Ambigendrous Names
Taylor Anne & Tyler Michael? or is it Taylor Michael & Tyler Anne? And Who is Quinn Riley?
Ambigendrous names, or names that can be used for both girls and boys, are all the rage right now. The trend started in the 1970s, when, tired of traditional names, parents started naming their daughters surnames like Kelly, Tracy, and Kimberly. Today, these are all standard girls' first names-- who would have thought they were once mainly surnames? Ditto for newcomers like Ashley, Courtney, Taylor, and Casey. Likewise, naming boys surnames used to be confined to the upper classes, who had a long-standing tradition of carrying on "important" family names. Now, it's the norm! With names like Brandon, Tyler, Cody, Ryan etc. in the top spots, these names are more popular as first names than as last names. In the top 150 most popular names of 1998, 35 names out of the boys names are also used for girls. In the girls' top 150, 27 are currently in use as boys' names, or at least started out as boys' names.
Should I give my daughter a traditionally male name?
You probably know female Michaels, Kyles and Ryans. Why do parents do this?There are 3 main schools of thought on the matter.
- Girls should be able
to do anything boys can do
Some parents probably think that it will give their daughter a competitive advantage in the male dominated world. Why not? These days, gender is less limiting than it has been in the past. there are women doctors, lawyers, astronauts, and just about everything else! If guys can do it, gals can too! If guys can be named Brandon, Christian and Dylan, Girls can be named those names too.However... I think this is counter-productive (see #2).
- In my own humble
opinion, I think it should be OK for girls to just be girls. I mean,
if you were walking down the street and saw a little girl wearing a
baseball cap and overalls riding on a skateboard, you'd probably think
that was adorable, or at least think nothing of it.
BUT, if on the same day you saw a little boy wearing a dress
and playing with a Barbie doll, you'd probably call Social Services
on the parents. What I'm getting at is that you'd name your daughter
Daryn, but you wouldn't name your son Brittany. There are plenty of
baby girl Tristans out there, but hardly any boy Leslies anymore. This
brings me to another rant, but I'll get to that later... The way I see
it, giving a girl a boy name is just reinforcing the male-dominated
hierarchy. You teach your daughter to succeed by playing by men's rules.
Girls should be able to make up their own rules, and play their own
way. I don't see feminine names as a sign of weakness. In fact, my favorite
category of names is frilly and old-fashioned. However, the choice is
yours, and I'll shut up now!
Another thing to consider is that once girls take over a boys' name, it becomes firmly lodged in the female camp. Evelyn, Jocelyn, Leslie, Marion, and yes, even Ashley, Shannon and Kelly were once primarily boys' names. So if you subscribe to the theory that giving boys names to girls will make them stronger, this fact defeats the purpose. It also drastically shrinks the size of the male name pool. For all of us who like Aidan and Owen as boys' names, we'll soon be out of luck!
Thus said, I'll get off my soapbox now!
-
The third school of thought is probably the most common:
You think a lot of these names sound modern and cutting-edge. You don't want a stuffy old-fashioned name, or a tired overused name. Brandon and Dylan sound fresh and exciting for a girl, while being sort of old hat for boys. That's fine too. It's your choice! But how about finding a new name?
-
But We all know that Robyn is a girl and Robin is (probably) a boy. What if I spell the name differently?
These days you can't be too sure. While it's true, that probably most Ryanns are girls, some creative parents are also using alternative spellings for boys. For example, baby boys Brandyn and Huntyr were born in my town this year. Besides, When you yell "RRROOOOBBBBYYYYYNNN!!" On a crowded playground, you aren't going to spell it out! Likewise, do you really want to force your child to spell his or her name out for everyone every time he or she says it?At any rate, here are some names that are traditionally (though not always) spelled differently for both sexes.
boy girl Aaron Erin (many places pronounce these names alike) Billy Billie Bobby Bobbie/Bobbi Cary Carrie Chris Kris (not always, but most Kris's are girls, while Chris can go either way) Gene Jean(ne) Joe Jo Lee Leigh Leslie Lesley (at least in the UK) Paddy Patti/Patty Randy Randi Robin Robyn Sidney Sydney Terry Teri Tony Toni Here is a chart of some popular ambigendrous names, and where they stand on the gender spectrum. The chart is based on the 2006 Baby Name popularity chart compiled by the Social Security Administration.
Note: Because the trends always move towards names becoming more feminine, this chart may be completely out-of-date in 5 or 10 years (or maybe even one year)! Just because Aidan is a boys' name now, it doesn't mean that your little son Aidan won't have friends with baby sisters named Aidan in a few years!
Almost All GirlMostly GirlCan Go Either WayMostly BoyAlmost All BoyAddisonAlexisCaseyAmariAlexBaileyArielAngelAshtonChandlerCampbellAveryArmaniCharlieChristianKendallEmersonReeseDakotaCameronKennedyHarleyJaylenCarsonMackenzieJamieJusticeDallasMadisonLondonPhoenixDarianMorganPeytonQuinnDevinReaganRileyRowanDrewSageSkylarDylanShannonHaydenSheaJaydenSydneyJordanTaylorKaydenTeganLoganRobinMicahParkerRyanTyler
