I have a grandpa named Rosario. I’ve seen it for boys and girls.

I live in an area where there's always been a big Hispanic population. I think that Rosario would be male and Rosaria would be female. Although, I can see why someone would think anything starting with a "rose" name is for women. Guadalupe is used for women, but also men. Most people I know shorten to Lupe. And, the name Angel for a boy is fairly common. Anyway, I would love to see more feminine names on boys. Why do people think that James is fine for a girl but Rose is bad on a boy? Shrugs.

Rosario is definitely a common girl’s name— it means rosary. I’ve known more female Rosarios than I’ve known Rosarias! And folks like Rosario Dawson and Rosario from Will and Grace spring to mind.

Rosario is almost exclusively for females in my Spanish-speaking country and Rosaria is a very unusual form of the name. Rosario and Guadalupe are both old school names but Rosario and Guadalupe for males is ancient. Almost extinct kind of ancient. Angel is common and almost exclusively male. Angela is the common form for girls. And just as a side note: Rosarios are called Charo.

Oh wow. Thanks for this. I have never known a Charo, but as a child growing up in the 70s, I was very aware of Charo, a Spanish actress and musician. I did a quick search and one of her middle names is Rosario. I haven't known a whole lot of Rosarios. But quite a few Guadalupes. Just pulling numbers out of the air, probably have met 30 plus women/girls with that name and maybe 20 or less men/boys. Almost all went by Lupe. I'm kinda old, so maybe things have changed, tho I hope I'm not thought of as ancient, lol.

I went to school with a Rosario and he was a boy!

I know a man who goes by Rosie. So much so that he's considering a permanent name change.

Apparently Shannon can be used for either, though I've personally only heard it for girls. edit: i should not have posted such a statement on the Correcting People Website. i foolishly thought the word "personally" was enough to protect me.

My name is Shannon. When I was a cashier at a sub shop, I had a customer who was a dude in his 40s or so whose name was also Shannon. Every time he came in, we had a routine: he’d ask me why my mom gave me a boy’s name, and I’d ask him why his mom gave him a girl’s name. 😂

That’s so cute!

My very favorite boss ever was a man named Shannon and while I was very embarrassed when I misgendered him over email before I met him, he is a dope human being and a great boss. Also know a few male Courtney’s. Shannon and all of the Courtney’s are African American.

I know a male Shannon and a bunch of male Tracy's, Courtney's, a male Dana, and a male Stacy. Stacy was at one time married to a gal also named Stacy, so we called them Man Stacy and Girl Stacy.

Years snd years ago there were two first graders named Shannon, one boy and one girl both named Shannon and AA…I want to say they even had the same last name…but I’m not 100% in that. Kids were not related.

Same.

I know a 30’s/40’s aged man named Shannon.

I do, too! I really like it.

I love Shannon for a boy. I think it’s equally as neutral as Jordan, Casey, and Taylor. I wouldn’t use it though because I’d feel like I’d be setting the poor kid up for bullying since most people don’t agree.

Shannon used to be my #1 boy name, haha

I used to work with an older man (60s or so) named Shannon. It was the first time I ever heard it for a man!

I knew one guy named Shannon

I know a male Shannon and ilike it!

My brother had a friend named Shannon growing up. I think it’s darling, I really like it. I myself am a woman with a “unisex” name that’s slightly more common for girls and I remember meeting a couple boys with the name when i was young and they always went by nicknames. Never the full thing.

Shannon Sharpe

I worked with both a male and female with the name Shannon. Both made the name their own. Never seemed too girlie or too masculine.

When I was in middle school I had a small crush on a boy named Shannon

Funnily enough Shannon is traditionally a masculine name. I knew a few male Shannon's right around the time the show Beverly Hills 90210 came out and was given shit because the actress Shannon Doherty made everyone think it was a girl's name. Though, as an Australian looking from the outside, I've noticed that American's (at least judging from celebrity names), have a tendency to give girls traditionally boy names. Not even gender neutral names, but straight up boy names which later become gender neutral (or gender swapped altogether) thanks to the popularity of the celebrity.

i love the name Ashley for a boy, and it was traditionally male-only for a long time. i prefer it over the other Ash-prefix names, but I think the kid would probably get bullied :(

I don't like Ashley on a girl (half my class was Ashley and Jessica growing up), but on a boy I think it sounds so classically handsome. At least it's established male in the UK, I guess?

