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ArchivesRe: Gender-Neutral Names that are Popular in America
in reply to a message by Jewel
As the other poster said, this is going to change from generation to generation, as the most common pattern is for such a name to begin being used mostly by males and then to switch over the course of a generation to predominantly female use. So there are quite a few names, such as Joyce, Beverly, and Shirley, that started off being used mostly for males, but would hardly be considered "gender neutral" or "unisex" today by the great majority of Americans.
The names which are on both the male and female Social Security list for babies born in 2007 are Alexis, Amari, Angel, Ariel, Avery, Bailey, Cameron, Casey, Charlie, Dakota, Devyn, Dominique, Dylan, Emerson, Emery, Finley, Harley, Harper, Hayden, Jaden, Jadyn, Jaiden, Jaidyn, Jamie, Jayden, Jaylen, Jaylin, Jessie, Jordan, Jordyn, Justice, Kamryn, Kasey, Kayden, Kendall, Logan, London, Lyric, Micah, Morgan, Parker, Payton, Peyton, Quinn, Reagan, Reese, Riley, Rowan, Ryan, Rylee, Sage, Sidney, Skylar, Skyler, Taylor, Teagan, Tyler, and Zion.
But that's just a snapshot of one year. There are a great many other names, including Ashley, Kelly, Kelsey, and Leslie, which have switched to predominantly female so recently that there are lots of living men older than infants who still bear those names. And there are also a few names, like Kyle and Tristan, where there was a noticeable minor fashion for giving the name to girls at some period but which never rivaled the name's use for boys.
And since there are no laws that prevent American parents from giving their child any name they want, you can find a few examples of almost any predominantly male name given to girls. In upper middle class families in the South, it's been a custom for several generations to give girls surnames as given names, even if those surnames are customarily thought of as male. I have known Southern women named Floyd, Russell, Winston, Stuart, Langhorne, and Bland, among others.
Finally, there are of course some ethnic differences connected with this. Probably over 90% of the boys born in the USA in 2007 named Alexis, Angel, and Ariel were of Hispanic ancestry. It would be rare to find a child from another ethnic group with those names who was not a girl.
The names which are on both the male and female Social Security list for babies born in 2007 are Alexis, Amari, Angel, Ariel, Avery, Bailey, Cameron, Casey, Charlie, Dakota, Devyn, Dominique, Dylan, Emerson, Emery, Finley, Harley, Harper, Hayden, Jaden, Jadyn, Jaiden, Jaidyn, Jamie, Jayden, Jaylen, Jaylin, Jessie, Jordan, Jordyn, Justice, Kamryn, Kasey, Kayden, Kendall, Logan, London, Lyric, Micah, Morgan, Parker, Payton, Peyton, Quinn, Reagan, Reese, Riley, Rowan, Ryan, Rylee, Sage, Sidney, Skylar, Skyler, Taylor, Teagan, Tyler, and Zion.
But that's just a snapshot of one year. There are a great many other names, including Ashley, Kelly, Kelsey, and Leslie, which have switched to predominantly female so recently that there are lots of living men older than infants who still bear those names. And there are also a few names, like Kyle and Tristan, where there was a noticeable minor fashion for giving the name to girls at some period but which never rivaled the name's use for boys.
And since there are no laws that prevent American parents from giving their child any name they want, you can find a few examples of almost any predominantly male name given to girls. In upper middle class families in the South, it's been a custom for several generations to give girls surnames as given names, even if those surnames are customarily thought of as male. I have known Southern women named Floyd, Russell, Winston, Stuart, Langhorne, and Bland, among others.
Finally, there are of course some ethnic differences connected with this. Probably over 90% of the boys born in the USA in 2007 named Alexis, Angel, and Ariel were of Hispanic ancestry. It would be rare to find a child from another ethnic group with those names who was not a girl.
This message was edited 5/25/2008, 2:43 PM
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