View Message

This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

Re: Evan (girl)
in reply to a message by Lily
I'm voting against Evan on a girl, sorry.How are parents of little boys supposed to pick a name for their newborn if every traditional male name gets turned into a female one in ten years time? OK, that's an overstatement. But sometimes it feels like that, like a slippery slope. I'm not here to say every single name that has been traditionally male *has* to stay that way. But there has to be some limits, right? If it were a two-way street I might not mind so much. But it only ever seems to be male names that get poached.Why not turn your sights to Bevan instead? That's traditionally male, but I could see it "turning" female smoothly, without as many repercussions for parents of little boys. I thought it was feminine, to be honest. I was all proud of myself with the combination Eleanor Bevan. Then I saw it was male. (gasp! hypocrite alert!) OK, how about this? I'll give you Evan for a dd if you promise to name a ds Aubrey, Kendall, Avery, Emery, Nikita, Alexis, Kelly, Ashley or Ainsley? Deal? :-D
Archived Thread - replies disabled
vote up1

Replies

It's weird but I've never met any female Avery's but I've met two or three male Avery's. I've always preferred Avery for a boy and I think many woman agree with me even if not the majority.I've only met one Emery before and it was a boy.I personally disagree with the idea that only one gender can own a name. I think that might have once been true but these names a name no longer becomes unusable for boys because it has become popular for girls. I think unisex names are currently popular because of the fact that they are used by both genders. I think boys names on girls are popular because people want to have a girl with a boys name because they feel that it sounds cool. I don't think that Evan will become a girls name just because of a few female Evan's or even a ton of female Evan's.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This message was edited 5/24/2012, 3:45 PM

vote up1
This 100%
vote up1
Bevin / Beibhinn is a girl's name - maybe Eleanor Bevin instead? ;)
vote up1
Saved!Eleanor Bevin it is. Thank you! :-D
vote up1
No deal :P I name my child what I want and I really don't care about anyone else when it comes to naming. I mean of course I care about my child and my husband when it comes to choosing a name but certainly not about some random parents struggling to name their little boys.Also I think you can't steal a name. No one is forbidding anyone to use Evan on a boy. Or Ashley, Aubrey, Emery etc In my opinion there's a good reason for why Aubrey isn't used on boys these days. I mean it was hardly used for the past 100 years (on boys) so I don't think it counts as stealing. If Aubrey is such a great name for a boy, how come no one uses it?Hmmm Bevan sounds a little unattractive to my ears. I also once knew a guy named Bevin so maybe that's why. I didn't really like him :P Eleanor Bevan is kind of cool, though. Unexpected middle name, I like that!I think it's perfectly fine if parents still name their sons Whitney today. In fact I know a male Whitney and it fits him.As for feminine names on guys...Richard Gere's middle name is Tiffany! How about that :P Also Gale in the Hunger Games. I guess Gale could even enter the top 1000 for guys. Oh and Christian and Julian were common girls names in the middle ages or so I heard. I know that more boys names are being used on girls than girls names on guys. But I think it's often for a reason. These names are usually avoided for boys for decades before becoming popular on girls. When you look at Aubrey or Emery or most of the other names (Evan is an exception) they are usually not used at all on boys for a long time and then chosen for the other gender. I think people might have noticed that they are not very masculine sounding and only when people were getting more creative they dared to use them on girls even though they were originally boys names.
vote up1
If Aubrey is such a great name for a boy, how come no one uses it?
142 parents of boys born in 2011 say ":(" while pointing frantically to their little Aubreys.(plus 143 born in 2010, another 143 in 2009, and 135 in 2008... It's getting used, just not all at once. Look, over 500 boys under 4 years old)(only 99 girls called Evan in 2011 though-- Aubrey for a boy is more common than Evan for a girl :P)

This message was edited 5/21/2012, 2:19 PM

vote up1
hahaha I apologize to the 142 Aubreys and their parents :P Uhm 500 Aubreys. Still didn't even make the top 1000 while Aubrey is #20 for girls. I guess the majority thinks it's extremely feminine sounding.
vote up1
Still didn't even make the top 1000 while Aubrey is #20 for girls. I guess the majority thinks it's extremely feminine sounding.;) The same applies for Evan. Did not make the top 1000 while Evan is #40 for boys. The majority thinks it's extremely masculine sounding.
(And to be fair, Aubrey is only 50 babies away from making the top 1000. Evan needs 150 extra babies to make it).

