Shea

I am of Swedish decent and my husband is Irish. We named one daughter Signey (for me) and our son Shaye (for my husband). To us it always seemed be a very masculine, sporty name, as in Shea Stadium, but it doesn't bother us that is is also used as a feminine name as well. Many names are 'crossover' names, like Chris, and even my husband's name, Terry. It really is all about association.

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When I looked up the meaning while pregnant, I read it meant "imposing". We laughed at that at the time because, uh boy, that could go either way: would our son be 'a force to be reckoned with' or an annoying friend that would always drop in unannounced?

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Fast forward to today. Shaye is now 22 years old, is 6' 8" tall (Yep! No joke!) and, yes, plays basketball. He's LOVES the game. Although he doesn't play professionally, his 3 pointers are AWESOME and I love to watch him dunk the ball! Handsome (ha! Ha! Ha! - not just from a mother's perspective) and well liked, he's a hard worker with integrity and a good, strong work ethic. We couldn't be more proud of our Shaye.

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(P.S. I am 5'7" and my husband is an even 6'. We don't know where Shaye's height comes from, but there's a burning suspicion (and a running family giggle) that it's all because of what we named him.) :D.

Shea is an awesome name! I find it unisex.

I like the name for both, but Shea looks masculine to me. For a girl I would probably also spell it Shea but in general Shae is the one that looks feminine to me.

This is my favorite spelling of this name. Looks the most feminine to me.

I was 12yrs old when I met an Irish boy named Shae. He was my boyfriend all through Summer and I have never forgotten him! I am all grown up now with 3 sons of my own named Wade, Jake and Shea! This name was unique in my home city when my son was born, so much so that a midwife at hospital came to my bed all excited because her daughter was carrying a baby boy and had asked her mother to jot down 'any unique names' should any boys be born and 'not named Ryan'- which was huge back then!- My son was not a day old but his name was already catching on! He was the 1st but people loved it and soon enough, boys named Shea were popping up everywhere! Throughout his life, myself and my son have received positive comments from complete strangers when they hear what he is called! And it causes quite a stir when people learn I actually named him after an Ex boyfriend of mine! We love it X.

I love this name for a girl or a boy, but my one hesitation in using it is the similarity to the sound of the word "chez" when you pair it with my last name. Does Shea Marino sound like a French/Italian fusion restaurant? Help!

My fiance and I just 2 weeks ago welcomed our beautiful SheaLynn in to the world! We call her Shea for short, and it is completely perfect for our majestic, noble, fairy place dwelling beauty! ❤❤❤❤.

My first name is Shea, and I am pretty damn masculine. I am a big American guy, born in the south in the 1970s, with some Scottish & Irish lineage (among many others). I have never met any females with this spelling (though I do know a lady with the spelling Shay... she was a nice kid growing up). I know of 2 guys with the Shea spelling (one cool the other I did not really know). I like my name (and so does my wife)... it is unique, it is short, it is easy to know when people are talking to me, as nobody else in the room ever has the name. There were very few kids teasing my name growing up, and the few times it did happen, it let me know who was not a friend and who to stay away from. If you like the name and want to consider it for your own child, do it. Worrying about some punk kids teasing your son for his name is no reason not to name him Shea. Kids can figure out creative ways to tease others no matter what their name is. The only frustration I would get sometimes growing up (which I find humorous now) is that many people have no idea of how to pronounce Shea when reading it (school, doctor's appointments, etc.). You would be amazed at how many different pronunciations I have gotten from seemingly intelligent people over the years. "Shee-uh", "Shay-a", "Shee" (really?) "Shah", "Sha-nay-nay" (just kidding), "Che" (by my Cubano friends' parents). I've heard them all. Hey, at least I know who is trying to sell me something when I answer a phone call from an unfamiliar number. I find it hilarious now.

My name is Ryan Shea and I've seen both used for girl names. I like it though and would not change it.

My name is Shea, and I am a girl. I was born in the late 80's. I am Irish. But how I pronounce my name is Sheea. And it's supposed to have a line over the second E. But I do not spell it that way. I spell it like Shea. And yes, everyone does pronounce it as shay. But I do like my name. It's different and I'm a unique person.

Looks like She, Shera. Ends on A. Sounds better on girls.

I used to not like it, but every Shea I know is nice.

I know a very cute guy named Shea. I think it's a very good, non-generic name.

I like this, but it seems much more like a feminine name than a masculine name to me.

I think this is a beautiful name, but only for a girl. I think it sounds a bit too feminine for a guy.

I like it a lot for both a guy and a girl!

This is my brother's middle name, and this is what we call him because his first name (David) is so common. No one ever forgets his name, and they know who you're talking about right away. We like it a lot!

To me it sounds more like a boys name but looks like a girls name. I was going to use this name for my baby but was considering Shay for a spelling but she turned out to be a girl in the end.

I know a girl, her name is Tara Shea and I love it on her! I don't think of Shea as a guy's name but then again I have never met a dude named Shea.I'll bet you can find a TON of double names with the middle name Shea!

I wasn't even aware that this name was spelled this way until I met my current love on World of Warcraft (geeky, I know). His name is short, simple, and sweet- just like him.

This is absolutely NOT a girls' name to my eyes or ears. I think it would sound horribly simple, dull and unfeminine on a girl, but I love it for a boy. :) Where I live, it's definitely seen as a boy's name and I think most people would find it a little odd on a girl.

I like this name on either a girl or a boy, it sounds so soft.

I like this name a lot, for both genders. But, I don't like this spelling for a boy, it looks too much like "she."

I think Shea is a beautiful name. It's diffrent. I don't know more than 1 person who is named Shea. It's cool!

I think this is a beautiful, strong, feminine name.

It sounds kinda cool on a boy, and for a girl it's soft and beautiful.

I like it. My friend's sister's nickname is Shea, short for Shannon.

I do not really like this name only because it reminds me of cocoa shea butter lotion.

Who cares if it reminds you of shea butter coconut lotion? It's nice a lotion anyway. It's pretty much saying I don't like Rose because it reminds me of Rose oil.

My French teacher's first name is Shea. She said that it was hard growing up, because sometimes she would be placed on the boys sports teams. I would rather use this name as a middle name for a child.

This was the nickname I was given by my friends when I was little and trust me a lot of things rhyme with Shea! I love it but I don't think it is practical for a first name because kids are mean to each other.

I love the name Shea. I prefer this spelling with its Irish roots. With the name sounding so soft and feminine I would use it for a girl, not a boy. The names Shaelee, Shaelyn and Shayla are pretty too.