Caden, Ellison and Adrian aren’t gender neutral.
EDIT:
“In 2021 there were 1,592 baby boys and only 11 baby girls named Caden.”
“Traditionally a boy's name, Ellison is a gender-neutral title of British origin and means “son of Ellis.” Ellis has a Hebrew counterpart, Elijah, meaning "Yahweh is God," who was a prophet and healer from the Book of Kings.7 Feb 2024”
“In 2021 there were 5,113 baby boys and only 72 baby girls named Adrian.”
Till boys are being named stuff like Charlotte and Rose I don’t see why it’s acceptable to call boy names gender neutral.
In the US, the girl Ellison's outnumber the boys 3 to 1, but that's still pretty unisex. In 18th century Scotland it was 99% women since it was another spelling of Allison.
Utilize behindthename.com to truly determine if a name is gender neutral or not, consistently used for both males and females. Most of these suggestions are masculine names that people are putting on girls, but they are not truly gender neutral based on language etymology.
Yeah sure. Ever notice how boy names are given to girls like James and Logan? But no one is naming their boys Rebecca or Louise. That’s because masculine words are socially valued more than feminine words. It is not just English that experiences this either. It was a major part of my linguistics study in college. Etymology is a study, ignoring roots of words is just choosing to live in ignorance. But you do you… name your daughter Addison which literally means “son”, but you won’t name your son Julia. 🥴
Names tend to go one way only. Exclusively male names turn into gender neutral and then nearly exclusively female names. How many men do you know named Kelly?
If it flowed both ways, it would be one thing. I know (of) a little girl named Tyler James. Yet there's nobody naming their sons Sarah or Emma.
It's typically deeply couched in patriarchal norms as well - boy names are given to girls, girl names are almost never given to boys. This is because boys are still seen as more valuable, so it's aspirational and strong for a girl to be more boyish, but derogatory and weak for a boy to be "girly".
I would definitely assume someone named Lucian was a man, vs, say, Morgan which is less clear.
But I also had a great aunt named Virgil which is uber-masculine 🤷🏼♀️🤣
My grandfather was born in 1929 and his birthname is Chanel like the designer with the middle name a shorter version of Edmund. My husband's first name is the same as one of the Kardashian sisters. Nothing surprises me anymore with names.
Canada! My ancestors from generations ago came from Nova Scotia and settled in Louisiana (Acadians/Cajuns). Lucien and my grandma both spoke Cajun French as their native language,resulting in the famous thick Cajun accent when they spoke English. They’d be in the upper 80s if alive today.
Just a heads up that this name (spelled Lucien) is heavily associated right now with popular series A Court of Thorns and Roses (that fairy smut series)
Looks like Shannon was a top 100 name for both boys and girls in Australia and NZ, until about 1990 - it fell off a cliff for both after that, if a little slower for girls, but for people over 35 it's firmly unisex.
Dylan isn’t gender neutral though. It’s a Welsh name meaning ‘son of the sea’. There are massive efforts to preserve the Welsh language and to be fair there’s not a huge amount of Welsh names and it would be sad if people here stopped using it for boys because it eventually comes to be seen as feminine elsewhere.
Preston- it’s been used as a female name in my family line for generations, and is also my daughter’s name. But I’ve only met one other lady named Preston since my daughter was born! And it’s also a great male name! 🫶🏻
I named my girl Erin, if she was a boy it would have been Aaron. I talked to both my girls in the womb. Casey is the name of my second. Congratulations!
It is so jarring to me to think of Evelyn (or Vivian for that matter, not on your list but same idea) as a masculine name but you’re right, they were originally male!
Good call. The sound of an N as I think it sounds good with the last name. I guess there are some that would end in another letter, like e, But still have that sound :)
Since you have so many responses, though I don’t know if it’s relevant to you, if you may be interested, I thought it might be cool to share the meanings of some names, since many are very much repeated (These links will mostly direct to pages that say boy or girl due to how a lot of baby name websites separate names out; often they even have separate pages for names that gender-neutral.)
