What do you think of unisex names in general?

I love some of them- but do you notice that when a name is good for both a boy and girl , the girl's name eventually takes over? For example, these names used to be common boys' names:





Marion (John Wayne's real name)


Kimberley


Leslie (have a guy friend called leslie)


Beverley (My father in law's name)


Courtney (my nephew's name)





Other names, like Jordan, Taylor, etc., have taken off for girls. In fact, sometimes I'd more associate those names with a girl than with a boy (although they remain great boys' names.)





But people are naming their girls Tyson, Ryan and Tyler, Rowan, Rory, Riley, and Dawson etc! Not that that's a bad thing. But it's hard to tell which boy's name is going to take off for a girl's name. And in 20 or 30 years, are these names that WERE used for BOYS going to sound girly?





What do you think of unisex names or primarily boy names that are used for girls? Would you be scared to name your boy a unisex name? Let me know what you think, I'm curious.

What do you think of unisex names in general?
I love unisex names. Except for alex...i only like it on a girl. same with Ashlee. And peter i don't like that name at all!


But i love the name Taylor for a boy and Ryann for a girl. I like girls names on boys and boys names on girls. Like names that could go well for a boy or girl... (not like Natalie for a guy or Steven for a girl). But yeah i think unisex names are cute. It makes it more unique and not so typical and mundane. It can make a common name like Ryan for a guy be more special on a girl because you don't ever really hear it for a girl.
Reply:Riley is used a lot as girls name as is Logan ( my sons name).


Id be scared to name my son with a girlie name although since i named my son Logan ( thinking it was quite a butch name) ive heard more little girls being called it than boys!
Reply:Unisex names I like:


for girls


Courtney


Jordan


Darcy


Charly


for boys


Taylor


Mason


Ryan


Shayne
Reply:I like unisexed names.


Both my Kids have one.


My daughter is Jordyn, son is Riley.


It will be my mission to find another I like if I have another baby
Reply:My husband has a guy friend named Ashley. He is no where near the stereotype. I think it can confuse people if they don't already know if someone is male or female.
Reply:i like the idea of unisex names.





it stops sexist views of a name (and sometimes they just suit a baby whatever sex they are)
Reply:Hate them. Every time i hear a mother call her kid by these names i say "ugh" in my head.
Reply:i like there unique i no a boy named casey and a boy named kim
Reply:I think it matters much less than it did twenty or forty years ago.





While you're right that some names seem to become feminine choices and remain in the girls' camp, I think that's less likely to be the case in the future. Boys' names have become softer over time - think Elijah and Noah instead of Bill and Bob. And more names appear to be remaining truly unisex choices - Peyton and Jordan, for example, as well as Riley and Bailey.





My son's name is Alexei - as far as I'm concerned, it's not unisex. (Watched any ice hockey lately?) But it is a more feminine sound than might've been normal for a boy born in the 60s or 70s.





Frankly, I don't think it's terribly imaginative to choose a name like Ryan for your daughter when there are such great frills-free choices out there: Ailis, Honor, Lyric, Ivy, Carys, Briar.
Reply:I adore them- more girl names for boys than boy names for girls, though. I wouldn't be scared to name my child a unisex name. Maybe if it was a boy, but not at all for a girl. And as for names that are primarily boy names, like Frederick or Thomas, no I don't like that. But I like Cooper, Ellis, Camden, etc. for girls more than for boys. To me, Rowan and Rory sound like girl names, but Tyson, Ryan, Tyler, Riley, and Dawson don't at all.
Reply:I'm afraid that I have a very low opinion of people who give their children unisex names. It says a lot about the parents. for starters that they like to think of themselves as being unique and creative when they are really just after the superficial trappings of these things. It's like when a white celebrity calls their child Shambequa or some other pseudo African sounding name.





However, I don't consider most of the names that you mentioned to be unisex.





Marion is a country in Oregan


Kimberley is a girls' name


Beverley is a girls' name


Courtney is a girls' name





No offense to your friends and family, but people who call their children any of these names when they are the opposite gender are a bit strange in my opinion.





In Brazil there is a law about calling your children sexually ambiguous names, and in Japan the government can force parents to choose a name from a book of legal children's names.