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HelpRe: "Legitimate" English Unisex names?
in reply to a message by SugarPlumFairy
I think Dana might be one of those names... I'm not entirely sure because it comes from many different cultures. In Persian, the name has been used on both genders for a long time now.
All of the other names I am thinking of that aren't originally male or female are surnames. You can't really call them one or the other.
Names like Casey, Avery, Addison, ect. are equally masculine and feminine.
Also, what about Dakota? It's a place name originally, so both genders adopted it from there.
All of the other names I am thinking of that aren't originally male or female are surnames. You can't really call them one or the other.
Names like Casey, Avery, Addison, ect. are equally masculine and feminine.
Also, what about Dakota? It's a place name originally, so both genders adopted it from there.
This message was edited 2/5/2011, 9:05 PM
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Thanks for the feedback!
I edited my OP to make clear I'm excluding surnames - in any case, Avery (a form of Alfred), Addison (son of Adam) and Casey (from an old Gaelic name) all strike me as traditionally masculine names.
Dana is a good example but I'm looking for English names only - likewise, Joan is a male Catalan name but I don't consider the English name Joan unisex.
Dakota is a good suggestion, though!
I edited my OP to make clear I'm excluding surnames - in any case, Avery (a form of Alfred), Addison (son of Adam) and Casey (from an old Gaelic name) all strike me as traditionally masculine names.
Dana is a good example but I'm looking for English names only - likewise, Joan is a male Catalan name but I don't consider the English name Joan unisex.
Dakota is a good suggestion, though!
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Dana is traditionally unisex in the English language, but it is taken from a surname (which originally denoted a Danish person).
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I'm looking for legitimate first names (what you would call "Christian names"), and ignoring the English-language phenomenom of using surnames as first names.
In any way, I would argue Dana is "traditionally" unisex - surnames were used on boys because they were the ones who passed down the family names. The usage of surnames as first names for girls (rather than middle names, which has been a common pratcise for many centuries) goes back only to 20th century America.
In any way, I would argue Dana is "traditionally" unisex - surnames were used on boys because they were the ones who passed down the family names. The usage of surnames as first names for girls (rather than middle names, which has been a common pratcise for many centuries) goes back only to 20th century America.
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