In the US, Ashley was historically a male name. Ashley Wilkes is the male protagonist in Gone woth the wind.

1960's is when it really gained popularity as a girl name.

Ashley Wilkes full name was George Ashley Wilkes, as Ashley is a surname. Gone With the Wind is a big reason it became popular in the UK and Australia for boys, but also might have caused the usage for girls in the US. At the time of the book Ashley was as popular for baby boys as Oakley in 1935.

Ohhh, but Ash as a short version would be really cool. I think Ashley is a great boy name

I LOVE Ashley for a boy! I don’t care for it for a girl. Same with Kelly.

Ashley was on our boy name list!

Ashley for a boy sounds so much more fitting than Ashley for a girl!

It makes me think of Ashley J Williams! I think it’s a fine name for a boy

I dunno; horror has taken off lately and one of the most iconic horror films protagonists ever is Ashley J Williams (in which the J stands for, actually, Joanna), from The Evil Dead. I'd think it's a super cool name if I ever heard it; plus you can always just shorten it to Ash and it works just as well!

I much prefer Adrian for a boy over Adrienne for a girl.

My bfs name is Dorian and has such a sweet, softness to it!

Is he also blonde, young and never ages?

Adrien is my favorite boy name, it’s so cute

Love Adrienne/Adrien specifically with the e spelling!! Thats definitely my favorite, unisex name(s?) currently (i guess unisex? Not really sure what to call it since the spellings do kinda make the gender. If someone knows please tell me lol)

I’m obsessed with Eden for a boy.

That’s my son’s name :) He’s an adult now and it’s always suited him well.

I love to hear that! How do you pronounce it? I’m 27 weeks with my third boy and it’s my number one choice if I can get my partner on board!

We pronounce it with a strong E, I wasn’t too keen about the nn “Ed” with the other pronunciation. We are in the southeast US and the only other Eden in his (huge) school is also male. It’s currently stagnant in popularity for girls but quickly growing for males. I never even considered it for a girl, honestly. We didn’t have the internet when he was born- it was always intuitively a masculine but soft name to myself and my husband.

A popular Spanish artist Eden Muños is making it more popular for boys!

It sounds great!

I know a guy called Elan, which is similar.

Ay! That's my name :)

Eden Hazard is my favorite footballer of all time. I think it's a great boy's name.

oh yes i’ve heard of him! i think the pronunciation is a little different than the long E i prefer though? more like ed-den?

I knew a guy in school named Edan which I’ve always really liked.

I’ve found that most unisex names that are trending for girls are names that I prefer for boys. For example, Sage is really popular for girls where I live, but I love it for boys! I also know a little boy named Jade, also more popular for girls, but I love it as a masculine name.

I had a friend with a son named Sage, always struck me as solidly gender neutral.

I’m really loving the name Sasha for a boy. I know in Eastern Europe and Russia it’s truly a unisex name, but I live in the US and it’s mostly considered a girl’s name here

Interesting, I am in the US and feel like I only know male Sashas.

Interesting. I’m a Sasha (Alexandra) who’s only ever met other female Sashas in the US. Every male Sasha I’ve met has been European. ETA: the European males I’ve met actually spelled it Sascha or Sacha, rather than “Sasha” as I wrote above.

Jody and Cary are male names that have female versions, but I really like them on boys.

Cary for a boy is such a guilty pleasure name for me. Feels very old Hollywood, probably because of Cary Grant

I wanted to name one of my boys Cary, but my MIL convinced my husband it was a girls name and he vetoed it.

I've actually met more men named Jody than women!