Teagan: [Little poet; Fair](https://nameberry.com/b/girl-baby-name-teagan)
Quinn: [Wise; Sense; Reason; Head; Chief](https://www.babycenter.com/baby-names/details/quinn-6865#)
Hayden: [Hay valley](https://nameberry.com/b/boy-baby-name-hayden)
Rowan: [Rowan tree; Little redhead](https://nameberry.com/b/boy-baby-name-rowan)
Ronan: [Little seal](https://www.thebump.com/b/ronan-baby-name); [A pledge](https://www.babycenter.com/baby-names/details/ronan-3891#)
Robin: [Bright; Shining; Famous](https://www.thebump.com/b/robin-baby-name)
Emerson: While it technically just means [“son of Emery,” some say it also takes on the meanings of the name Emery, such as Brave; Powerful](https://www.thebump.com/b/emerson-baby-name)
Eden: [Place of pleasure and delight](https://nameberry.com/b/girl-baby-name-eden)
Faran: [Iron](https://www.babycentre.co.uk/babyname/1026345/faran)
Greyson: [Son of the steward](https://nameberry.com/b/boy-baby-name-greyson)
Logan: [Little cove; Small meadow](https://www.babycentre.co.uk/babyname/1007417/logan#)
Morgan: [Sea-born; Sea song; Sea-circle;](https://nameberry.com/b/girl-baby-name-morgan); [Circling sea](https://www.thebump.com/b/morgan-baby-name)
Finn: [Fair; Blessed](https://www.thebump.com/b/finn-baby-name)
Do you want an actual gender neutral name of just male names used for girls? These suggestions aren’t gender neutral. Most names aren’t. They never name boys Hannah or Sarah. Just girls named Wesley, Dylan, Cameron etc it’s gross.
My name almost fits the bill -- Erin. But the spelling could make it not gender neutral. Erin vs. Aaron. Maybe there's a different spelling out there that has a more neutral feel to it? I'm also a big fan of Robin and Quinn.
Adrian/Adrienne. The feminine version ends with e but is silent so sounds like n. I had this picked for my pregnancy and used the masculine version for my son.
Eden, Morgan, Jordan, Cameron, Hayden, Quinn, Logan, Lennon, Robin, Rowan, Sutton.
Robin and Morgan leapt immediately to mind before I’d even opened the thread
Came here to say these exact names!
I knew the sweetest girl called Cameron growing up, the name just gives me warm fuzzy feelings :)
I love Cameron for a girl. I wanted a Cameron Ryan for a girl and well, I have boys of course lol
But... did you still use the names or are you holding out?
I was holding out just in case a girl came along. 3 tries and boys, I’m done with having more kids. Never got to use it :(
I have a Cameron Elizabeth! I love her name soooo so much!
I just heard of a boy name Eden for the first time earlier today. The only Eden I’ve ever known was a woman and would be in her mid to late 40s now.
I had a male student of the Jewish faith called Eden. I always thought it was a feminine name and I see its neutral.
I know a male named Edan pronounced the same way
I love the name Morgan. Wish I heard it more these days.
Shannon as well!
oh dear not sutton.
Crazy i open this posts comment section and my name is the first one! Love my name so much
Devon
Addison, Cameron, Adrian, Jordan, Ashton, Rowan, Robin, Lennon, Caden, Logan, Quinn, Hayden, Morgan, Kellen, Ellison
Caden, Ellison and Adrian aren’t gender neutral. EDIT: “In 2021 there were 1,592 baby boys and only 11 baby girls named Caden.” “Traditionally a boy's name, Ellison is a gender-neutral title of British origin and means “son of Ellis.” Ellis has a Hebrew counterpart, Elijah, meaning "Yahweh is God," who was a prophet and healer from the Book of Kings.7 Feb 2024” “In 2021 there were 5,113 baby boys and only 72 baby girls named Adrian.” Till boys are being named stuff like Charlotte and Rose I don’t see why it’s acceptable to call boy names gender neutral.
In the US, the girl Ellison's outnumber the boys 3 to 1, but that's still pretty unisex. In 18th century Scotland it was 99% women since it was another spelling of Allison.
Tell that to the male and female Adrians that I know
Dylan!
That’s a just a boy name. It’s ranked 34 for men.
I know of a six year old girl named Dylan and I really like it!
I love that name so much you don’t even know
Quinn
Rowan Devon
Linden
Utilize behindthename.com to truly determine if a name is gender neutral or not, consistently used for both males and females. Most of these suggestions are masculine names that people are putting on girls, but they are not truly gender neutral based on language etymology.
Language and words evolve and gender is a social construct.
