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Aubrey?
I have always thought of Aubrey as a feminine name, but discovered it was originally masculine! I think it is a beautiful name for a female. I am not into unisex names (although I realize there are people out there who will make ANY name unisex). What are your opinions on this name?
Is it more fem. or masc. to you?
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I've only ever met females named Aubrey, but I think I like it better for a boy.
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But I would never use this for my offspring.
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I posted about this yesterdayI agree :) I really like this name on a girl. But then finding out it is originally for a boy I thought it was cute for a boy as well. So I guess I like it on both genders.
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My DH loves the name Aubrey for a girl. If we'd had a girl, she probably would have been named Aubrey. It's very cute and modern, and shortens to Bree. I don't really see Aubrey as a unisex name, because the usage in the US is overwhelmingly female, and it's getting even more popular. I think it's a name that will end up in the same category of names like Ashley or Courtney, that were formerally male names that now are predominately female. I wouldn't hesitate to name a daughter Aubrey for fear the name would ever go back to the boys. I just don't see the appeal of Aubrey for a boy. It's such a soft name. I can't picture a boy named Aubrey, at least in the States, that wasn't some pretentious prep school kid.
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I prefer it as a male name, but it has sadly slipped over into the unisex soon to be totally girl catagory if opinions of my freinds and family are anything to go by
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It sounds feminine to me but I would go with tradition so I vote BOY!
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I like it for either sexI personally think Aubrey sounds pretty on a girl but it also makes a handsome name for a boy. I like it and would use it for either sex; when I hear/see the name, I don't label it as feminine or masculine.

This message was edited 4/10/2007, 2:20 PM

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Masculine, but I dislike it
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MasculineI suppose I can here the femininity of Aubrey, but it's all male to me.
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Definitely masculineI've grown up knowing Aubrey was a male name. So I can't understand how it sounds feminine at all. Aubrey Beardsley was a very famous (male) artist / illustrator at the turn of the 20th century: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey_BeardsleyC. Aubrey Smith, as an old man, was in just about every old Holloywood classic. If you've seen Hitchcock's "Rebecca," he played Col. Julyan, the kindly old police inspector who sympathises with Maxim de Winter at the inquest. http://www.imbd.com/name/nm08075801 If you know who this mustachioed actor with big, bushy eyebrows is, you could never in a million years describe him as feminine.Aubrey is derived from Alberic, a very masculine name. I just don't understand how it can be feminine. Auburn hair, perhaps? But men have auburn hair too. Can anyone explain where this idea comes from?
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from btn "Originally a masculine name, since the mid-1970s this has more frequently been given to girls."
Many of us were not around before the mid 1970s and certainly not at the turn of the 20th centry to witness one of two famous male Aubreys. Several of us have girlfriends or aquaintances that are Aubrey. Some seem to know a modern male Aubrey, but if you don't, the sound of the name is much more similar to Audrey than to Alberic. The -ey ending in general is mostly used with feminine names these days anyway.
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It sounds more feminine to me.Or at least, I'm more used to it being feminine. There are names that are unisex that I like more for boys--Shannon and Kelly being the two at the top of the list--but even so, when I say them aloud they still strike me at first as being girl names, likely because I'm so used to them as such. So yeah, bottom line, my first impression of Aubrey is that it's female, but I'd accept it just as easily if I met a male Aubrey. It's not my favorite for either sex but it's not bad, either. Not exactly my cup of tea, but still respectable.

This message was edited 4/10/2007, 12:42 PM

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FeminineI know it's supposedly male, but I've only seen it on girls and I've only heard of it on girls. Plus it sounds so similar to Audrey, which I think most consider pretty feminine.I don't like it for a girl or boy, because I don't like the sound of it. Audrey is much more attractive imo.
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Totally masculineAnd I love it.
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I went to school with an Aubrey so it's all girl to me
we also have a new baby girl to our family DH side named Aubery
So All Girl to me
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Aubrey is masculine.It's an ok name. I don't think I'd use it.
I love Audrey for a girl though. It reminds me of Audrey Hepburn.
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Boy name 100%
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I agree.
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Absolutely.
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I definitely think of it as feminine, but I don't like it very much. It could work on the right girl, but I just can't imagine on a boy.
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I knew a boy named Aubrey when I was little... and he definitely was impish, so I guess it fits. :) Personally it isn't my favorite for either... but I like really feminine names.I would say more masculine, that is only because of previously stated connotations.
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