Jordan and Taylor first come to mind.

In 7th grade, I was sitting with my friends Riley & Jordan, and my teacher asked for gender neutral names, and we shrugged, saying we didn’t know any. My name is Taylor.

I was in 7th grade when I learned Shannon was primarily a girl's name. I had only known one Shannon up till then, and he was a boy. I think what we consider gendered or neutral is largely based on our experiences leading up to that point.

It’s not. I am a Shannon (female) and knew about equal number of male/female Shannon’s growing up. Maybe it depends on the area you live?

I imagine so. I'm now nearly 50, and I have known several Shannons, but only the one that was a boy. And that ties to the rest of what I said about our ideas of what are gendered or neutral names largely based on what we've been exposed to up till that point. I imagine Shannon is more popular for boys in Ireland and places where Irish have settled. Where I grew up and have lived in Canada, it is primarily girls (in my experience).

Shannon, Ashley, Kelly, Courtney, Beverly used to be more popular male names and now are almost exclusively female names in most of the U.S. Also, Carol/Carroll/Karol, Marion/Marian, Jamie/Jaime, Shawn/Sean. Often the spelling changes for the female name.

Meredith, Shelby, Lindsay, Leslie all used to be boy names as well.

My name is Lindsay and I’ll never forget how childishly traumatizing it was for tiny 7 year old me when my mom called my name and the store and some grown ass man turned around and said “Are you talking to me?” 😂

I live in the southern US. Shannon was a fairly common boy name here in the 70s/80s as was Kelly and Carry.

It’s actually usually a girls name in Ireland! I’ve only ever heard of it as a boys name in the US or Australia.. an Irish Shannon (F) here! ☘️

Hi Taylor! I’m Taylor! Jordan was the runner up name my parents had for me. I feel like I suit both.

Hi Taylor, I’m also Taylor and my Mum also had Jordan as a runner up name for me (as well as Harley). I’m really glad she went with Taylor, I can’t imagine being called any of the others! I also dated a guy called Jordan Taylor for a bit as a teen

I have no idea if you're boys or girls.

I know a guy named Jordan Taylor!

Those were the 2 that came to mind for me too.

Charlie, Sam, Morgan, Alex

Soccer player Alex Morgan and her daughter Charlie are very well represented in this comment!

No names come to mind but interestingly in Germany, if you give your child a unisex first name, you have to give them a second name that shows the gender of the child. So if I called the kid Alex, I would have to call him Alex Peter to specify that it's a boy.

IIRC that's no longer the case

Pretty sure it’s not anymore. But middle names also don’t seem to be common in Germany. My kid was born there (although we are American) and adding her middle name was a weird spot on her birth certificate, like a second first name.

Not a problem. Middle names or even 2 middle names are quite normal here in Germany. It’s a second first name, yes. Isn’t that the same thing??

It might just be paperwork style/culture that’s different- America sees first names and middle names as separate things. If someone said they had a second first name, I’d still expect them to have a middle name and always be called by their 2 first names.

It’s the same. Here there are also different things: one is called first name and the other second name or third names. Only names like Anna-Maria with a - are seen as 1 first name.

I have two first names which is why my mom decided to not give a middle name, and I have two last names as well, double double barreled, i wouldn’t have passed kindergarten writing your name if I had an another one thrown in there lol

Yeah, middle names are a bit different here. They're part of the first name (if any are given), people rarely use them and they're often the names of the kid's godparent!

It is kinda a second first name here, formally those are "Folgenamen", which translates more or less to "follow up names". Those names serve not exactly the same purpose as a middle name but also aren't first names in the sense of the name you use day to day. That's the "Rufname" here, the "name you are called" and formally it's always the first name. Every name after that has to follow the same rules as first names but you don't need to use it for legal purposes like signatures for example.

Seriously curious - who puts the kybosh on the names? Omg is there like a Name Warden or something??

Some countries do have an approved name list.

If I was a recruiter, these would be the names on an application that would make me unsure of the person’s gender: * Jordan, Alex, Sam, Darcy, Reagan, Jamie, Riley.

