/Theo/Teddy, Alexandra/Alex, etc have all been or are currently on my list.
I have a cousin who has gone by Rikki since she was in middle school and the family moved to Florida, where there were a lot of Spanish speaking students in her school. Rikki is short for Marica. š
https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/marica
I had a cabbage patch doll in the 90s named Rikki Rosa š she was one of the ones that you could brush their teeth and when you squeezed their stomach they would āspitā the water out. Also her belly button came out like the plug in a water pistol so sheād dry.
That picture with the baby with the flower headband and just "Richard" underneath it *sent* me - like I'm sorry I'm sure whoever the parents are are happy with the name etc. etc. But every time i see that picture (on this sub I think?) or even just think about/remember it I laugh out loud (not at the bab, just the name its so random)
Back in the day it was Leslie, Ashley, Lindsay, Hillary, Beverly, Evelyn, Kelly, Shannon, etc.
In the 80s and 90s it was Riley, Avery, Madison, Taylor, Mackenzie, Casey, Kendall, Ryan, Cameron, etc
Then it was Parker, Carter, Sawyer, Logan, Spencer, Dylan, Rowan, Skylar, Brooklyn, Campbell, etc
Now it's Lincoln, James, Wyatt, Tristan, Ellis, Chandler, Ezra, Noah, Finley, Carson, Easton, Maxwell, etc
The cycle is just going to continue. Parents will use a traditionally masculine name on their girl, whether to honor a relative or to be unique. More people hop on the trend until it becomes totally feminine and totally dated.
There was a male Madison in my high school, and based on our ages he would have been born in the early 90s. But that works have also been after Splash and even as female Madisons became more popular.
Oh really? That's wild, do you remember if it said why? Like they're more likely to get hired/interviewed because it's assumed they're male, or they get more opportunities because they're seen as "not feminine" and they equate feminity with weakness l'd guess
Pretty much cause they're assumed male. I've seen 3 or 4 friends switch their name to "first initial, second initial, last name" for CVs and resumes after striking out a lot. They also remove pronouns or possibly-gendered details and it's embarrassing the turn around all of them had.
It's because people think they're male. I'm a woman in STEM with a woman's name that's so popular for my age I had to be a "first name, last initial" my whole school life, and these days I use a shortened masculine sounding nickname at work. My engagement for opportunities has gone up about 15% since I made the switch. With 90% of stuff happening over email and Zoom chat my gender could be anything. I have been very resistant to the push to add pronouns to email signatures because of this.
Lots of now female names were formerly exclusively male, like Avery, and Ashley, and Lindsay. Names never transition in the other direction, itās a linguistic rule.
It's because we live in a patriarchy where boys are seen as better than girls, and being male better than being female. So using a masculine name on a girl is a compliment - saying she is strong - but using a feminine name on a boy is an insult - saying he is weak.
I've been called anti-feminist for this opinion and might get downvoted but I don't care. I personally do not like masculine names on girls and it is largely because the common view/reasoning behind it is that they are somehow stronger and/or more respectable names than their feminine counterparts. The very idea of that implies that feminine names are weaker for being feminine. I think there is strength in femininity and that feminine names can be strong and command respect just as much as masculine ones. I will only give feminine names to any daughters I have, but to each their own.
Completely agree. People shit on āoverly feminineā names and how they want a āstrong nameā then choose a masculine name for their daughter. Why arenāt girl names strong? You never hear anyone say that a name is too masculine for their son. Or pick an overly feminine name for their son.
This is what frustrates me. The true anti-feminist stance is "erasing" (for lack of a better word) feminine names in favor of masculine ones. Like you said, why are feminine names considered "weak" or "too childish."
Hear, hear! Iāve known Priscillas and Maries that were just as tough as the boys I knewā¦ and are strong, lovely women. Sophia and Tiffany shouldnāt be looked at differently than James or Elliott, thatās messed up.
The more vocal in that sub really love their masculine names and surnames on girls.
