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Original poster

Unisex names needed please

107 replies

alletik · 02/09/2017 16:09

Not for a potential child, I'm afraid... but for a sociology lesson. I want to do a lesson on our assumptions regarding gender. So need some modern day unisex names.

So far I've got...

Sam
Lesley /ie
Robyn /in

Umm and that's it. I need 30 names!

TIA.

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CountFosco · 03/09/2017 14:00

Adrian - Spanish male footballer
Adriane - Brazilian female footballer

user1471547428 · 03/09/2017 11:57

Sorry I don't have real life examples but I'm sure Google will come up with some for those!

user1471547428 · 03/09/2017 11:56

Rowan
Eden
Taylor
Aubrey (boys name but used for girls)
Jocelyn, Vivian (possibly not so much for boys now)
Asher/Asha
Avery
Jessie
Jordan

BikeRunSki · 03/09/2017 10:21

There's the French "Jean" and "Marie" and "Jean-Marie" which could confuse an English speaker not familiar with French.

Garliccalamari · 03/09/2017 10:18

Marilyn Manson names himself that after Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson. Not sure if that counts as unisex since it is his stage name.

Garliccalamari · 03/09/2017 10:16

Do foreign names count? In one of the dutch provinces Anne is a male name. In Italy Andrea is a male name.

MargaretRiver · 03/09/2017 09:13

Kerry Packer
(Australian businessman / cricket entrepreneur)

emilybrontescorset · 03/09/2017 08:57

There's also Marilyn Manson and the other male singer who goes by the name of just Marilyn.

emilybrontescorset · 03/09/2017 08:54

I thought Alice Cooper was the name of a woman who was hanged for being a witch.

WhatWouldTheDoctorDo · 03/09/2017 08:40

Politicians OP - Hillary Clinton and Hillary Benn.

NiceCuppaTeaAndASitDown · 03/09/2017 08:36

Jules Verne or Jules Asner
Artemis Fowl or the Goddess Artemis
Cameron Diaz or Cameron Crowe
Bailey Chase or Bailey De Young

TheDowagerCuntess · 03/09/2017 08:30

Chris Evert - tennis player

BertrandRussell · 03/09/2017 08:29

Actually, I've just done a quick Google, and Alice Cooper was chosen because it was so bland and generic and was a good contrast to their music. So another example of women being considered weak and passive and men being dynamic and high energy.........

BikeRunSki · 03/09/2017 08:25

Very true Bertrand. I was clutching at straws.

DumbledoresApprentice · 03/09/2017 08:20

I don't know if all are but my Sikh colleague told me that her name is completely unisex and that Sikh names generally are. She said sometimes the pronunciation or emphasis or nicknames might be different depending on sex. I'm not an expert by any means.

BertrandRussell · 03/09/2017 08:16

Not sure it was gravitas Alice Cooper was looking for when the name was chosen!

BikeRunSki · 03/09/2017 08:15

Sorry, post above was really for CountFosco. But I see that a singer, with a very strong visual image using a female name for shock tactics is not the same as a writer doing the same 200 years ago.

BikeRunSki · 03/09/2017 08:12

Alice Cooper Bertrand?

I have a PhD and I always sign business letters Dr A. Surname, and you're right. It doesn't make me neutral, it makes me male (ironically, my name is the same as the above-mentioned Shock-rock star).

Blake Lively
Blake Griffin

BertrandRussell · 03/09/2017 08:08

"Are there any men who have used a female nom de plume?"

There are plenty of men who write stuff like Mills and Boon.

But no man would ever take a male name in an attempt to be taken more seriously.......

CountFosco · 03/09/2017 08:02

They weren't deliberately unisex- they were deliberately male.

The OP could use that though. George Elliot, George Sand. There's a historic reason for those two but more recently there are examples like Ellis Peters and even J.K. Rowling used her initials to hide her sex since it was though boys wouldn't read a book by a woman. Are there any men who have used a female nom de plume?

BertrandRussell · 03/09/2017 07:37

That's interesting, Dumbledore. Are all Sikh names non specific? Is that because of Kaur and Singh being indicators of sex, or am I showing shameful ignorance...

DumbledoresApprentice · 03/09/2017 07:18

Bertrand-The Sikh names I mentioned are genuinely unisex.

BertrandRussell · 03/09/2017 07:08

Are any of these names actually unisex? Or are they just male names that are sometimes also used for women?

catsarenice · 03/09/2017 07:05

Billie Piper and Billy Elliot.
Marty McFly and Marty Webb
Harley Quinn and Harley Davidson
Stevie Nicks and (can't think of a make one but probably loads!!)

BertrandRussell · 03/09/2017 06:57

"The Bronte sisters were originally published under deliberately unisex names that they made up - Ellis, Acton and Currer Bell."

They weren't deliberately unisex- they were deliberately male.

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