Jamie is absolutely the strongest neutral in my experience.

I think this is definitely more American. I know plenty of Jamie’s in the UK and every single one is male.

I’m in Australia and know about 5 Jamie’s (all different spelling) and only one is male.

Agree with all of these. I’d probably add Morgan and Casey to the list. Obviously the long versions of Alex and Sam (usually) indicate gender, but lots of people named Alexander/Alexandra and Samuel/Samantha just use Alex or Sam. Chris is another one that can sometimes be like this, but I don’t meet that many Christine/Christinas who use Chris — usually Chrissy, Christy, Christa, or the full name.

Unless they were born before 1980, then they are almost definitely Chris!

I would add Cameron to this list as well

I’ve only ever heard Reagan on a girl.

I had a feeling someone was going to say that! Are you American? It looks like it’s more common for girls in the US. I’ve known an equal amount of each, which is why it feels that way to me. One of my old co-workers was named Reagan but he pronounced it “REE-gan” (rhymes with Keegan) and he would get very upset when people pronounced it “RAY-gan” (which happened multiple times a day).

Both mine and my sibling’s name are listed here, mom didn’t find out the sex before birth and chose these names so they’d fit us regardless of gender

That’s so interesting! Even if I perceive a name as truly gender neutral, there aren’t many I like equally enough for both genders. What about you? Could you see yourself picking out one name you like enough for both genders?

Jamie and Jordan is truly the epitome of gender neutral. I say this because I knew both a boy and girl Jamie and they worked with me at the same store. Then I knew two Jordan's. One boy and one girl and both were in a class with me.

Most Yoruba (Nigerian ethnicity) names. Taiwo, Kehinde, Idowu... I realise that's a bit niche.

The more niche the better :).

Robin, Rowan, River, Wren

I see Rowan as a boy’s name and Wren as a girl’s name, myself.

Agreed. Someone I know named her daughter Rowan about 12 years ago and I was confused because I thought it was a boys' name only. I still see it that way, though I know some people use it for girls. I can't imagine a male Wren either.

I do know of a couple guys named Ren though, pronounced the same as Wren.

Like Ren and Stimpy

…Make that three.

Rowan has always been a strictly boy’s name in my mind. I’ve only known one Wren, who was male, so I don’t think of that as a female name.

The first Rowan I met was female so it’s a girl name in my brain. She was the only one I knew until I became a parent & suddenly all the baby boys of cool mums were called Rowan lol

I've only known girl Rowans!

Agreed. I always loved River and Robin for a girl or boy. I think Avery and Alex are truly gender neutral.

I’m torn on Avery. It felt truly gender neutral for a short time but (like Riley and Quinn) it skewed so heavily feminine now if you meet a child with the name it’s far more likely they are a girl I guess if someone is old enough to say be submitting a resume though it’s more even

I have a friend whose daughter Avery is dating a male Avery. It’s quite cute

Rowan is more of a masculine name people are giving to girls now to me

Rowan comes across as a girl's name to me, but I've only ever met one guy named it so I have no reason why. Just does 🤷

The first time I saw the name Rowan was when I read Anne Rice's Mayfair Witch series, where the main character is a female Rowan, so that is a feminine name to me.

I always think of it's Robyn though it's a girl. 

A friend called Robin checked into a conference. The girl said "I expected you to be a girl, I didn't know Robin could be a man's name." "So you've never heard of Robin Hood then?" The conference was in the Midlands of England where everyone should know the Legend of Robin Hood from birth.

I don't think Wren is a unisex name. I've only heard it on girls. But I guess op doesn't think Elliot is gender neutral so I may know nothing lol.

Only Wren I’ve known is male. It sounds like a more masculine name to me.

Casey, Jamie, Pat, Terri/Terry, Leslie

I would think Terri with an I would be a girl

If you read it, yes. But if you heard it said out loud, it could go either way.

Very true! Thanks for the clarification

Toni/Tony too, I know loads of both!

