Why can't names be unisex?

I have seen loads of people on here get upset because someone named their daughter Jordan or they named their daughter Aubrey. People get upset because of the whole feminine names and masculine names. Why does everything have to be feminine and masculine. Why can't it be unisex??


I am from the United States of America and maybe that has to do with my opinion on feminine and masculine... idk.

Why can't names be unisex?
Well Johnny Cash did a very funny song "A Boy Named Sue" about a man named Sue and he had to grow up fighting everyone and it sure made him tough: but he still hated the name.





A girly name for a boy would definatley be harder that a boyish name for a girl: it's just the way society is.





And remember "Pat" from SNL where everyone was trying to figure out his/her gender but never could? That was funny.





But words change (100 years ago, telling someone they 'smell' for instance wasn't an insult, but the words connotations changed, and then was a time where 'gay' simply meant cheerful). And I think the name thing is changing too. And as any sort of change, some are going to embrace it and others are not. I kind of like the unisex name trend myself, a lot of them are strong, smart, and urbane.





The kids I feel sorry for are the ones with long, unpronounceable names, that were just made up. Names that you can't even begin to figure out by looking at them and sounding them out, for instance. I asked one guy I knew what his daughter's name was, and he got a piece of paper and wrote out this looooong name that didn't make any sense (and he's American, so it's not an ethnic thing) and had to break the name down into three different parts (for just the first name) to even begin to understand it. They just made it up by stringing all sorts of letters together into a weird pattern.





He and his girlfriend thought it was 'cute'. I wonder if in twenty years their daughter will. (I thought name your dog that, but not a person!)





And you can have a long name that you can figure out, for example: Condoleeza. Okay, unusual, but just looking at it I can pronounce it, so that's cool. The kids I'm talking about are people that are going to have to spend a big part of their lives explaining their names and teaching everyone how to pronounce it. Oh well, I guess that's what nicknames are for!
Reply:Some unisex names have been around for quite a long time, but not all would be appreciated by their owners. Johnny Cash did a song called "A Boy named Sue" and I have to agree with his viewpoint. Certain names just don't cut it when applied to the opposit sex. A girl named Mike, ok, Clyde wouldn't make it. As for boys, I knew a guy named Mallory when I was a kid and he had no problems with it, but don't think he would have enjoyed the name Kathy.
Reply:Because do you know how much grief a child will go through always being mistaken for a boy, just because her parents gave her a masculine boy's name?





And do you even know the definition of the word unisex?





Unisex (noun): Not distinguishing between male and female; undifferentiated as to sex.





A masculine name is distinguishing a gender, it's male. Just like a feminine name is distinguishing a gender, it's female.





They can't be unisex. They won't ever be unisex.
Reply:The problem I have with the unisex trend is anything ending in a "-son" denotes masculinity. Addison, Emerson... In the long run, I think its tough on boys if they have a name that is unisex or transitioning into become more of a girls name, like Shanon or Carol. I think society judges them harsher.
Reply:I agree with you. Most "feminine" names started out as names for males anyways. People just have their opinions, don't worry about it. If you decide to name your child something that others don't like, they can get over it.
Reply:Can you imagine this on wedding invitations?





You are cordially invited to the wedding of


Spencer Lee Thomas and


Logan Ray Samuel.











By the way, Aubrey is a masculine name. It's my name and my namesake's name, my grandfather. =)
Reply:Certain names are, such as you mentioned, Jordan, Taylor is another and some names just don't work for both. Like Joseph, or Benjamin. I think it's mostly just culture.
Reply:I dont know. I'm a girl and my names Jordan, and I think it's a unisex name. Everyone thinks there is just a black area and white area but what about the gray area?
Reply:Well my name is Tiger, that can be either Male or Female.





But I guess some just kind of sound weird, think of a guy being called Jessica or Katie?


Or a girl being named John.
Reply:i think is not all names that are feminine and masculine , there's some names that are unisex .
Reply:I'm not offended. I like unisex names. I guess you've just been running into the wrong people.
Reply:Imagine how difficult it would be to find a boyfriend too. Which bloke would want to go to a party and say "let me introduce my wife, Harold!!"
Reply:There are many unisex names. Tracy, Shannon, Kelly, etc..
Reply:Im not sure why but too me it cute cause it gives the child there own uniqueness! Besides parents have there own taste and should name there child what they want with out being judged!
Reply:I know! Names like


Spencer


Parker


Avery


Tyler


are perfectly suitable for a boy or a girl
Reply:Name your daughter Steven, Jason or William and see how she likes it
Reply:there are lots of unisex names.
Reply:It's no big deal to me.
Reply:Why?





Because some people don't live in the real world, that's why.





Sticking your fingers in your ears and whinging won't change the fact that 99% of people have no problems with the names Aubrey or Jordan on girls, and that most people think Aubrey is a girl's name (notice how it's very popular for girls but isn't used on boys now?) and that normal people accept that names like Jordan, Devin, Casey, Riley are unisex names good for either gender.





Names that are based on last names like Jordan, Devin, Casey, Riley are unisex because they have no set gender, but names like Jacob, Sarah, Matthew etc have set genders because they have been used on one gender for thousands of years.





I doubt girls named Jordan or Aubrey will get any grief about being mistaken for boys. Actually, I expect it would be more likely to be the other way. Girls named boy's names like Benjamin or Charles might have some problems perhaps, but not with *unisex* names like Aubrey or Jordan.
Reply:I love the name Whitney. It is a boy's name, or sometimes(more often really) a boy name on a girl. Because a bunch of people put it on the wrong gender, I have been told that my son will end up a wimp if I use that name. I don't want my son being teased just because of a name that *I* wanted, so I've pretty much decided to give it up. :( (The trend eventually ruins ALL boys names used under it. Now pretty much no one can name their son Madison, even though it means, "SON of Maude/Matthew.")





Also, what gets me most of all is that this whole "boy names on girls" works under the presumption that only masculinity makes us strong. But we can be strong and still be women/feminine, am I right?
Reply:i completely agree with you, nowadays most names are unisex, ashley, tristan, ryan, aubrey, blake, jordan, devin, avery... i love names that could be for both sexes, i think there more unique and powerful... i kno male %26amp; female ashleys, ryans, aubreys , jordans, devins and blakes...


people who get mad, just cant think for themselves when it comes who originality, they think that since a name is predominately a male name that a female cant have the name which is clearly not the case. you have a really valid point, and a lot of people have been posting questions going against females with male names and vice versa.

night jasmine