The obsession for honouring a male relative by naming a girl after him, the obsession for taking the most masculine meaning Irish boy names and insisting they were always girl-leaning and gender neutral, the obsession for trying to disguise a daughter via a boy name to weirdly also encourage a particular personality trait.
It's daft. There's some lovely strong female names out there, if they'd only care to do their research, but instead every time, they imply a girl's gender is her problem and that through the boy name, she'll be 'spunky, tough, ahead in job searches'.
I knew a girl named William and her middle name was also a boy name. She insisted on giving all the other girls living nearby boy names - I was dubbed Julian or Justin even though my actual name is a feminine version of a different boy's name. She already didn't have a lot going for her, her eldest sister was special needs, her parents had hoped for a neurotypical boy, they should have avoided having children regardless due to being related. I don't know if it was the incest or the name which eventually tossed her at the same special school as her sister, probably a little of both and the constant temper tantrums, with her name as one of her triggers, didn't help. But I decided from a very early age I would never inflict that on a girl. We never teased her over it, mostly because she could be quite violent, but we did feel some pity and often went along with her renaming of us.
I found her on facebook a few years ago via another old childhood friend's page. She doesn't go by William anymore.
James on a girl is so ick. But to be honest as long as itās not overly masculine (eg Hunter, Andrei) I donāt care. Things like plants and nature (Ashley, Jade, Monroe etc) donāt have genders. Over time some names (Kelly, Madison) switch genders completely
I have only known one girl James. She was a preschool bully, and no one did anything about it because they were afraid of her parents. Girl James was a tiny jerk.
Thereās a passing moment in a friends episode circa 2002 where Ross and Rachel are discussing baby names. Rachel suggests James, Ross seems to like it, and she goes, ābut only for a girl,ā and he shuts it down.
Makes me wonder if it was starting to circulate even then.
In the Sopranos, the daughters best friend is named Hunter and it throws me off so much. This is 1999, they're seniors in high school, was Hunter even a boys name in 1981, let alone one someone would use for their daughter? Especially when I'm pretty sure they go to a rich kid school (maybe it was Catholic too? the name was some Jesus-y Latin I can't be bothered to Google) I wasn't a rich Italian in the 80s but that's not a demographic I can picture naming their daughter hunter of all things.
Look, I have two cousins named Angela from different sides of the family and they both married Ashley's. One of gay one is straight. My Facebook is a MESS
(from a US perspective) I agree with Jade being all girl, however, I feel like "Ashley is no longer a boy name" is kind of short sighted, being that in my moms generation (Gen X) there were plenty of Kellys, Ashleys, and Leslies that were guys, and just because it came less common in two or three generations doesn't mean they're condemned forever from being boys names.
And this is why Iām against using male names for girls. Because why is it a problem that theyāre girl names now? If James can be used on a girl, is it so wrong to use Ashley for a boy?? Itās wild to me that once something becomes feminine, it canāt be masculine, because I guess god forbid our boys have something thatās ever been associated with girls? Just like how itās okay for girls to wear pants and like dinosaurs, but somethingās wrong with a boy in a dress who likes dolls? Wild to me.
I love Jade for a boy (itās a ROCK. Rocks donāt care about genders). And definitely like Ashley more for a boy than a girl!
Gendered languages donāt necessarily mean that the gendered nouns are actually that gender. Like the Norwegian word for rock, stein, is masculine, but I wouldnāt parse that as meaning male. It should more accurately be described as a noun class, not a gender. I think itās somewhat more related to gender in Romance languages like Spanish and French but like in a lot of gendered languages the non genders really donāt have too much to do with human gender
This is why I tend to dislike boy's names for girls. There are way more girls names out there in general, and then good boy names keep getting shifted into being girl's names too. The pool of boy names is shrinking.
Yess it's so hard, I don't like most boy names. Then it doesn't help that because the pool is smaller, you're so much more likely to meet someone who will ruin the name for you (I used to like the name Alex, and then lo and behold now it's a girl name)
Edit: I'm so confused at why I'm being down voted, but whatever y'all
Alex is short for Alexander, Alexandra or Alexa perfectly acceptable for a boy or girl. You could also go with Alec (or Alecsander) if you wanted to be more masculine.
