James as a girls name?

names like James that genuinely sound like they could be for anyone

Oh come on. I suspect 99% of the population would be 'huh?' if they were introduced to a baby girl called James.

Nerd that I am I've just done a search on the ONS website for girls' names in 2017. Nearly 6000 names used but no mention of James.

@FrancisCrawford I just feel like your attitude about some names being factually "boys names" and some being factually "girls names" doesn't make any sense. I would call it outdated but it isn't - PPs have pointed out many names over hundreds of years that have become unisex or have started as boys names and are now girls names (and I am sure there will be opposite examples - in fact yes I can think of Artemis off the top of my head - a Greek goddess, now given to boys). Names are constantly in flux, and anyway nowadays gender is more important than sex - and gender can be very fluid. Sorry to rant but it's nonsense to pigeon hole names by sex - especially when they are names like James that genuinely sound like they could be for anyone (I admit that Brian might be a tougher sell for a girl )

James is a common girls name in America. Blake lively and Ryan Reynolds daughter is also called James.

I know someone who is male but is called Michelle.

My dd has a name that is a male name but has recently over the last 10 years gained more females named it.

DS has Teagan girl and Tegan boy in his EYFS class. Tegan boys Mum took him out after a term and moved his school because she had "chosen a unique name for him which someone else had and that someone else was a girl." Tegan boy didn't seem to mind at all and had to restart EYFS at a new school all because of his name-poor kid.

I thought it was quite well known that James can be used for a girl ...apparently not.

I really like it for both sexes. Don't see any reason why it can't be a girls and boys name. Much stranger names out there!

I would think it weird but I don't know why, I like Jamie for a girl and love names such as Stevie, Frankie, Terri and Toni etc which are all boys names but just spelt differently

Irrelevant fact - the actress who played the mum in The Waltons is called Michael Learned

I wondered if this was a stage name (one of the Bangles was called Michael but it wasn't her real name) but, no. Wiki says

"Learned said that her parents never explained why she received a masculine first name, her father telling her elusively: "if I had been a boy, I would have been called Caleb, but I was a girl, so I was called Michael."" Thanks dad.

There are so, so many girls names in the world. I just have no idea why people now use male names for girls, it’s extremely irritating.

Kelly is traditionally a boy’s name, derived from the surname. It only started to be used as a girl’s name in the 60s. I wouldn’t think anything particularly odd if I met a male Kelly, whereas I would with a female James. James is such a nice name, and it seems a shame if it is used for girls when there are loads more names available.

In other wacky celeb baby name news, Hilary Duff has a daughter called Banks (!) and Jessica Simpson has a daughter called Birdie (!).

Even with a gun to my head I'm not sure I could agree to being called Birdie or Banks.

I can't see James moving from being a boys' names to being a girls' name. It's the ultimate classic boys' name in English speaking countries. Can't see that changing any time soon, no matter how many celeb couples choose it for their daughter.

Isn’t Jaime (outside of Spain) a made up name made to look like J’aime ..? Or did I mis-remember that?
I don’t really see how Jaime is pronounced Jamie anyway.

Yes I was wondering if it will move from a boys to a girls names.

It is most definitely a boys name but some are using it as a girls name now like Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively... maybe in 5-10 years it will be seen as a unisex name and then in 20 years a girls name? (Because obviously names only ever move in one direction). There seem fewer boys names to start with anyway, it’s annoying to lose a good one. Maxwell too I wonder?

You have names which used to be boys' names but are now considered to be girls' eg Hilary and Evelyn

Then there's unisex names like Kim

So now we have the whole Jaime / Jamie thing which I find totally confusing. It's JAMIE Lee Curtis but also JAMIE Oliver. Boys from a Spanish background are JAIME but so now are some girls.

Perhaps we should have a list of acceptable names and spellings to stop a lot of silliness. (Only joking)

Absolutely love it as a middle name for a girl. Also love Rose as middle name for a boy! (I have heard both)

It's @BertrandRussell who has often made the point that when a name that was mostly used for boys starts to be used a lot for girls, parents of boys drop it like a hot potato. Examples: Jordan, Courtney, Lindsay, Ashley, Beverley, Paris, Morgan. nameberry.com/blog/unisex-baby-names-names-that-morphed-from-blue-to-pink

It doesn't work the same the other way, hence the poor lad mentioned upthread who was called Kelly and got bullied for it.

Once you notice this it's difficult to forget it.

I will be absolutely gutted if James moves from boys to girls, as it's probably my favourite boys' name, but I can't see it happening.

@NeverSayFreelance yes. Which is a girl's name used for a man.

I can well imagine Brian to be a total arsehole!

I love it for a girl.

It’s silly. Jane would be good.

It's really stupid