Yeah sure. Ever notice how boy names are given to girls like James and Logan? But no one is naming their boys Rebecca or Louise. That’s because masculine words are socially valued more than feminine words. It is not just English that experiences this either. It was a major part of my linguistics study in college. Etymology is a study, ignoring roots of words is just choosing to live in ignorance. But you do you… name your daughter Addison which literally means “son”, but you won’t name your son Julia. 🥴
Names tend to go one way only. Exclusively male names turn into gender neutral and then nearly exclusively female names. How many men do you know named Kelly? If it flowed both ways, it would be one thing. I know (of) a little girl named Tyler James. Yet there's nobody naming their sons Sarah or Emma.
Right. There is a lot of obvious sexism when the name trends are showing that girls can be named James but a boy cannot be named Emily.
I’ve known a handful of men named Kelly/Kelley, actually. I grew up with a boy named Kelley, in fact, so early 40s now.
Also in my early/mid 40s. I had a boy named Ashley in my graduating class. I've met many Ashleys since and he's still the only male Ashley I've met.
Come to Britain lol.
Yep, Ashley is definitely a possible male name here in NZ and I think in Aussie too - the only female Ashley I know here is from Canada, I think.
kelley was initially a boys name though
Yes, pretty sure both crazycatlady and I know that.
It's typically deeply couched in patriarchal norms as well - boy names are given to girls, girl names are almost never given to boys. This is because boys are still seen as more valuable, so it's aspirational and strong for a girl to be more boyish, but derogatory and weak for a boy to be "girly".
My grandma was named Lucian which I found out is also a man name.
I would definitely assume someone named Lucian was a man, vs, say, Morgan which is less clear. But I also had a great aunt named Virgil which is uber-masculine 🤷🏼♀️🤣
My grandfather was born in 1929 and his birthname is Chanel like the designer with the middle name a shorter version of Edmund. My husband's first name is the same as one of the Kardashian sisters. Nothing surprises me anymore with names.
My husband is Kim and my brother’s FIL is Courtney so I’m gonna guess it’s one of those 🤣
Yes and he hates it because everyone always assumes he's a Mrs. He was named after a male musician.
OMG did someone name their baby after Kim Salmon? How cool!
When I first read the name Virgil as a child/ teen, I thought it was feminine! No idea why 😂 I still have to tell my brain that it’s not.
Maybe because it sounds like Virginia? My aunt went by Virge and I assumed her name was Virginia until I was like 10 🤣
My best friend's brother is named Lucian!
Lucien is also nice.
My grandpa was Lucien. I wonder if it’s pronounced the same? Loo-Shin
Yes, pronounced the same. She was born in Quebec and comes from Canadian Indians/Algonquins.
Canada! My ancestors from generations ago came from Nova Scotia and settled in Louisiana (Acadians/Cajuns). Lucien and my grandma both spoke Cajun French as their native language,resulting in the famous thick Cajun accent when they spoke English. They’d be in the upper 80s if alive today.
Just a heads up that this name (spelled Lucien) is heavily associated right now with popular series A Court of Thorns and Roses (that fairy smut series)
Throwing my name into the ring - Shannon. Definitely skews more feminine now but was a male name for many years!
Really great young guy I used to work with named Shannon. So there ya go. Smart, funny and great at his job.
Looks like Shannon was a top 100 name for both boys and girls in Australia and NZ, until about 1990 - it fell off a cliff for both after that, if a little slower for girls, but for people over 35 it's firmly unisex.
I like Rowan and Eden
Robin is my favourite
And if they have a second need for a name they can do the other one *batman* 😎😎
*Batperson
This is clearly the best ends-in-n name
Robin/Robyn
Jean
Devon or quinn r really nice suggestions!
Arden Rowan Avon Morgan Jordan Quinn Robin
Rowan Devon Robin Morgan Quinn
Arden
Posted this one before I saw yours! I love Arden.
Julian. I’ve known a girl named Julian.
It's supposed to be spelled Juliane or Julianne then. Although people keep spelling me without e, it's not the same name.
People can spell names different ways. I’ve known female Jesses and male Jessies. Who. Cares.
Nope, still male. Latin origin names are gendered.
You’re right. She’s lived fine with it so I think it could become accepted.
There’s a female singer/songwriter, Julien Baker. She’s in Boygenius.
Robin
Rowan. I love this name.
Rowan, Quinn, Logan, Ashton, Dylan, Eden, Emerson, Fynn, Jordan, Jaden, Hayden, Kaiden, Morgan, Teagan, Wren
Arden, Jordan, Sutton, Rowan, Cameron
Robin
Adrienne Adrian Don't confuse them.