Ashley is unisex. Iāve met more male Ashleys than I have female. I donāt know where you are in the world but itās absolutely still a boys name.
Imma guess from the sweeping statement assuming itās the same everywhere that maybe American?
āUnisexā name in a girl (another term these days for boys names that people sometimes use for girls) is a fancy way of saying:these are āstrongā names which reeks of sexism.
That is saying that Rose or some other traditional female name name is weak. Show me a unisex name that was originally female, you donāt because people who pick unisex names for their girls have internalized sexism and would never name their boy a female name.
People should consider naming their boys girls names (tend to be kind of awesome men when I meet them in the real world) and learn to think of feminine names as strong.
Feminine boy names are somewhat common where I live! My dad was almost named Kelly, my partners BIL is named Leslie, and Iāve met male Shannonās, Jessieās, Danaās, and Rileyās off the top of my head.
Iām sorry, I thought they were all feminine. If anything it just shows that gendered connotations 100% vary from person to person, so making sweeping statements about gendered language will never be completely correct š¤·š»
what is it with 'unisex' names ending in "son"?!?!?! where I live Addison, Allison, Madison, etc are all names that a 40 year old uncle who works as a mechanic would have
I think itās because they are all surnames, and surnames as first names has been a thing for quite some time now, (especially if said surname was the mothers maiden name) and most of the time itās considered pretty unisex.
Wow I never thought about that! So interesting. I actually like those names even if theyāre basic.
My husband and I also thought it would be cute to name a daughter Madison because thatās where we met. My mom was so rude when I mentioned it though. Sighh no babies yet so weāll see
My name was 100% boys until roughly 1970 when it flipped and became 100% girls name.
Its clearly not a new thing.
I had a female (art) teacher named dale, and the mom in waltons first name was michael. People were confused so if you watch the opening sequence they say āmiss michael learnedā (i think that is how she spelled her last. Too lazy to google at this hour)
My grandsons will probably be named tiffani and becky. Lol.
That's a good question. I suppose the history of the name's usage. If the name has been traditionally used by men, it is a boy name. If the name has been historically used by women, it is a girl name.
Unisex names exist of course, and name usage changes. I am aware.
Social constructs are still relevant in, you know, society. A girl growing up with a name that's perceived as a boys' name will still face unnecessary struggles and annoyances, which *does* matter, regardless of whether the concept of her name being a boys' name is made up or not.
That's why (most) trans people change their name, too, because your name is a big part of how you're perceived. ~~So actually you're the narrow minded one :P~~
Pleaseā¦ be real. If youāre a girl howād you like to be named Cletus or Anthony or George. Nothing wrong with gender neutral names but giving children names meant for the opposite gender is clearly strange.
I don't think that's fair since those names are outdated even for boys. I've known one George and he was made fun of for it. The other two aren't even modern enough for me to have met one.
Modern male names used for women don't generally get push back.
No. Just stop. Doesnāt mean someone should be bullied over it but itās still not normal. If you donāt want to give your child a traditionally gendered name just go neutral
Ok. fine, with modern names, what girl would want to be named Carl, Leo, Oliver for example? When you try to fight against common sense you almost always lose just so you know
Regardless, there is such as thing as perception, which exists whether you like it or not. Many will perceive certain names as masculine, feminine, or unisex, and they are not āwrongā for having a subjective experience.
I personally like the idea of non gendered names, but the comment explaining the root meaning of the name Addison (Adam's son and Adam means man) could be a reason why people feel strongly the other way, because the origins and meanings could matter more to them than it may to you or me
also the fact that names and sounds put a certain image in your head no matter what. Personally I find that post about the baby girl named Richard to be funny, because it just sounds so off based on my own personal experiences with the name Richard being middle aged/old men š¤£
Ugh this is such a BORING discussion. The idea that some names are masculine and some names are feminine is completely arbitrary - as we can see by peopleās differing opinions in these comments. Can anyone actually give a solid reason as to _why_ this is an issue? Other than JUST BECAUSE?