This message was edited 5/21/2012, 3:15 PM

vote up1
Oh, I'm aware! I just disagree. Same with Noah, I also think that's one of the most feminine sounding names to ever have been used on a boy.I really don't care how far Aubrey is away from the top 1000 for boys, I doubt it will ever make it again :P Sorry, I just think the number of boys named Aubrey will decline when it enters the top 10 for girls which I could see happening in the next 5 years. Looking at how Mason has climbed probably even this/next year.
vote up1
I think your logic might be flawed a little. Maybe?Mason made the top 10 this year, and Mason for girls went UP (a little bit).So why would Aubrey being in the top 10 push boy Aubreys down?
oh right because this isn't a two way street.
FWIW, Aubrey won't make the top 10 next year, at least not by my guess (using the same math I used to predict Mason at #2 this year). Top 15 is likely though [I've got her at #13 right now. The girls top 10 barely moves at all, except Isabella drops a lot).
vote up1
Don't be so impolite. You are aware that there's a huge difference between masculine names on girls vs feminine sounding names on boys? Most people think it's cool when girls are named things like Dylan, Evan, Ryan or Parker. On the other hand most people think it's wimpy and weak to name a boy Aubrey, Ashley or Lindsay. Most people in real life that is, not on this board. I don't agree and it's definitely sexist but that's the way it is!For the same reason people usually think it's cute when girls are tomboys but think it's upsetting and feel sorry for the family when boys wear pink and play with Barbies. I mean that isn't exactly anything new so I'm surprised you don't see the difference. And again, I think it's wrong and I wouldn't mind meeting a male Aubrey but that's the way most people will see it.Of course Mason is going up for girls. Just like Ryan and Dylan went up for girls when they went up for boys. I think in a few years it will be cool to name a girl Mason or Maysynn or whatever. But when names like Ashley went up for girls they went down for boys. That will happen with Aubrey.Yeah, it's nice that you're trying to predict Aubrey's future popularity but it is simply a prediction, nothing more than that. It is already in the top 10 for girls in at least one state, by the way. Also I wrote 'in the next 5 years', not next year.Oh and the comparison with Mason was simply because I wanted to show how fast a name can climb, it had nothing to do with the boy/girl name argument. I'm aware Aubrey isn't rising as fast as Mason but it's rising quickly especially in some states. And no other Mason spelling makes the top 100 whereas Aubree does. I think Aubrey and Aubree combined will definitely make the top 10.

... Load Full Message

This message was edited 5/23/2012, 3:06 AM

vote up1
"I don't agree and it's definitely sexist but don't you think Evan is SUCH a cute name for a girl?"
vote up1
It is sexist to think that boys names on girls are ok but girls names on boys aren't. Yes, I do think it's a cute name for a girl. But I have nothing against feminine names being used on boys either. That's the point. I simply don't care whether a name is masculine or feminine in origin as long as it works which Evan does.You seem to have a huge problem with people who choose boys names for their daughters and it really shouldn't be your problem. Everyone is entitled to choose the name they like best for your child and this whole 'she stole my boys name' thing is just ridiculous and a waste of time.
vote up1
"'she stole my boys name' "
I never said that, please stop attributing that to me.
I totally think people should be allowed to pick whatever name they want (where did I say I didn't? Like, seriously, if someone goes and names their daughter John Nevaeh, like, I might not like it or be willing to use it myself, but I'm not going to be up crying at night because that poor baby omg) but I also think it should be a two way street and if I want to name my boy Jennifer or something, there shouldn't be people gasping in horror and telling me that my son is going to be beaten. Which, as you already said in a previous post, IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.
go ahead and reply to this so you can have your last word. you keep saying you've wasted too much time, but you keep replying anyway. go figure.
vote up1
Take a look at the popularity statistics for Jamie. As soon as it started being used for girls in any significant numbers, it dropped like a stone for boys.
vote up1
As I said"not a two way street".If a name is used more on girls, it's a girls name forever.If it's used more for boys, it's fair game for girls. Apparently.
vote up1
Then why do you say my logic is flawed simply because I think Aubrey will fall for boys when it goes up for girls? And why do you use Mason as an example? Of course Mason goes up for girls because it's similar to Ryan, Dylan etc which also went up for girls when they became common for boys. To prove your point you should find a feminine sounding boys names that went up for boys after becoming popular for girls. I can't figure out if the first part of your post is you being sarcastic or if you actually mean it. It really doesn't sound sarcastic at all (the Mason part) but then the second part obviously is so I'm confused.The Mason argument in my post was simply to show how quickly a name can rise and had nothing to do with the boy/girl name thing.

This message was edited 5/23/2012, 2:49 AM

vote up1
I used Mason as an example because you used Mason.
(and just because the majority of the country feels the same, doesn't mean the thought process isn't wrong. millions of people can totally be wrong).

This message was edited 5/23/2012, 8:47 AM

vote up1
I used Mason as an example for a name that climbed fast, not for the boy/girl comparison which I think is pretty clear. I know that millions of people can be wrong but in this case...no.
vote up1
Which means Mason will be a girl's name in 5. . . 4 . . . 3 . . 2 . . .
vote up1
The comparison with Mason was to show a fast a name can climb, I didn't mean that I see it in the top 5 for girls anytime soon.
vote up1
But I did.My forecast is that trendy parents will see the meteoric rise in Mason and start using it for their dds.
vote up1
What happened to the good old days of feminizing popular male names? What's wrong with Masonette or Masonia?
vote up1