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Where Have All the Boys' Names Gone?
Filed under: Baby Names
Where are all the boys' names? Now that unisex/male names are becoming a trend for baby girls, it's hard to find a masculine name for boys! And even though girls can be Ryan and Brett and Cameron, boys can't be Ashley -- they'd be laughed at. Any advice?
-Masculine-Name-Searching Mom
There's no doubt about it: if naming is a turf war, the boys are losing. Old favorites like Ashley and Leslie are long gone, Avery and Bailey are teetering, and even the biblical classic Micah shows signs of androgyny.
It would be nice to think that boys and girls could play nicely and share their names, but historically it seldom happens. At a certain girl-baby saturation point, names "switch sides" and become unavailable for use as boy's names. So it's natural for parents of boys to feel leery when parents of girls start to eye a treasured favorite.
Until recently, it was easy to identify names at risk of switching. All of the names I just mentioned end in an -ee or -a sound, which fit traditional feminine patterns. But today, the notion of feminine style is bursting wide open. Names like Elliot, Rowan and Campbell are are being given to girls, and a "-son" name (Addison, Emerson) is increasingly likely to mean "daughter."
Are there fashionable boys' names with girl-proof machismo? Perhaps cowboy names like Wyatt and Cooper, drenched in dust, leather and gunpowder? I wouldn't count on it. The very things that appeal to mothers of boys about these names could also appeal to mothers of girls. Sonically, Wyatt falls somewhere between Maya and Scarlett, and seems no more a stretch for being pressed into use for girls than Elliot was.
If avoiding androgyny is your #1 goal, you might have to sacrifice the "fashionable" part. The most surefire masculine names are the stodgy classics. In all my name travels, I've yet to meet a little girl named Frank, George or Edward. Barring that, you can just dive in and hope that the naming future will turn out to be different from the past. With parents of boys and girls alike flocking to the same contemporary name sounds, monikers like Jordan and Skyler are starting to find a stable niche as two-sex favorites. We might just learn to share after all.
How do you deal with boys' names? Share your experiences here. And if you have your own question to Ask the Name Lady, drop her a line!
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ReaderComments (Page 3 of 10)
6-09-2010 @ 6:11PM
rickat9926 said...Susan, are you old enough to remember a song called "Quinn, the Eskimo?" Or, maybe it was called "The Mighty Quinn." Anyway, it was about a guy and was the only time I ever heard the name Quinn used as a first name.
6-08-2010 @ 2:40PM
Athene said...I don't know, I've always liked the name Quintin for a boy, and I can see Quint or Quinn turnign up as nicknames for this name.
5-07-2010 @ 8:33AM
Christie said...My son's middle name is Gabrial. I didn't know there was a male and female spelling for both (with the female spelling being Gabriel or Gabrielle). Spelling sometimes can make all the difference... mostly because of slight sound changes.
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5-07-2010 @ 3:10PM
Holly said...I don't know what planet you are living on. Gabriel is the common spelling of the boy's name. The common female spelling is Gabrielle. It is very uncommon for a girl to be be named Gabriel. As for your, Gabrial:
Gabrial has its origins in the Hebrew language and it is used largely in Spanish. Gabrial is a variant form of Gabriel. It is not even among the top Spanish names for boys, but GabriEl is. Your Gabrial will pose an identity crisis for you, also, as it is considered a female name in Hebrew.
5-07-2010 @ 8:26AM
Michaelp said...Just shows how many people are interested in getting attention for themselfs and their child. for their name rather then a real achivment. This world of ours.
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5-07-2010 @ 8:41AM
ttrexxx said...my 4 best friends are named Jim, jimmy, james, and JT
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5-07-2010 @ 8:43AM
lionruby said...You can still get away with boys names in Britain that have simply become "emasculated" here - Robin, Leslie, Carroll, Kim, Ashley, Ambrose, etc. (all the really interesting, beautiful and historic ones). Here, we've got a culture of rugged individualism that eschews anything that even faintly suggests androgyny and is more than vaguely homophobic.