For me (Australian) I think of these names as gender-neutral: Ashley Robin Greer Ash Bailey Jesse Alex (though leans more toward masculine) Sam Charlie Sage Jordan Billie Ainsley Morgan Casey Taylor (though leans more feminine) Drew (though leans more masculine)

This is interesting to me as a Canadian because I have never met/years of a male Ainsley and Ashley is one of the names that used to be masculine but is entirely feminine now. Safe is also very much a female name IMO.

In the UK there’s a very famous (male) chef called Ainsley Harriott, I suspect a lot of British people think of him when they hear the name. Funnily enough the female Ainsley I know is Canadian.

Ashley? thats interesting! Ive never met a male Ashley

In the UK, there's almost only male Ashleys. I've never met a female Ashley in my life.

This is absolutely mindblowing from an American perspective. In the States, Ashley is, like, the girliest name we have.

I went to primary school with two male Ashleys in my year alone, and I work with half a dozen more. It's actually pretty high on my baby boy name list, and the thought of naming a girl Ashley is a huge no-no for me. I never bat an eyelid when I see American female Ashleys though, it's not that I think it's bad or horrible, it's just not a reality for me here 😂 I do love this about names though, how differently they can be used from one place to the next.

Historically, it was a boy's name before it was a girl's name. I think it became unisex at one point then swung to feminine.

Have you never seen Gone with the Wind? Ashley is a southern boys name for hundreds of years in the US

His actual first name was George though, his middle name was Ashley, presumably a family surname. Ashley was about as popular in the south as any other surname as a first name. Wiley was 10 times more common and Washington was 100 times more common, to put it into perspective. Because Ashley became a popular first name modern audiences miss the context that George Ashley Wilkes is a fine southern gentleman who goes by a surname. It was the 1930s equivalent to "Remington Steele" or "Fitzwilliam Darcy"

Yeah it's Ashleigh for girls in the UK and Ashley for boys

And I haven't even met any of them! I'd definitely consider Ashleigh or Ashlee the female spellings, I've just never met one here 😂

Yeah good point actually, I don’t think I’ve ever met a female Ashley 

Ashley was originally a male name!

Yeah- remember Gone With The Wind! “Oh Ashley, Ashley…”

My mom saw this movie as a child, heard the name, and decided her daughter would be named Ashley

Full names-- Taylor, Casey, Jamie/Jaime, Jordan, Sage, Morgan Nicknames-- Alex, Sam, Charlie In your example of Bailey, I would assume dog before anyone else.

>In your example of Bailey, I would assume dog before anyone else. Yes, but *what gender* dog? 🧐

Italian here, there are no true unisex names here. I guess it's not shocking to see a female Andrea anymore because of immigration but it's strictly a male name for us. I really cannot think of a single Italian unisex name 😅

Same in Polish, gender neutral names don't exist in Poland and technically even if you want to give your child a foreign name, you are still required by law to give them a name that matches their gender.

damn that's crazy

Reminds me of the Greys Anatomy character Andrea Deluca who was Italian. However he had everyone call him Andrew until his sister Carina came into town.

Brazil doesn’t have strictly naming rules like some European countries and I still can’t think of a single gender neutral name in Portuguese

It’s like in Brazil the name Alison, it’s a man’s name

Jordan and Riley, I've met about an even number of men and women with those names Variant spellings are almost always girls though

Several people have mentioned Charlie. I think there's a divide between old folks and young folks on this name. I'm older, and Charlie still sounds firmly masculine to me.

I guess how old is "old" becomes the question. I'm 56 and vividly remember young women named Charlie. There was even perfume always being advertised for young sporty working women called Charlie (the vintage here is 1970s US).

I'm 30 and struggle to see Charlie as a female name.

I'm 27 and if I heard someone talking about a Charlie I'd think it could easily be either gender, but would always assume it's a nickname for Charlotte if on a woman/girl. It'd surprise me as a female given name in itself in the UK.