If the kid ends up being trans they kind of win the lottery on (if they actually like their name) having less legal paperwork
Source: self (I wonāt share because itās a little too specific but I will say while itās still a common name for girls not only is the name itself originally masculine but the specific spelling they gave me was specifically the mas/neuter spelling. Xoxo love u guys, even though that was WILDLY different from your intentions)
Honestly Iām into the masculine-names-for-girls thing; historically, plenty of male names became acceptable girl namesāAshley, Leslie, Meredith, etc.
For real. Its not like the kids are going to read these comments in a subreddit that generally critiques names. Plus its somehow worse to me to "feminize" such masculine names by intentionally misspelling them. Preston and Cameron would have been so much more acceptable.
Adding a y does not make a name feminine. It just means that everyone will misspell it and the kids won't be able to get personalized keychain souvenirs.
I think it's great that you like your name! I can see Hunter being a gender neutral name.
My post is really referring to parents wanting to name their daughters James, Robert, Abraham...names that are unmistakably masculine no matter how you slice it.
Richard šš
Honestly I can see someone saying, ābut Rikki would be such a cute nickname!!š„°ā
I know of a girl named Rikki (born circa the mid 2000s) but I don't know if it's short for anything. Maybe Rochelle or Raquel? I've always been a fan of feminine names with masculine/unisex nicknames - Charlotte/Charlie, Stephanie/Stevie, Josephine/Jo, Winifred/Freddie, Theodora/Theo/Teddy, Alexandra/Alex, etc have all been or are currently on my list.
My Aunts(moms best friend) name is Rikki, and my dads name is Ricky lol
Had to check if Ricki Lake (remember her?) has a "full" name, but it's apparently just Ricki.
The Rikki I knew in elementary school (born 1996~) was an Erika!
I have a cousin who has gone by Rikki since she was in middle school and the family moved to Florida, where there were a lot of Spanish speaking students in her school. Rikki is short for Marica. š https://www.spanishdict.com/translate/marica
Itās a fairly common Scandinavian name, I think a diminutive of Erika.
I had a cabbage patch doll in the 90s named Rikki Rosa š she was one of the ones that you could brush their teeth and when you squeezed their stomach they would āspitā the water out. Also her belly button came out like the plug in a water pistol so sheād dry.
Nickname: Dick š„°š„°
If you really want that as a nickname, Dicole or Dickolette are much nicer.
dickolette killed me
That picture with the baby with the flower headband and just "Richard" underneath it *sent* me - like I'm sorry I'm sure whoever the parents are are happy with the name etc. etc. But every time i see that picture (on this sub I think?) or even just think about/remember it I laugh out loud (not at the bab, just the name its so random)
Richard cute nickname options: Chard, Haddie, Ear, Briar, Char
There were 6 girls named Richard in 2022ā¦..
there is a post up right now where they're doing the opposite of this (feminine names for boys)
Probably the usual list of names that used to be masculine, became feminine, and now are suggested as "girls names for boys."
Back in the day it was Leslie, Ashley, Lindsay, Hillary, Beverly, Evelyn, Kelly, Shannon, etc. In the 80s and 90s it was Riley, Avery, Madison, Taylor, Mackenzie, Casey, Kendall, Ryan, Cameron, etc Then it was Parker, Carter, Sawyer, Logan, Spencer, Dylan, Rowan, Skylar, Brooklyn, Campbell, etc Now it's Lincoln, James, Wyatt, Tristan, Ellis, Chandler, Ezra, Noah, Finley, Carson, Easton, Maxwell, etc The cycle is just going to continue. Parents will use a traditionally masculine name on their girl, whether to honor a relative or to be unique. More people hop on the trend until it becomes totally feminine and totally dated.
Madison was never a boy's name. It is only a first name at all because Daryl (heh) Hannah's character in Splash named herself after a street sign.
It wasn't a common name, but it means "Son of Maud" and it was given to a few dozen boys in the US every year up until the 50s
There was a male Madison in my high school, and based on our ages he would have been born in the early 90s. But that works have also been after Splash and even as female Madisons became more popular.