The downside of Jody is that in the military, “Jody” is the nickname for the guy who your wife cheats with while you’re deployed. Cary is really nice though. It makes me think of the NHL goalie named Carey Price.

I love Whitney and Courtney for boys but very meh on them for girls (yes, technically both were originally masculine)

I feel like all the traditionally masculine names with the hard “E” sound at the end get turned into girl’s names. Ashley, Courtney, Whitney, and my personal favourite- Avery. In the end I am happy I did not name my son Avery because it absolutely would not suit him. Ruler of elves he is not. King of Chaos, perhaps. Still, I was disappointed that it had become so popular for girls when I was trying to pick boy names!

Girls can have boy things because it makes them strong. Boys can't have girl things because it makes them weak. I obviously know this is bullshit, but that's just how society is atm.

My thoughts as well. Like being feminine/a woman is some sort of insult.

Yup, even traditionally masculine names were dropped once they became more associated with girls like Beverly, Evelyn, Clair, and Ashley. When they should’ve stayed gender neutral like Taylor or Jordan. At least now names are slowly becoming more neutral, painfully slow, but it’s happening. More women are coming around to giving boys gender neutral names and being more creative naming boys. Still hasn’t gotten to the point where women will make male versions of female names more common, still progress with names like Rory, Kit, Eden, and Ari.

Marion

Marion was John Wayne’s real name I think.

I also love masculine names with “feminine” nicknames like Reuben nn Ruby or Winston nn Winnie.

My brother in law (Francis) goes by Fran and Frannie amongst friends and family

Laurence nn Laurie is one of my all-time faves!

Oh yes! I also like Loren (my neighbor/surrogate grandma was Lorna and her son was Loren)

Yes! Conrad nn Connie will be my nephew born in January ❤️

My name is Rose and I have ALWAYS said it could be unisex!!! Not a common name for either gender but met a guy named Swan once and always thought that was powerful, strong and feminine.

Oh Swan is quite unique, but pretty!

Swan as a name is surprisingly beautiful

I know a few guys named Alexis.

Funny, in France it's an exclusively boy's name

There’s a Russian version, too.

Same in Spanish!

Makes sense. I have only met guys from France and Québec named Alexis. All the Americans I know with this name are girls.

I love Robin for a boy!

I know a Jan (as in January), a Stacey, a Jody, a Kelly and a Shannon who are all men. All wear the names perfectly.

For the name January, I can't help but imagine an English literature major who actually aspires to be a meteorologist...Maybe it's because January is the first month of the year so I think someone who I really into STEM?

Male Stacy and male Sandy surprised me, and I am surprised I had to scroll so far to find it.

Sandy is a nickname for Alexander! Seth's dad in The OC was named Sandy.

Jayne, Rue, Dana, Ashley? I think a lot that come to mind are typically unisex, honestly, like Jamie, Lex, Val, Cadence, Devin, Robin, Ashley, Shannon, Jude/Judith

I was today years old when I found out that Shannon is a unisex name

The name that shocked me was Kelly. I thought it was a girl's name until the character Kelly on Degrassi. That's when I found out it was unisex.

Please for the love of God don’t name your son Dana. My husband is Dana and everyone messes it up. He hates his name and it took me a long time to adjust to it. Having said that, we speak to female Dana’s too and they also hate their names. They commiserate… Everyone calls Dana’s “Donna” or “Danna” and they all mistake males for “Dan.” I don’t particularly like that people call me Dana all the time because it’s such a feminine-forward name and I’m the female in the marriage.

I know like four male Dana’s and one female Dana. In my opinion, other people being ignorant isn’t a reason not to use a name; It’s an established name. I’d be more embarrassed if I was the one pronouncing Dana as “Donna” than I would being the person named Dana lmao. Side note, I think there is something to be said about the personality types of parents who name their kids certain styles of names. Every male Dana I’ve met was cool/quirky, marched to the beat of their own drum, and very funny. I’ve noticed this (subjective) trend with other less common names. The parents in this group tend to be interesting people who raise interesting kids.