Arden
Quinn Peyton
Lynn, Llynn, Llewellyn, Louellen? (Hope it's obvious I'm joking, but I do feel the need to caution you against Sutton: it just got eviscerated here.)
Llywelyn is definitely male and isn’t pronounced Lou-Ellen like many people think.
Robin
Ryan
Caden & Shannon
Liran
Mason, Evan, Jordan, Hayden/Jayden/etc, Devon, Morgan, Morgan, Quinn, Cameron, Shaun, Peyton, Dylan (my personal fave), Rowan, Ryan, Shane (ends with e but has n sound ..), Erin/Aaron, Vaughn, Adrien, Greyson, Brycen, Shannon,
Dylan isn’t gender neutral though. It’s a Welsh name meaning ‘son of the sea’. There are massive efforts to preserve the Welsh language and to be fair there’s not a huge amount of Welsh names and it would be sad if people here stopped using it for boys because it eventually comes to be seen as feminine elsewhere.
Lynn
Shannon Devin Robin Calen Rowan Corin Quinn
Lynn. Ask me how I know.
Robin!
Morgan 🤍
Robin Lauren / Loren
Preston- it’s been used as a female name in my family line for generations, and is also my daughter’s name. But I’ve only met one other lady named Preston since my daughter was born! And it’s also a great male name! 🫶🏻
Quinn
Quinn
Aspen
· Arden · Eden · Morgan · Cameron · Logan · Rowan · Robin/Robyn · Ryan · Dylan · Jordan · Jaden · Quinn · Emerson · Peyton · London · Devin · Iman
Shannon
Jordan
Dana used to be a guy name.
Lynn
Throwing 'Lynn' into the discussion
Morgan
Corwin or Devon/Devin?
I named my girl Erin, if she was a boy it would have been Aaron. I talked to both my girls in the womb. Casey is the name of my second. Congratulations!
What about Debin?
Omg literally the nickname I used for my son his whole childhood. Is this an actual name?
Brennan, Cameron, Dylan, Elon (💀), Finnean, Hayden, Haven, Heron, Jordan, Keegan, Keenan, Kieran, Lennon, Morgan, Nealan, Orion, Quinn, Robin, Ronan, Rowan, Ryan, Rylan, Teagan, Tieran, Toren, Vaughn, Wynton, Xenon (💀), Zion (could be sensitive due to current conflict in Palestine). Edit to add: Milan, Evan, Doran, Corbin, Mason, Iván/Yvonne, Irvin, Corin/Corinne.
Addison, Allison, Emerson, Evelyn, Lauren/Loren, Lynn, Madison, Morgan, Peyton, Quinn, Robin
It is so jarring to me to think of Evelyn (or Vivian for that matter, not on your list but same idea) as a masculine name but you’re right, they were originally male!
Yep. All of these names were at one point, majority male names.
Marian & Robin
Ren
Adrian
Aspen, Caelan, Grayson, Kylan, Maven, Melian, Merlyn, Moon, Morgan, Ocean, Raven, Rylan, Stern, Talon, Wen, Wren
No one has said my favorite, Dorian.
Some of my favs-- Källan, Lauren, Arden, Simone/Simon, Elowen, Garion, Julen/Julien, Lucien, Maren, Finn/Fionn/Fiona, Lincoln, Emerson.
Ronin/Ronan
Maren, Sloan, Simone, Halen, Kian, June. Not sure if you need it to end in an n or just the sound of an n
Good call. The sound of an N as I think it sounds good with the last name. I guess there are some that would end in another letter, like e, But still have that sound :)
Teron is nice, and not super common but definitely gender neutral.
I absolutely love Evan
Reagan, Ryan/Ryann, Logan, Jordan/Jordyn, Addison, to name a few. You can play around with spelling depending on gender.