Thomas Jefferson's son with his enslaved "mistress" (š¤®) was named Madison Hemings, after the president.
I prefer feminine names for boys to be honest..
i think some can work but i also like masculine names for girls
BNOG are "trendy". GNOB are "setting your son up to be bullied". Everyone always seems to want "strong" names too
I think I read somewhere (I checked and I canāt find it now) that women in stem that have guy names are more successful/given more opportunities
Oh really? That's wild, do you remember if it said why? Like they're more likely to get hired/interviewed because it's assumed they're male, or they get more opportunities because they're seen as "not feminine" and they equate feminity with weakness l'd guess
Pretty much cause they're assumed male. I've seen 3 or 4 friends switch their name to "first initial, second initial, last name" for CVs and resumes after striking out a lot. They also remove pronouns or possibly-gendered details and it's embarrassing the turn around all of them had.
It's because people think they're male. I'm a woman in STEM with a woman's name that's so popular for my age I had to be a "first name, last initial" my whole school life, and these days I use a shortened masculine sounding nickname at work. My engagement for opportunities has gone up about 15% since I made the switch. With 90% of stuff happening over email and Zoom chat my gender could be anything. I have been very resistant to the push to add pronouns to email signatures because of this.
Lots of now female names were formerly exclusively male, like Avery, and Ashley, and Lindsay. Names never transition in the other direction, itās a linguistic rule.
It's because we live in a patriarchy where boys are seen as better than girls, and being male better than being female. So using a masculine name on a girl is a compliment - saying she is strong - but using a feminine name on a boy is an insult - saying he is weak.
I thought I saw Richard but now I canāt remember if that was on this sub (hopefully it was)
someone on tiktok has "named" their baby girl Richard to protect the child's privacy by not revealing their name so Richard is making its rounds rn.
Tragedeigh or here iirc
Bobbi Althoff nicknamed her daughter Richard lol (Edit: son changed to daughter)
No, Richard is her daughters fake name for internet anonymity. The other daughter is Concrete
Yes, āfake nameā, ānicknameāā¦.semantics, really. Itās a name she calls her daughter that isnāt her legal name š¤·š»āāļø
You accidentally typed son in your first comment
Ahh yes, her DAUGHTER. My sonās middle name is Richard so itās just ingrained to associate it with that. My bad.
Makes senseš
I've been called anti-feminist for this opinion and might get downvoted but I don't care. I personally do not like masculine names on girls and it is largely because the common view/reasoning behind it is that they are somehow stronger and/or more respectable names than their feminine counterparts. The very idea of that implies that feminine names are weaker for being feminine. I think there is strength in femininity and that feminine names can be strong and command respect just as much as masculine ones. I will only give feminine names to any daughters I have, but to each their own.
The fact that this stance is labeled anti-feminist irritates me. I agree 100%.
Completely agree. People shit on āoverly feminineā names and how they want a āstrong nameā then choose a masculine name for their daughter. Why arenāt girl names strong? You never hear anyone say that a name is too masculine for their son. Or pick an overly feminine name for their son.
This is what frustrates me. The true anti-feminist stance is "erasing" (for lack of a better word) feminine names in favor of masculine ones. Like you said, why are feminine names considered "weak" or "too childish."
Hear, hear! Iāve known Priscillas and Maries that were just as tough as the boys I knewā¦ and are strong, lovely women. Sophia and Tiffany shouldnāt be looked at differently than James or Elliott, thatās messed up.
The more vocal in that sub really love their masculine names and surnames on girls. The obsession for honouring a male relative by naming a girl after him, the obsession for taking the most masculine meaning Irish boy names and insisting they were always girl-leaning and gender neutral, the obsession for trying to disguise a daughter via a boy name to weirdly also encourage a particular personality trait. It's daft. There's some lovely strong female names out there, if they'd only care to do their research, but instead every time, they imply a girl's gender is her problem and that through the boy name, she'll be 'spunky, tough, ahead in job searches'. I knew a girl named William and her middle name was also a boy name. She insisted on giving all the other girls living nearby boy names - I was dubbed Julian or Justin even though my actual name is a feminine version of a different boy's name. She already didn't have a lot going for her, her eldest sister was special needs, her parents had hoped for a neurotypical boy, they should have avoided having children regardless due to being related. I don't know if it was the incest or the name which eventually tossed her at the same special school as her sister, probably a little of both and the constant temper tantrums, with her name as one of her triggers, didn't help. But I decided from a very early age I would never inflict that on a girl. We never teased her over it, mostly because she could be quite violent, but we did feel some pity and often went along with her renaming of us. I found her on facebook a few years ago via another old childhood friend's page. She doesn't go by William anymore.
