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I am not generally in favour, as it can cause confusion. Then again, I named my girl Robyn and some people seem to think that is more of a boy name... I know Robins who are boys, but never met a boy Robyn spelt with a Y.
I know a couple, in their 50's now, where the man is Ashley and the woman is Hilary. People often think it's the other way around
I don't care for them. It's one thing to name a boy a family name that was traditionally male but currently female (e.g., Ashley) in order to honor an ancestor (e.g., Great-Uncle Ashley), but giving him an outright female name (e.g., Jennifer) just to be different is setting the kid up for a lifetime of teasing and correcting mistakes. I understand that girls' being given boy names is common, but it's too trendy for me. I prefer traditional names with typical spelling, pronunciation and gender assignment, but that's just me.
I don't care for them. It's one thing to name a boy a family name that was traditionally male but currently female (e.g., Ashley) in order to honor an ancestor (e.g., Great-Uncle Ashley), but giving him an outright female name (e.g., Jennifer) just to be different is setting the kid up for a lifetime of teasing and correcting mistakes. I understand that girls' being given boy names is common, but it's too trendy for me. I prefer traditional names with typical spelling, pronunciation and gender assignment, but that's just me.
I agree. Why give someone more ammunition to tease a kid about?
Remember when Ashley and Frances were common boy names?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zimbochick
This is nothing new. Names such as Alexis, Ashley, Beverly, Evelyn, Hilary, Jocelyn, Kelly, Lesley, Lynn, Meredith, Shirley, Shannon, Sharon, Vivian (can't remember the others) all started out as predominantly male names.
One of my boyfriend's parents both had cross gender names. The father's name was Shirley and the mother's name was Frances. Both of them went by nicknames that were totally unrelated to any part of their real names. They hated their cross gender names.
OP, I personally don't like cross gender names for boys and there are only a few I like for girls. My mother planned to name me Jamie if I was a boy. I remember wishing she had named me Jamie even though I ended up a girl. Now that I'm an adult, I'm glad my name isn't Jamie. I considered naming my son Alex if he were a girl, but I didn't like Alex for a boy's name. That's probably because I was naming a girl after my girlfriend whose last name was Alex but I didn't like her first name.
I've met a few men named Lesley throughout the years. Most people wouldn't know because they go by Les which could also be for Lester.
I agree. Why give someone more ammunition to tease a kid about?
This should always be the number one thought when naming a child. It is not cute, unique or special to give your kid a name that will get them teased or spend a lifetime spelling or pronouncing it for people. It is selfish and dumb.
My first name is the name of a very popular song and I cannot tell you how much it annoys me to hear that song sung to me everytime I meet someone.
I am not generally in favour, as it can cause confusion. Then again, I named my girl Robyn and some people seem to think that is more of a boy name... I know Robins who are boys, but never met a boy Robyn spelt with a Y.
Spelling doesn't make a difference because people hear a person's name more than seeing it.
But Robin is more of a girl name than a boy name to me so I'm not sure why people gave you a hassle.
When I was pregnant, I wanted DD to have a somewhat unique name since mine was so common and plain that I have always hated it. There wasn't one year in school that I wasn't in class with at least 1-2 other girls with the same name. Ugh.
I heard a name on a TV show years before and liked it so much that it stuck with me. It was pretty unique also. It wasn't in the top 100 Social Security names, etc (it moved up to the top 20 the year DD was born. Grr). It was also a name that you could easily pronounce and we went with the more normal spelling. I also thought that since we were giving her an unusual first name, that we should give her a more average middle name. That way she can choose what name she would like to go by when she gets older. We had a second name picked in case the first name didn't fit her when she was born. After she was born her name fit her perfectly.
Anyways, now she has choices. She can go by her slightly unique name, her more average middle name, or she can combine the two. The names we picked flow so well together that if you say them together it sounds like it could be one name. If she gets older and decided to go by her middle name, that is fine with me. It is her name and she should have some choice.
Both my first and middle names are boring and I have always hated them.
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It is not cute, unique or special to give your kid a name that will get them teased or spend a lifetime spelling or pronouncing it for people. It is selfish and dumb.