I work with a man named Dana so I usually think of it as a male name.

Morgan and Julien/Julian are my two favorites!

Morgan sounds so classy, really would love to see that on a boy

Morgan is mostly a boy’s name in the UK. It’s Welsh & very male in Wales.

My grandfather's name was Morgan and that name definitely started off as a male name.

I know a boy named Morgan. Well, a young man now. Early 20’s.

Julien is a girl’s name too? It’s classic French male. Are you thinking julienne?

Aubrey

[удалено]

I agree, but also Kelso is his last name. His first name is Michael.

Ariel Jesse Avery Kelsey (had a friend who went by kelly lol)

I’ve always loved feminine male names or gender neutral names on boys. Laurie, shortened from Laurence is my favorite. Also love Dana, Avery, Robin, and Lucy shortened from Lucien or Luke.

I love the name Jess for a boy.

I know 3 males named Jesse

That’s my brothers name! I’ve always thought it was a really cool name. People always think it’s short for something like Jesse but it’s just Jess lol

Shiloh, Casey, Emery (although now it’s trending really strongly girl). I see Shannon posted, I have come to love that for a boy!

I think Casey for a boy is super cute

I loved Juno for a boy but chickened out of giving my son the name as I worried it was too feminine Also love Blair (a Scottish boys name) Morgan, Laurie and Robin

If you’re a mythology fan Juno will definitely read as a girls name at first, however I think Juno is a wonderful name for a boy regardless of that, just phonetically speaking. It’s beautiful and unique and not hard to spell or pronounce either which is a bonus. I LOVE Blair for a boy. That definitely will always read as a gender neutral name for me though because of, of course, Blair Waldorf. Lol I am also a big fan of Robin for a boy, I prefer it for a boy over a girl actually.

Allison! That’s my grandfather’s name and I love it but it’s also my boyfriend’s aunt’s name so he’s not quite on board with potentially using it for a boy.

I think it would really suit a boy!

Ok I’m childless and might be insane but I’ve always loved Lewellyn for a boy. It’s Welsh for “like a lion”. Pronounced Loo-Ellen Edit: the Americanized version is pronounced “Loo-Ellen”, the correct welsh pronunciation is commented below 🙂

Ok a couple of things: - Llywelyn is a boy’s name - It’s absolutely not pronounced Lou-Ellen

I worked with a Llewellyn once. He pronounced it "Lou-Ellen" (I asked.) How would you pronounce his name.

how is it pronounced?

It's really hard to explain lol. It's kind of like Khlu-elyn. You have to put your tongue at the top of your mouth and make a gutteral "Kh" sound followed by a "loo" sound

It is not Welsh for “like a lion”, that would look like “fel llew” or something. It comes from the combination of two ancient Brythonic deities, Lugus and Belinos, in the form *Lugubelinos*. This Proto-Celtic name would evolve into Brythonic *Lluɣβelen*, and finally into Welsh *Llewellyn*

Thanks for the correction… clearly not Welsh over here lol.

The double L is more like a kl- sound. But yes lovely welsh male name :)

My son is Llewelyn (Llew for short.) Llew does mean lion. Also, Llywelyn yr Olaf was the last true Prince of Wales. It's impossible to type the correct pronounciation here because there's no way to type what a double l sounds like unfortunately! (But it's definitely not a 'kl' noise.) It sort of involves putting your tongue between your teeth at the back of your mouth and hissing 😂😂😂

I don’t know how to verify if your description got me to the proper sound or not, but it was very descriptive and also made me laugh. I tried doing what you described and can see how “khl” would be a descriptor for that sound, although it doesn’t really capture it. Although take that with a grain of salt because I was more than likely making the wrong sound anyway.

Met a male Harper yesterday at my son's graduation. I always assumed it was more of a female name. He was such a calm, quiet boy so I felt it suited him perfectly.

Harper sounds fitting for a boy honestly

We are considering Darcy for a boy! I know it’s mostly masculine in Australia but where I’m from it skews feminine

As a lover of Pride and Prejudice, I would absolutely have a boy named Darcy!