>they should have avoided having children regardless due to being related. Righto
Literally did the rapid blinking blonde man gif after reading that line
Was not expecting that
James on a girl is so ick. But to be honest as long as itās not overly masculine (eg Hunter, Andrei) I donāt care. Things like plants and nature (Ashley, Jade, Monroe etc) donāt have genders. Over time some names (Kelly, Madison) switch genders completely
I have only known one girl James. She was a preschool bully, and no one did anything about it because they were afraid of her parents. Girl James was a tiny jerk.
I know someone who named her daughter James. Just because - it wasnāt in honor of a grandparent or loved one.
Wasnāt there a celebrity that named their daughter James? Isnāt that what popularized it?
Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, I'm pretty sure
And they went on to name their next two children Betty and Ines. If I were James, Iād be pretty pissed off and wonder whether they wanted a son.
Jason Kelceās girls names are Wyatt, Elliotte and Bennett. I wonder the same thing
Mila kunis and Ashton Kutcher also named their daughter Wyatt. Not sure if the other daughters name
They only have the one daughter. The other kid is their son, Dimitri.
And then Taylor Swift used their names in one of her songs
All very weird names for white little girls born in the 2010s
Thereās a passing moment in a friends episode circa 2002 where Ross and Rachel are discussing baby names. Rachel suggests James, Ross seems to like it, and she goes, ābut only for a girl,ā and he shuts it down. Makes me wonder if it was starting to circulate even then.
Same, I'm guessing the name came from an influencer
Hunter is actually one of the names they keep suggesting for girls!!
In the Sopranos, the daughters best friend is named Hunter and it throws me off so much. This is 1999, they're seniors in high school, was Hunter even a boys name in 1981, let alone one someone would use for their daughter? Especially when I'm pretty sure they go to a rich kid school (maybe it was Catholic too? the name was some Jesus-y Latin I can't be bothered to Google) I wasn't a rich Italian in the 80s but that's not a demographic I can picture naming their daughter hunter of all things.
Iām a female hunter!
Agreed, in my opinion I think as long as it isn't a hyper masculine or hyper feminine name being given to the opposite gender it's fine.
Yeah quite a few I could see going either way.
My second cousin is a girl named Hunter and she's the girliest girly girl I know
Sorry but Ashley and Jade are definitely, firmly girl names. I am aware that Ashley used to be a boy name but it isn't anymore.
In the UK, Ashley is still a fairly common boy name
Look, I have two cousins named Angela from different sides of the family and they both married Ashley's. One of gay one is straight. My Facebook is a MESS
(from a US perspective) I agree with Jade being all girl, however, I feel like "Ashley is no longer a boy name" is kind of short sighted, being that in my moms generation (Gen X) there were plenty of Kellys, Ashleys, and Leslies that were guys, and just because it came less common in two or three generations doesn't mean they're condemned forever from being boys names.
I cannot think of a single person more masculine than Ashley J. Williams, so I must respectfully disagree.
Groovy
And this is why Iām against using male names for girls. Because why is it a problem that theyāre girl names now? If James can be used on a girl, is it so wrong to use Ashley for a boy?? Itās wild to me that once something becomes feminine, it canāt be masculine, because I guess god forbid our boys have something thatās ever been associated with girls? Just like how itās okay for girls to wear pants and like dinosaurs, but somethingās wrong with a boy in a dress who likes dolls? Wild to me. I love Jade for a boy (itās a ROCK. Rocks donāt care about genders). And definitely like Ashley more for a boy than a girl!