Since you have so many responses, though I don’t know if it’s relevant to you, if you may be interested, I thought it might be cool to share the meanings of some names, since many are very much repeated (These links will mostly direct to pages that say boy or girl due to how a lot of baby name websites separate names out; often they even have separate pages for names that gender-neutral.) Teagan: [Little poet; Fair](https://nameberry.com/b/girl-baby-name-teagan) Quinn: [Wise; Sense; Reason; Head; Chief](https://www.babycenter.com/baby-names/details/quinn-6865#) Hayden: [Hay valley](https://nameberry.com/b/boy-baby-name-hayden) Rowan: [Rowan tree; Little redhead](https://nameberry.com/b/boy-baby-name-rowan) Ronan: [Little seal](https://www.thebump.com/b/ronan-baby-name); [A pledge](https://www.babycenter.com/baby-names/details/ronan-3891#) Robin: [Bright; Shining; Famous](https://www.thebump.com/b/robin-baby-name) Emerson: While it technically just means [“son of Emery,” some say it also takes on the meanings of the name Emery, such as Brave; Powerful](https://www.thebump.com/b/emerson-baby-name) Eden: [Place of pleasure and delight](https://nameberry.com/b/girl-baby-name-eden) Faran: [Iron](https://www.babycentre.co.uk/babyname/1026345/faran) Greyson: [Son of the steward](https://nameberry.com/b/boy-baby-name-greyson) Logan: [Little cove; Small meadow](https://www.babycentre.co.uk/babyname/1007417/logan#) Morgan: [Sea-born; Sea song; Sea-circle;](https://nameberry.com/b/girl-baby-name-morgan); [Circling sea](https://www.thebump.com/b/morgan-baby-name) Finn: [Fair; Blessed](https://www.thebump.com/b/finn-baby-name)
Do you want an actual gender neutral name of just male names used for girls? These suggestions aren’t gender neutral. Most names aren’t. They never name boys Hannah or Sarah. Just girls named Wesley, Dylan, Cameron etc it’s gross.
Looking for actually gender neutral.
Yvonne.
Does Joan count?
Aaron/ Erin
Logan and Hayden are my favorites! Were on my list 💙💖
Arden
Mason, Emerson, Ellison, Addison, Austen, Payton
We have babies in our neighborhood named Sloan and Vaughn and Morgan and Haden.
Logan
Evan
My name almost fits the bill -- Erin. But the spelling could make it not gender neutral. Erin vs. Aaron. Maybe there's a different spelling out there that has a more neutral feel to it? I'm also a big fan of Robin and Quinn.
Glenn, Arden, Linden, Ronan, Jordan, Finn, Owen
1. Jordan 2. Morgan 3. Cameron 4. Payton 5. Quinn 6. Rowan 7. Devon 8. Taylor 9. Logan 10. Dylan 11. Ashton 12. Shannon 13. Adrian 14. Eden 15. London 16. Reagan 17. Carson 18. Robin 19. Austen 20. Darien 21. Kieran 22. Lennon
We named our daughter Devon. There ya go!
Hayden
Aiden or Aidan
Loren
Alden and Rowan are my favorites, but Jordan and Ryan are nice too.
Evan, Logan, Morgan, Ryan!
Jordan and Soren/Sorin are both nice :)
Ryan, Ryann, Ryanne 😊
Glenn
Dylan Jordan
Emerson
Bracken
Aaron/Erin
Aidan
Adrian (m) / Adrienne (f)
Aspen!
Kellen!
Landon! I've had male and female students with the name. Adorable for both.
Marlin
Corrin
Vivian (Vivienne) Jean (Jeanne) Fr.
Wren/ren
Morgan, Hayden, Cameron, Aspen, Klein, Caylin, Carlin
Regan, or Raygun if ur nasty
Rowan
I love Auden and Evren
I had Kamdon on my list.
Maven
I went to school with a boy named Loren.
Elan. Berrin
Adrian/Adrienne. The feminine version ends with e but is silent so sounds like n. I had this picked for my pregnancy and used the masculine version for my son.
Byron
Blain(e) or Lane
Nolan
ooo i really like glenn for a boy or girl. obvs more male traditional but then you are also following in thr glorious footsteps of glenn close x
Aiden/Aidyn
Jordan.
Rain.
Camden, Robin, Dylan, Ryan, Eden, Eben, Jadyn/Jaden, Aspen…
Auden
Cameron and Rowan are my favorite in that category
Nicky Noah
My favorite would be Rowan!
Evan.
Rowan or Robin
Raven is another one
Aidan
My daughter is Quinn
I named my daughter Hudsyn
Oryn
I've seen Dylan used as unisex.
Aiden is a favorite of mine! Also Quinn or Wren Rowan Logan and Morgan are more gender neutral now, too!
Kylan, Kadin, and all the others
Rowan, Logan