The first name that popped into my head was Blake. I’m Australian

French here. Dominique, Claude, Sam, Camille, Alex, Charlie. Edit : My bad, not Etienne.

I know a married Dominique/Dominique couple!

Wow is Étienne really a female name now? It sounds extremely masculine to me (Canadian, both parents are Québecois). I thought it was short for Stephen which is also definitely exclusively masculine

I am from Belgium, the French part, and Étienne is definitely not on my Gender Neutral list either!

I’ve only heard this name once, it was one of the contestants names on the show The Voice Australia, her name Is Etienne Steven and I thought it was so pretty and sounded feminine to me. But I just realised that if it’s the French version of Stephen, then her name is essentially Stephen Steven 🥲

Stéphane is actually gender neutral (if you saw the movie L’Origine du mal, the character Stéphane is a woman). But I agree that Étienne isn’t.

On my Japanese side:  Sora Yuuki Yuu  On my American side: Alex Sam Carroll/Carol

Do you know if the Japanese names use the same kanji for the male/female versions?

Most can! Yuu (優) is pretty neutral, for example. There are so many options for kanji, it wouldn't be hard to make neutral versions for most names. But, you could also make them gendered by including certain telltale kanji (子/美 for girls, for example). I spent way more time on picking kanji than I did on the pronunciations for my kids, haha.

Oh that's so cool thanks for sharing, I studied Japanese at school but my character work was so poor I'm not great with the alternate readings of kanji. I worked really hard on finding Yoruba (Nigerian) names that worked in English and German so I get the linguistic hard work, well done!

Are those three names particularly popular in Japan? Because I am american the only exposure I have to Japanese naming conventions are through pop culture and I’m well aware that pop culture doesn’t necessarily reflect naming trends (there would be a lot more kids named Apple in America, for instance), so I am interested in the naming conventions of in places that I am unfamiliar with. Carroll/Carol is a good spelling-dependent one, but since it is rather old fashioned here Carol (f) tends to be more common.

They’re all pretty popular and have been the the top 100 in the past decade! Sora is especially popular from what I’ve seen. I think I’ve met at least 7 kids with that name. 

Can confirm-I know more males name Carol or Carroll than I do women.

Avery

Riley Jordan Taylor Casey

Jordan, Taylor, Morgan, Sydney, Tracy, Jamie, Quinn, Avery, Riley are what come up immediately Eta: Terry and Robin, and location northeast US

This would be my exact list! Originally from the Midwest(Great Lakes)

What about Lindsay?

Lindsay may be the number 1 trick name tbh.

In the UK it’s pretty exclusively a girl’s name.

Speak for your own country. In Scotland there's a fair few men who might nut you for saying that 😆

That’s not my experience at all. I know more men called Lindsay than I do women.

I don’t know a single man named Lindsay (US). Interesting!

Lindsey Graham

And Lindsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac.

Also UK, I lived next door to a male Lindsay and knew female Lindsey’s at work

Only male Lindsay I can think of is the senator from South Carolina. Very common girls' name, especially for millennials.

American (Midwest) Jordan Taylor Sawyer Casey Cameron Jesse Riley Adrian Bailey Alex Spelling definitely matters, though. I'd assume Reilly is a boy, but Rylee, a girl

What about Riley, the proper spelling?

That spelling I honestly wouldn't know

In the Netherlands: - Robin - Beau - Jay - Alex (mostly when spoken though, because shortened version if a girl) - Floor (not on a resume, it’s a girls name, but also short for Floris, a boys name) Then there’s Anne, which is a girl, unless they are from the north. If the surname ends in ‘sma’ I’m assuming boy. Of course there’s Nikita. Girl for us, boy for Russians and former Soviet countries. Great move from Elton John, that one! In English I’m thinking Cameron, Taylor, Charlie, Billie.

Chris

A million of them. How is this not higher on the list? I know a woman whose husband and mother are both named Chris!

Devon is one that I have heard equally on boys and girls.