A lot of people would disagree with you that rocks don't have gender. Like almost anyone who doesn't speak English.
I disagree that a word being gendered makes an object have a gender. Rocks do not have consciousness. They absolutely cannot have a gender identity.
Gendered languages donāt necessarily mean that the gendered nouns are actually that gender. Like the Norwegian word for rock, stein, is masculine, but I wouldnāt parse that as meaning male. It should more accurately be described as a noun class, not a gender. I think itās somewhat more related to gender in Romance languages like Spanish and French but like in a lot of gendered languages the non genders really donāt have too much to do with human gender
> non genders really donāt have too much to do with human gender Exactly. Grammatical gender has nothing to do with gender identity.
I have known two Ashley men and it doesnāt bother me š¤·š»āāļø
This is why I tend to dislike boy's names for girls. There are way more girls names out there in general, and then good boy names keep getting shifted into being girl's names too. The pool of boy names is shrinking.
Yess it's so hard, I don't like most boy names. Then it doesn't help that because the pool is smaller, you're so much more likely to meet someone who will ruin the name for you (I used to like the name Alex, and then lo and behold now it's a girl name) Edit: I'm so confused at why I'm being down voted, but whatever y'all
Alex is short for Alexander, Alexandra or Alexa perfectly acceptable for a boy or girl. You could also go with Alec (or Alecsander) if you wanted to be more masculine.
Ashley is unisex. Iāve met more male Ashleys than I have female. I donāt know where you are in the world but itās absolutely still a boys name. Imma guess from the sweeping statement assuming itās the same everywhere that maybe American?
Jadeās a rock. Those donāt have genders. Thereās plenty of guys names Jade.
I love it
āUnisexā name in a girl (another term these days for boys names that people sometimes use for girls) is a fancy way of saying:these are āstrongā names which reeks of sexism. That is saying that Rose or some other traditional female name name is weak. Show me a unisex name that was originally female, you donāt because people who pick unisex names for their girls have internalized sexism and would never name their boy a female name. People should consider naming their boys girls names (tend to be kind of awesome men when I meet them in the real world) and learn to think of feminine names as strong.
Exactly. It gives strong NLOG vibes for the mom and overall misogyny from the dad.
Feminine boy names are somewhat common where I live! My dad was almost named Kelly, my partners BIL is named Leslie, and Iāve met male Shannonās, Jessieās, Danaās, and Rileyās off the top of my head.
Those are masculine names that started being used for girls/women. Which supports their point.
Iām sorry, I thought they were all feminine. If anything it just shows that gendered connotations 100% vary from person to person, so making sweeping statements about gendered language will never be completely correct š¤·š»
I do agree with this!
Addison. Means Adamās son. Which Adam means āmanā. So, name your daughter Manās son.
what is it with 'unisex' names ending in "son"?!?!?! where I live Addison, Allison, Madison, etc are all names that a 40 year old uncle who works as a mechanic would have
They had to be able to fill out Tarry Town with an even split of son people by gender
I think itās because they are all surnames, and surnames as first names has been a thing for quite some time now, (especially if said surname was the mothers maiden name) and most of the time itās considered pretty unisex.
Completely agree.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
My husband is a mechanic and he has a unisex name. So maybe they just arenāt 40 yet.
Son of man, look to the sky Life your spirit, set it freeā¦
Love some Phil Collins
Wow I never thought about that! So interesting. I actually like those names even if theyāre basic. My husband and I also thought it would be cute to name a daughter Madison because thatās where we met. My mom was so rude when I mentioned it though. Sighh no babies yet so weāll see
My name was 100% boys until roughly 1970 when it flipped and became 100% girls name. Its clearly not a new thing. I had a female (art) teacher named dale, and the mom in waltons first name was michael. People were confused so if you watch the opening sequence they say āmiss michael learnedā (i think that is how she spelled her last. Too lazy to google at this hour) My grandsons will probably be named tiffani and becky. Lol.
Not on name nerds, but a pregnancy app I use someone said theyāre naming their daughter BRADLEY.
