Emerson is not a favorite of mine either way. I think it sounds old and out of date on a boy, like the parents are trying to sound itellectual and sensitive by naming their son after a writer. On a girl (and yes girl is my first thought since all the other
Em- names are girl names (and popular names so they are heard all the time)), the parents are being trendy and trying to be different. THey get the unisex name with the cute feminine nickname. Also the time I have heard Emerosn as a first name is
Teri Hatcher's daughter, which I hated the first time I heard it. But with all the
Emily's and
Emma's and
Emmy's, it has grown on me.