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Baby Girl Names That Sound Like Boy Names

by Brett Singer (Subscribe to Brett Singer's posts)
Jun 28th 2010 10:00AM

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Filed under: Babies


Peyton Manning has a popular girls' name. Credit: Michael Conroy, Associated Press


Baby girl names usually sound like, well, girl names, right? But what if you want to give your daughter a name traditionally associated with boys, such as Quinn, Logan or Riley?

Some baby girl names that can also sound like boy names are common -- Pat, for example, or Chris. Other non-gender specific names include Jordan, Casey and Taylor.

And then there are the names where spelling determines their gender -- think Tony for boys, and Toni for girls.
But some names are tougher to pin down. The site NameNerds points out that there is a Morgan Freeman (male), and also a Morgan Fairchild (female). And, according to the Social Security Administration's baby names database, Peyton was one of the top 50 baby girl names in 2009. But what about Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning?

Manning's younger brother, Eli Manning, doesn't have the same level of gender-confusion when it comes to his name; the SSA lists the name Eli at number 90 on its 2009 list of baby boy names.

So, what are some of the pros and cons of using boys' names for baby girls? On the downside, giving your child a unique name is great -- except when it isn't. (Moon Unit Zappa, anyone?) A girl with a particularly masculine name could be in for some not-so-good-natured ribbing when she gets older. Of course, naming trends come and go. For example, Campbell hasn't been in the top 1,000 baby boy names since 2005, but it has been in the top 1,000 baby girl names since 2003, according to the SSA.

On the plus side, some say giving your little girl a name that is traditionally bestowed upon a boy can help her stand out from the crowd. Of course, if that were the only reason, we would see a lot more girls named George, which ParentDish's The Name Lady says is not a trend she sees on the horizon.

Some names just seem to suit boys and some girls. William will probably always be a boy name, while Elizabeth is likely to remain as feminine as ever. Then again, who knows what the future will hold? Those who want to give their little girl the gift of a gender-bending name can keep up with the latest baby naming trends with The Name Lady at ParentDish.com.

You just never know: The day may come when you meet a family with two kids who introduces you to their son Sarah, and their daughter Samuel.

Read more about baby girl names at ParentDish.com.

Tags: babies, baby, baby-girl-names, babynames, boynames, boysnames, celebritybabynames, girlnames, girlsnames, names, parent-dish

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