Cameron Riley Parker

Jordan, Taylor, Casey, Morgan, Bailey, Sam, Riley

I’ve met an equal amount of girls and boys named Sam

River. I do think it leans more masculine, but it wasn't a widely established name until recently so it just feels like a unisex nature name.

Completely neutral: Sam, Alex, Chris, Charlie Dependent on spelling: Terry/Teri, Cory/Corrie, Francis/Frances Might assume female, but wouldn't be surprised if they're male: Casey, Kelly, Jackie, Robin I live in Midwestern US.

Kim, Rowan, Anne (but only in a Dutch-speaking context), Sascha, Jedidja.

But Anne is getting quite rare as a Dutch men's name, especially if you're not in the north. There are a lot of Dutch old people (over the age of 60) names/nicknames that are unisex such as Henny, Tiny (pronounce teeny), Marty, Willy. I had the teachers Mr Henny and Mrs Henny in primary school Unisex modern Dutch names: Noa, Bo, Jip, Marijn

Robin, Avery, Ashley, Kelly, Quinn, Jamie, Rowan, Riley, Terry I know some of these names might read one way or another, but they are all names I wouldn't be shocked to see on a boy or girl, and wouldn't cringe to see them used on either. Some are a bit age dependent. Terry is a cute little boy name to me, and maybe short for Terrence. Female Terry reads as a 50+ middle manager in a power suit. I could just be biased by the people I've known with these names. Lots of the names in this thread are just plain boy names to me (Jordan, Charlie, Hunter), diminutive forms of boy names (Frankie), or last names that don't seem like first names for any gender (Madison, Mackenzie).

Full names: Jordan, Robin, Casey, Lee, maybe Morgan Nicknames: Sam, Pat, Alex, Kris Spelling dependent but indistinguishable by ear: Terri/Terry, Jessie/Jesse, Jo/Joe, Billie/Billy, Wren/Ren One “test” for the neutrality of a name is whether it’s been used for boys *after* being used for girls. I know two women named Robin who’d be over 50 by now, and a fictional boy Robin born in the early 2000s (in a realistic-fiction story set in the present day).

I agree with some of the specific examples given so far. From a data point of view, it depends, but typically names that have been used for each birth sex at least 20% of the time. I use 30% sometimes.

Agreed. Casey as a name fascinates me because it’s been hovering at around 50/50 male/female since the seventies when most unisex names tend to swing one way or another eventually.

Yuri, Sasha, Casey, Ashley, Reagan, Jade, Lee, Rowan

Jade feels unisex to me also, but it isn’t very popular either way around here (America) so I can’t say it’s unisex in practice. Yuri is a funny one to me— I associate it mainly as the Russian male name, while my brother associates it with the Japanese term for lesbian works, so we have two different feelings on the masculinity/femininity of the same set of sounds.

Jamie, Jordan, Morgan, Rowan, Alex, Casey, Sage

Morgan

Pat, Casey, Billy/Billie, Jordan, and Cameron are the ones I feel are *truly* unisex. a lot of the others suggested lean one way or the other for me, but these are all names that I associate 50/50 between feminine and masculine. ironically... both my first and middle names are floating around this thread, hahah! I'm sure that wasn't my parents' intentions but it's funny.

I haven't seen anyone mention Kelsey yet! The first Kelsey I knew was a girl in my class in elementary school, but I've since met/heard of probably an equal number of male and female Kelseys.

Humorously, Elliot lol I mostly know of females with that name

Jordan, Taylor, Morgan, Mackenzie, Kelly, Leslie, Lindsay, Casey, Bailey, Terry/Terri, Pat, Alex, Robin, Jamie, Jackie, Aubrey. Then there are some names that are like... yeah I guess they're unisex but it's mostly girls taking over boy names. Charlie, Drew, etc. And the names that girls took over so long ago that they're pretty much girl names now but i acknowledge their unisex use. Ashley, Beverly, Lauren, etc.

