2 general questions

[babylove x]

My son is named Jamie. I also really liked Riley when I had him and did consider it. But then I've only ever met male Riley's and Jamie's, so to me it is definitely a boys name. The spelling Jaime is more feminine, but even then I still think it's more of a boys name.

There are so many pretty names for girls, I don't understand why people name their daughters boys names! I also always think 'did you want a boy really and couldn't let go of the name?!'.

hahahahahaha

Those are boys names to me as well.

 

[modified]

I'm Toni, a fairly common unisex name. People still, 8 times out of 10, expect me to be male on hearing my name though. I honestly don't care! A girly girly name really would not suit me at all!

I should rephrase, I like truly unisex names on girls only, as girls are more versatile! I am, however, not a fan of it on boys? Idk if that's sexist? lol

I know I don't mind, and many other females don't mind so much - but boys have egos!

Ah yeah, I'm the same. Even names that were originally boys but are now more known for girls, I'm not keen on. Like Ashley - my husbands middle name!

I went to school with a female Stevie.. that, I don't like.

 

[babylove x]

I'm Toni, a fairly common unisex name. People still, 8 times out of 10, expect me to be male on hearing my name though. I honestly don't care! A girly girly name really would not suit me at all!

I should rephrase, I like truly unisex names on girls only, as girls are more versatile! I am, however, not a fan of it on boys? Idk if that's sexist? lol

I know I don't mind, and many other females don't mind so much - but boys have egos!

Ah yeah, I'm the same. Even names that were originally boys but are now more known for girls, I'm not keen on. Like Ashley - my husbands middle name!

I went to school with a female Stevie.. that, I don't like.

Oh good, I wasn't sure if that was totally sexist to say or not.. I love casey for our little guy, because of what it would mean to OH - but... as you said it's one of those names that's originally boys, but girls have kind of taken over- at least for a while- and I don't want him to be made fun of because other kids moms have the same name.. lol boys need to be boys, girls pull everything off better. xx

 

[modified]

I know quite a few male Casey's and only 1 female Casey so for me, it's not overtly feminine anymore!

 

[ElOrance]

My thoughts on your questions:

1. Not a huge fan of naming girls traditionally male names. At worst it just causes massive confusion (a girl named, say, Thomas, will have to respond to millions of calls/emails etc by correcting the gender.. what a pain). At best it just sounds kind of part of a small-town suburban trying to be cool trend (Casey, Riley, etc...). This was in vogue with urban educated parents say 10-15 yrs ago, but now just seems a bit dated as a fad (like the surname as first name McKenzie, Madison, etc trend). It's not terrible, it's just a little blah.

2. I do think others' perception matters to an extent. I assume most parents want their children to succeed and end up better off and more well educated than they are. So it makes sense to pick a name that will fit in well not only when they are little in their neighborhood but also if they end up attending a top university, being a lawyer/doctor/politician or similar. I'm not saying parents shouldn't be inventive or abandon a name they love in favor of something super-generic just to avoid any possible criticism/raised eyebrow. I just think whatever the trend in your local neighborhood, it makes sense to pay attention to whether nationally the name is considered trashy, overly trendy etc etc... so that the child can feel confident that they aren't prejudiced by their name no matter what they want to pursue as an adult. Of course a great child can overcome any name, but why give them something that just sounds trailer-park like?

 

[KatyKat]

I know a few girls with unisex names like Alex or Jamie, which I actually don't mind. I do find it a bit strange when people seem to give girls or boys a name which isn't a traditional 'unisex' name and it just seems a bit odd, like they're trying too hard to be different?

I personally prefer names that match a childs gender, as I've never seen anything wrong with gender identity, plus I'm quite traditional.

I don't think a unisex name would damage a childs prospects later in life though - unless it's something really wacky?