There are even plenty of names that are obviously in the masculine camp that are derided as "sissy", too: Marvin, Cosmo, Roland, Reginald, Byron, etc. As long as we Americans are so squeamish about how our boys are perceived, there will always be a glut of "hyper - masculine" names. As a parent, you don't dare take a chance, because your son has to live with the name you give him. As ridiculous as it is, stick with monikers like Jake or Josh or Mike or Mark or Bill or Dave or John or Doug et al, and there will be no expensive therapy later in life.
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5-07-2010 @ 8:46AM
ginger said...When I was in school (grad h.s. 89) I had guy friends named Ashley and Carol. Big burly football guys. Now I have male friends named Kim and Laurin. No big deal. But I do think you have a LOT more freedom with girl's names. My daughters are Harper Louise and Madison Elizabeth, but my son is William Dempsey. All family names, by the way. That's always a good way to go-- if you like your family of course!
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6-14-2010 @ 8:20PM
nanboyne said...I agree with using family names. It's so nice to tell your child that he was named for a loved one rather than a movie star or that you just "made up" the name because you thought it was cute. I teach preschool, and for every child with an "original" name, there are two or three others in the class with the same name.
5-07-2010 @ 8:51AM
Debbie said...Can't go wrong with "Bolt". Can't get much more masculine than that. But I think there's a soap opera character that has that....which automatically makes it unmasculine. "Jack" is always good....but it's been overdone...and is now a bit contrived. (But that's never stopped today's parents before). "Diesel" would be great....but he'd never get into a country club or Ivy League school. It would be funny to name a kid "Lou" or "Stan" these days....a bit anachronistic....but a challenge to all the attempts at names that sound like landed gentry or a wild west character. If I see one more "Cody"....puhleez.
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5-07-2010 @ 8:55AM
Peggy said...My Mother's Fiancee back in the 1940's was named Leslie, they called him Les. They were never married though as he was killed in a training accident.
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5-07-2010 @ 8:58AM
PETSMART OWNER said...My Baby Boi...(-:
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5-07-2010 @ 8:59AM
MARY said...Trendy names can be cute for a few years. Then comes the problem for both sexes. Many black children have very different names such as T'Nekia, K'Jouse, etc, the names with the initials and an apostrophie followed by a very unusual name. That is fine but in most cases I cannot pronounce their names. You need to think ahead when you name a baby as to what it will be for a teenager or college student. I like the basic names for a boy such as David, Matthew, Ian, Michael, Samuel, Robert and Joseph. For girls I like Carol, Jennifer, Andrea, Mary, Ruth, Barbara and Jacqueline. I guess I am a bit old fashioned, but it is easier and prettier as far as I am concerned.
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5-07-2010 @ 11:04AM
noel said...Carol is a nice name, but it is a unisex name too. Its my middle name and people still thought the name was male until they talked with me or saw me.
5-07-2010 @ 12:48PM
donna said...Choosing a baby's name is not easy. My husband wanted old-fashioned names for our daughter, like Constance or Josephine and Mary. I balked at that and suggested she be named for her two grandmothers as she was the first grandchild on both sides. Thus, she became Lorene, after grandmothers Loretta and Irene. Different, but not far out.
5-07-2010 @ 9:06AM
Mel said...My sons name is Grant. I love it. It's strong, classic and easy to spell!
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5-07-2010 @ 9:12AM
Theresa said...I'm a teacher and there are tons of different names I see all the time...sometimes the spelling helps, other times it doesn't matter!
I also went to a school with a girl names Ryan, though spelled Ryann, she was tubborn and defiant and always defended her name!
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5-07-2010 @ 11:04AM
cathy sweeney said...My son's name is Trevor! It's a strong name . Also common but not too common :)
5-07-2010 @ 1:35PM
joe said...Name him Farooq - not many girls with that one.
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5-07-2010 @ 9:24AM
daisy said...Shanon is common in Europe for boys. Just because your nephew has long hair and wears an earring doesn't mean he's gay. All three of my boys have and earring, on has longer hair, and none of them are gay for it. How sterotypical of you to say that about your nephew, you should be ashamed of yourself.
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