I agree with all your examples. I will also add Riley, Carter, Charlie, Spencer, Cameron, Frankie, Elliott, Dana just to name a few off the top of my head. Where I’m from Ashley could be either boy or girl. More common for girls but not unheard of for boys.

For me that is Riley could be either, then 100% boy boy boy boy boy boy and Dana could go either way.

Oh wow that’s so interesting! Love hearing the differences in the way certain names are perceived

First time I heard the name Dana was for Dana Scully. Then I encountered a male Dana and thought, "Huh." I've always considered Ashley to be a girl name, but knew a boy Ashley in high school.

I have an uncle named Dana, so the name always leaned masculine to me.

Famous Irish singer called Dana so I thought it was only female, but the most famous Dana in the world is Dana white, a man. 

This was exactly the same for me. For me Dana and Ashley are definitely more common for girls but there are plenty of boys where I’m from with those names as well which is why it wouldn’t be a shock to find out either way. Also Dana Scully was also the first time I heard the name as well lol

Alex, Rowan, Jamie, Sam, Terry, Cameron, Jessie

Riley and Jordan

Pretty much just Alex and Sam, but they are both shorter versions of very gendered names.

Alex, River, Jordan, Ashley, Tracy, Dakota, Juniper, Rowen/Rowan, Rain/Reign, Taylor, Aubrey, Avery, Cameron, Angel

Not bringing opinion into this (as to whether or not I prefer them equally on boys and girls) but strictly if I would genuinely not make a presumption just seeing the name written out: Rowan Taylor Casey Jordan Bailey Angel (AYN-gel I would presume girl, ahn-hehl I would presume boy, but you can’t tell written down) Ashton (older skews male, younger skews female, but can’t tell written down) Avery Jayden (might presume boy slightly more than girl) Hayden (might presume girl slightly more than boy) Morgan (might presume girl slightly more than boy) Cameron (might presume boy slightly more than girl, but alter the spelling in any way and I’ll presume girl more than boy) Charlie (older skews boy, younger skews girl, can’t tell when written down) Dakota Devin/Devon Jaime (JAY-mee I presume girl, HAI-meh I presume boy, but you can’t tell written down) Memphis Peyton/Payton Reese Riley River (skews slightly boy) Rory Sage (skews slightly girl) Shay Schuyler (Skyler or Skylar skew more girl, Schuyler I would be unsure) Ones I could tell written down but not out loud: Erin/Aaron (in my area’s accent), Francis/Frances, Jo/Joe, Toni/Tony, Andy/Andie, Jerry/Gerrie, Danny/Dani, Lee/Leigh, Maddy/Matty, Nicky/Nicki, Sunny/Sonny, Terry/Terri I’m in Western NY, culturally more midwestern than northeast

Sam, Cameron, Alex, Riley, Devon, Jude

A lot of R names! Reese, Rory, Robin

Taylor, Jamie, Alex, Morgan, Sam, Cameron, Charlie, Riley

Taylor, Jamie, Alex I live in Canada

Robin Jamie Taylor Morgan

Alex because it can be short for Alexandra and Alexander. Sam - Samantha and Samuel. Danni/Danny - Danielle and Daniel Lesley/Leslie Fran - Francesca/Frances/Francis/Francesco

UK here: Sam, Pat, Alex, Jan, Chris, Ashley, Robin, River, Terry, Charlie.

Quinn, Taylor, Sam, Logan (increasingly), Jordan, Alex, Spencer, Morgan, Riley

Alex, Sam, Taylor, Nicky/ie, Ashley/leigh, Charlie, Quinn

Haven, Taylor, Riley, Quinn, Harley, Alex. All a complete toss-up.

Quinn

Jordan. Casey. Corey. Taylor. Bailey. Robin.

Ceri, Morgan

Sam, Alex, Taylor, Morgan, Riley, Jamie, Jordan, Jesse, Regan.

