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I am torn, as I am torn with all cross-gender names. There's the traditionalist in me that wants names to be kept to their original genders and there's the liberal in me that wants to say, "f– gender binaries," and that we should use whatever names we like for whoever we like. And I know how frustrating it might end up being for you when you get a number of responses telling you just how bad an idea it would be to name a boy Mai; I adore Linnet (LIN-ət) for a boy, but when I've mentioned it on here, I've been told repeatedly how it's "too feminine", yet Robin, originally masculine, has been used on a girl an innumerable amount of times, and few bat an eyelid. That bloody double standard! In any case, to me, since Linnet and Mai are both comparatively underused, they're more versatile than, say, William and Anna on the opposite genders (though why shouldn't they be more versatile, too?), and you should go right ahead and use Mai on whichever gender you please if you have the chance and truly want to, just as you should with any name.

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Ottilie


http://www.behindthename.com/pnl/116467