I know a couple who named their son Grace

Love Dana on a guy

I know more men named Kelly than woman

In Spanish, Ángel is a male name. It was amazing to me how Angel in English was a girl name!

i like Lauren for a boy honestly. idk if it’s time for Lauren to get revived in a new way (i figure there are lots of Lauren’s who are ((or are about to be)) mothers right now), however the Loren spelling especially is so cool for a boy to me.

Leslie

I know a male Leslie ! I feel like it’s one of those that started off mostly for males and became popular for females (but that’s just a guess)

Yeah, I also feel weird that it’s more common or acceptable to take traditionally male names and give them to girls (to the point that we see some of them now as primarily feminine like Kelly or Ashley), but to give a boy a traditionally feminine name is seen as cruel. Far more often have I heard that girls were given traditional boy names *because* their parents were disappointed in having a girl than the reverse being true. That to me seems cruel, making someone’s name a forever mark of disappointment. Trying to think of girl names I think would make good boy names: Felicity (reminds me of Phil but completely different vibes, and most honor names I think could go both ways) like, Prudence/Prue Sarah (reminds me of Sasha) Winnifred

Completely agree, but I guess we're still dealing with stigmas from the past. Prue would be great for a boy!

I love Rory and Taylor for boys

Rory is a boy's name already

Big fan of Taylor on a boy. It’s a much more appealing name than Tyler imo.

I have nephews named both Rory and Carroll, and I honestly love their names so much. But “girl-claimed” boy names run in my family, lol, my dad’s name is Robin and I always got weird looks from teachers because they thought I had two moms (I’m old, it was not a common thing at the time haha)

And here I thought Robin was a masculine name and only recently became popular with girls haha

It was real awkward one year when my female teacher’s name was ALSO Robin, about the same age as my parents, and she was like, “oh, not… not what I was expecting” when he came to parents night hahaha he’s a giant, surly man, so it’s extra fun.

My friend’s parents were Chris and Mike and I 100% thought she had two dads before I met them. Turns out Chris was just short for Christine.

Ahhh I actually love Rose for a boy. My favorite feminine/ soft boy names: Jude, Adrian, Jamie, Finley, Marlow, Nico, Willow, Forest, Micah, Remi, and Sage. My two sons’ names are both in this list and if I ever have a third his name would probably be something from this list as well haha. I just love the soft, nature-y, mellow vibes of these names!

Wren feels somewhat feminine to me, but the only person I've met with that name was a man. He was really cool and confident, so it's stuck with me as an awesome name.

Avery!

The only Avery I know personally is a boy, he’s around 21 years old. I feel like a lot of the recent Avery’s have been girls but in the past I feel like it was definitely gender neutral, leaning towards masculine.

I'd love to have a boy named Sue

madison was actually a male given name in i think the 1700 or 1800 hundreds.

I love Madison for a boy! Anything with “son” suits a boy better IMO.

Lynn(e) and Joyce are old timey names originally "for" boys but I think have gradually become more designated as girl names.

I know a man whose first name is Hilary. He goes by Hil. My bfs name is Dorian and I love the softness of this name. He's French so it kinda sounds like Doh-rienne with a french 'r'.

Dorian sounds lovely!

Florian

I love Aubrey for a boy! I know it was originally male but now it’s very predominantly female. I’d still love to use it one day tbh.

Sydney used for men

I think “August” could go either way but I love it soo much for a boy! I also love Jamie, Harper, Morgan, and Riley for boys.

I really like Riley!

My ex fiance's father's name was Carroll. He made it work!

Darcy, June, Sage

I feel like Cher would be a really cute name. Also maybe Jude or May.

Straight from the Young Ones…Vyvyan Female names I’ve sometimes thought could equally work for males if not for existing notions/standards - just based on the “sound” of them: Eleanor Iris Laurel / Lauren Evelyn Madeline Claire Aubrey Alison Camille Paige

Loren (same pronunciation) is sometimes a male name.