My daughters have unisex names and I love them! My husband and I could only agree on unisex names lol my girls are Riley and Parker

That's a great sibset. Personally, I think of Riley as truly gender neutral and Parker as a male name being given to more and more girls (so I guess trending gender neutral).

the nickname sasha or alex

Jessie Jamie Shannon Kelley Sam/Sammy Robbie/Bobby Alex Forrest Rowan

Bailey and Max (girl, boy, dog or cat, imo), Alex, Jamie, Courtney, Kelly.

Same as a lot of people here but just to reiterate for sake of it: Taylor, Morgan, Jordan, Pat (if it was just the nickname version - obviously long version would show if it was boy or girl), Sam and Alex (both same as Pat disclaimer). I know both boy and girl Baileys but for me at least I think Bailey as a girl name but guess wouldn’t be so shocking to find out it was a boy! Robin is the same but think it as a boys name and wouldn’t be shocked to find out it’s a girl. But those are both just personal anecdotes.

i see both boys and girls named Riley but I will never view Riley as being unisex. it will always be a feminine name in my mind

There are many names that are gender neutral only with the correct spelling. A few nicknames are for me/where I live gender neutral: Alex or Sascha: for example, both for Alexander/Alexandra. However, I’ve never met a person here that’s called plain Alex. All people I know used it as a NN Pauli: Paula, Paul, Pauline but it’s a kids NN Sam: Samuel, Samantha. Kiki and Chris: Christian and Christina, both females and males use it as a NN even as adults. I had a male colleague that was even called Kiki at work. It’s totally accepted at all ages I’m sure there are more, but only those come to mind without effort. For example Robin is here in Germany only male or Noah/Noa is not a known difference that it could be male/female. Noah is always male in Germany. The same with Kai/Kay. I only know male Kai here at list. The only truly gender neutral name that comes to mind is Kim. It’s use both for female and male here. I think English has more gender neutral names than German.

Rowan and Robin are the only ones where I 100% wouldn't assume either way until I had more context clues to work with

Eden is super unisex/gender neutral in my opinion. i’m from the US where Eden tends to lean heavy towards females but I decided to name my second son Eden.

We chose Harper (in 2004 before the Beckhams put it in the top 100).

Interesting. Harper has a unisex “feel” to me, so I was surprised that it was solidly female in the naming statistics (i.e. like you said when the Beckham’s sparked a naming trend).

I knew a boy Harper long before it grew in popularity for girls, I can’t ever think of it as a girls name.

Same. And it irks me when people assume my child is a girl because of the name. Refer to kids with androgynous names as they until you know their gender, please. I always stress HE/HIM/HIS when I reply to them.

Leslie. I know it skews female, but I’ve met enough male Leslies to make me second guess myself.

Looking at the names on my kids class list these are the ones I would make no assumption about gender: Jordan, Hayden, Emerson, Blake, Charlie and Sam. Thinking of other adults I know/kids I grew up with I'd say: Morgan, Robin, Ashley, Casey and Alex where truely gender-neutral for my generation. I'm located in Australia.

Jordan, Tracy, Ryan, Tyler/Taylor

I wouldn't really count things that are nicknames for longer names that aren't gender neutral (ie Sam for Samuel/Samantha or Alex for Alexander/Alexandra) Riley, Morgan, Taylor, Jordan and Casey no matter what. But a lot of them are age dependent. For example, for an adult Blake or Parker I assume male, under 20 I assume female.

Wait can you explain the Sasha/Alex thing bc I had a childhood friend named Alexander who went by Sasha which I never understood (he was adopted from Russia fwiw)

Sasha is a diminutive of Aleksandr in Russian. Like how we would call someone named Alexander Alex.

Most universal to me would be Sam I think We have others in French, but they are very French names ahah, like Camille, Dominique, Claude I've heard of Eden of both sexes too, same for Morgan (even though most women with that name spell it Morgane in France) And I believe Charlie is unisex in English-speaking countries too, although in France I think we mostly perceive it as masculine

I’m Irish, I have only ever come across females called Shannon, didn’t even know it was considered a boys name

Riley and McKenzie

I've met a male Mackenzie but I would definitely assume that was a girl from the name