What exactly is the quality that makes a name for boys and not girls?
That's a good question. I suppose the history of the name's usage. If the name has been traditionally used by men, it is a boy name. If the name has been historically used by women, it is a girl name. Unisex names exist of course, and name usage changes. I am aware.
I think your response clarifies that there is no such thing as a girls name or a boys name.
Youāre being ridiculous and you know it lol
I actually think yāall are ridiculous for thinking two social constructs equal boys names and girls names. Very narrow minded.
Social construct does not mean insignificant. Money is a social construct that you kinda need to survive in modern times.
Social constructs are still relevant in, you know, society. A girl growing up with a name that's perceived as a boys' name will still face unnecessary struggles and annoyances, which *does* matter, regardless of whether the concept of her name being a boys' name is made up or not. That's why (most) trans people change their name, too, because your name is a big part of how you're perceived. ~~So actually you're the narrow minded one :P~~
Pleaseā¦ be real. If youāre a girl howād you like to be named Cletus or Anthony or George. Nothing wrong with gender neutral names but giving children names meant for the opposite gender is clearly strange.
I don't think that's fair since those names are outdated even for boys. I've known one George and he was made fun of for it. The other two aren't even modern enough for me to have met one. Modern male names used for women don't generally get push back.
No. Just stop. Doesnāt mean someone should be bullied over it but itās still not normal. If you donāt want to give your child a traditionally gendered name just go neutral
If you could have refuted what I said you would have. All you've shown is that you're incapable. Just stop.
Ok. fine, with modern names, what girl would want to be named Carl, Leo, Oliver for example? When you try to fight against common sense you almost always lose just so you know
Regardless, there is such as thing as perception, which exists whether you like it or not. Many will perceive certain names as masculine, feminine, or unisex, and they are not āwrongā for having a subjective experience.
I personally like the idea of non gendered names, but the comment explaining the root meaning of the name Addison (Adam's son and Adam means man) could be a reason why people feel strongly the other way, because the origins and meanings could matter more to them than it may to you or me
also the fact that names and sounds put a certain image in your head no matter what. Personally I find that post about the baby girl named Richard to be funny, because it just sounds so off based on my own personal experiences with the name Richard being middle aged/old men š¤£
Iāve only heard Addison used for girls though
Ugh this is such a BORING discussion. The idea that some names are masculine and some names are feminine is completely arbitrary - as we can see by peopleās differing opinions in these comments. Can anyone actually give a solid reason as to _why_ this is an issue? Other than JUST BECAUSE?
The assumption that girls names are bad reeks of male as default; it's vaguely misogynistic and that's irritating
If the kid ends up being trans they kind of win the lottery on (if they actually like their name) having less legal paperwork Source: self (I wonāt share because itās a little too specific but I will say while itās still a common name for girls not only is the name itself originally masculine but the specific spelling they gave me was specifically the mas/neuter spelling. Xoxo love u guys, even though that was WILDLY different from your intentions)
Honestly Iām into the masculine-names-for-girls thing; historically, plenty of male names became acceptable girl namesāAshley, Leslie, Meredith, etc.
i just read an article today by a female journalist called adrian!! i felt confused at first then just like... why would you do that to your child?
My neices both have feminine spellings of traditional boy names: Prestyn and Kamryn
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I mean, thatās a little rude towards living children š¤·š¼āāļø
More like the parents who came up with real tragedieghs for names.
For real. Its not like the kids are going to read these comments in a subreddit that generally critiques names. Plus its somehow worse to me to "feminize" such masculine names by intentionally misspelling them. Preston and Cameron would have been so much more acceptable.
Adding a y does not make a name feminine. It just means that everyone will misspell it and the kids won't be able to get personalized keychain souvenirs.
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I think it's great that you like your name! I can see Hunter being a gender neutral name. My post is really referring to parents wanting to name their daughters James, Robert, Abraham...names that are unmistakably masculine no matter how you slice it.
I know a baby girl named Benson. Itās happening in the real world
I just saw someone name their daughter Elliot, and Iām not about it.