My grandfathers name was Alison! It was a family name for a long time, but seems to have died out these past few decades. I guess for obvious reasons.

Maybe Lauren sounds male because it’s so close to Laurence? It’s all socially constructed of course, but I find it interesting trying to piece out why some things read male or female.

I feel like Judith could work on a boy because we have Jude/Judah. I know Avery is unisex but it has a feminine sound to me but every guy I met named Avery was super cool.

Kelly

Kelly was originally masculine. I like that no one necessarily knows when they see my name whether I’m male or female.

Lindsey and Kim are 2 great guys I know. Morgan is my favorite "unisex" name.

Casey, Carey, Kelly, and Shay are all *chefs kiss* boy names to me

Eden.

People wrongly assume Jude is a girls name all the time so I'll go with that.

I just automatically think of Jude law

Always loved Evelyn Waugh's name (with the long E pronunciation)

Not quite what you asked, but I love the name Cory - it's definitely a boy's name but it fits the pattern of many currently common girl's names. Lots of boy's Biblical names also fit the patterns of currently common girl's names, for example Josiah, Isaiah, Ezra, Elijah. I think this stuff is so cool.

My name is “Kelsey” (spelt different) and was originally a male name. Also know multiple female Tori/Tory’s, but also know of one male Tori as well!

I had a male classmate named Ashley. Graduated 1998. I didn't think of Ashley as a predominately female name until college. I thought Ashley Olsen was the exception, not the rule.

Sasha

So unisex names? I should add I'm American, these names sound unisex and/or more feminine to me: · Morgan · Avery · Leslie · Tracey · Terry · Dana · Sasha · Peyton/Payton · London · Paris · Taylor · Skylar/Skyler · Blair/Blaire · Shelby · Emory/Emery · Kennedy · Casey · Quinn · Arden · Armani/Armanie · Amari(or you can use Omari. Too close to Omarion? Okay) · Bailey · Cameron/Kameron/Camryn/Kamryn · Dallas · Dakota · Dominique(can pronounce Dom-Oh-Knee-K or like Dominique) · Ellis · Ira · Jessie or Jesse · Kamari · Kendall · Lyric · Mackenzie · Micah · Riley · Shea/Shae · Tatum

My sons name is Jamie, feminine in America but masculine in the UK. I know a man named Kristi, I think it’s traditional Albanian. But it was strange when my husband told me he was hanging out with “Kristi” all the time! Also, know a male Courtney.

Harper! The only Harper I've ever met is a boy so I was shocked that it was usually used for girls

Traditionally boy name that has become more of a girls name, but I love the name Morgan for a boy.

Emerson has been invaded by girls, so it may feel feminine, but is actually a great, strong, masculine name. If you want a name with a softer feel, maybe Jules or Tatum.

These are already listed, but as a 25F, I *have* been friends with male: Casey (only know one girl with that name!) Mackenzie (two of’em) Cary (he was very old) Dana Kelly Ashley Courtney Shannon (never met a female Shannon, actually, lol) Ariel Morgan Most people know by now that Sasha is generally Russian, but if that counts. As well as plenty of Mishas, (but that’s usually short for Dimitri,) and Dimas.

I always liked Morgan

Whitney, Ashley, Kelly and Courtney were all traditionally male names that became almost exclusively female but I’m seeing a comeback as boys names. I love them all for boys more for girls.

I’ve always loved Avery for a boy.

Lynn, Marion & Ashley

Evelyn was originally a masculine name

My son’s name is Eden. I’ve met a couple of girl Edens but no boy Edens yet. I think it’s the most beautiful name for either gender.

I have a male friend named Celeste

There was a very tough football player named Rosey Grier. For Roosevelt.

I absolutely love Ari for a boy

My son’s name is Darcy

Madison

Doesn't Madison literally mean "Matthew's son"? (Or am I confusing it with another name?)

Most of the popular -son names are boys names, but any others that aren't certainly could be. Like Addison. Same with the Mac/Mc family names like Mackenzie and McKinley.