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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Unisex Name for girls

115 replies

MmeSimone · 30/09/2023 04:20

We're looking for a name for a baby girl and I like names that are unisex or can be shortened to a unisex name. I would like for them to be able to sign an email with no one knowing their gender. I do like classic names but not too pretentious or rare.

There are two catches. One is, we live in Germany and I would like to have a baby name that can be pronounced in German and in English.

Secondly, I don't like it when nicknames are the given name. E.g. I wouldn't ever christen my child Lilibet because it's a nickname for Elizabeth, so she should be christened Elizabeth, and then can be called Lilibet anyway.

We have thought of

  • Charlotte (Charlie) (a bit pretentious but front runner)
  • Alexis (Sasha) (exists in close family ATM though)
  • Robin (a bit modern)
  • Jamie (I really like this name but it does not really work in German)
  • Samantha (Sam) (reminds me of SATC)
  • Josephine (Joe) (super old fashioned)
  • Jacqueline (Jack) (a relative we dislike has this name)

Any other ideas?

OP posts:
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FatCatatPaddingtonStation · 11/10/2023 10:36

I know a few women called Sasha.

Belinda nn Bill/y

Cass can be short for Cassandra or Caspian so is unisex.

looking4pup · 11/10/2023 10:29

Basically you wanted a boy?

I can't understand why you would purposely want to confuse people.

You seem to want to shock people when they realise your dd is female.

KirstenBlest · 11/10/2023 10:01

@Scottyme , Shaun and Shorn only sound the same in parts of the UK (and the world) that don't have a rhotic accents. Given that Seán is an Irish name, I don't think that it Shorn is a true representation of the sound, which is probably why the anglicised spellings are Shaun or Shawn.
The only female Sean I can think of is Sean Young and I can remember someone sitting near me at the cinema commenting 'Why has she got a man's name?'

MmeSimone · 11/10/2023 09:00

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CurlewKate · 11/10/2023 08:55

@MmeSimone I think it's important to thing about why you do things. If you can come up with an alternative explanation for why "unisex names" are always boy's names given to girls and NEVER girl's names given to boys other than sexism then I'd love to hear it. Otherwise I'll continue to believe it's a version of "Yuck, girl cooties."

Original poster
MmeSimone · 11/10/2023 08:25

Spyral · 06/10/2023 20:10

Theodora -> Ted

Or Edwina even, I guess, not as nice though imo.

Edited

My dog is called Ted 😃.

I think Edwina is not an option and so are many names unfortunately on here as they either do not exist in German or nobody has used them for the past 100 years. But it's great inspiration, thanks for all the suggestions.

OP posts:
Original poster
MmeSimone · 11/10/2023 08:20

MrsTerryPratchett · 06/10/2023 21:04

I would like to add that I would like a unisex name and I would like to choose my child's name so I'm not sure why you feel like this opinion is worth giving on this page. Please refrain from further commenting if you don't have any suggestions.

Blimey! OK then.

IMO which you don't want but I don't care, there are vanishingly few actual unisex names even fewer English one. Most are repurposed boys names. Names tend from male to female and almost never the other way around because 'boy' is a promotion and 'girl' is a demotion.

I think (like PP) it's sexist. But if you want to avoid 'girl' things because YUK girls, right? You can.

Jesus, WTF. I asked for name suggestions not your moral judgement of whatever you think are my motivations. If your only joy in life is trying to make people feel bad about themselves on Mumsnet then I would suggest you get yourself a better hobby and get a grip on life.

OP posts:
FirstLaburnum · 08/10/2023 12:17

@CurlewKate his name isn't Jesse, it is Jess.

HeyYouWithTheSadFace · 07/10/2023 19:19

I have a daughter called Brodie. We are in Scotland and I know both boys and girls with this name. Admittedly, there are more boys than girls, but I like that it's pretty unisex.

Scottyme · 07/10/2023 08:55

@islamann don't ask @KirstenBlest how else to pronounce names. She is allegedly the only person on here who can pronounce any names, especially Welsh ones she dismisses things like dialects, oh and how most people pronounce names...just ask her how to pronounce Rhys. Sean has always been and will always be pronounced shorn.

islamann · 07/10/2023 08:34

@KirstenBlest how do you pronounce Sean? It's my DH's name and he pronounces it Shorn.

Locallady2 · 07/10/2023 00:10

I like all the names on your list but I would never get sasha from alexis, and think people in the UK would be confused by that.
Jamie sounds very American as a girl name to me.

I would choose Andrea nn Andy - reminds me of the devil wears prada film.

sandalsinthebin · 06/10/2023 21:36

"It's not pronounced Shorn"

Well that would depend on one's accent (Northern, Southern, Scottish, Welsh, Irish, all would be slightly different). I could also have written Shawn. Was merely trying to distinguish it from possible alternative pronunciations "See-Ann", "Sharn", etc. Maybe I should have written "as in Sean Penn".

Longdarkcloud · 06/10/2023 21:36

Paris ( not after the capital but classical.)
Ellis
Bennett. (V old English and truly unisex)
Francis. The feminine form is usually spelt Frances but originally it was spelt ‘is’ for both
Im not sure whether these are suitable for German speakers.
My favourite is Alexis but I’d use Alexi or Alexy as the nn.
Good luck.

MrsTerryPratchett · 06/10/2023 21:04

I would like to add that I would like a unisex name and I would like to choose my child's name so I'm not sure why you feel like this opinion is worth giving on this page. Please refrain from further commenting if you don't have any suggestions.

Blimey! OK then.

IMO which you don't want but I don't care, there are vanishingly few actual unisex names even fewer English one. Most are repurposed boys names. Names tend from male to female and almost never the other way around because 'boy' is a promotion and 'girl' is a demotion.

I think (like PP) it's sexist. But if you want to avoid 'girl' things because YUK girls, right? You can.

CowboyJoanna · 06/10/2023 20:59

Keroppi · 06/10/2023 20:13

Billie

I think the modern generation will immediately think of Billie Eilish with that one

Keroppi · 06/10/2023 20:13

Billie

Spyral · 06/10/2023 20:10

Theodora -> Ted

Or Edwina even, I guess, not as nice though imo.

CurlewKate · 06/10/2023 19:45

@FirstLaburnum
to pp implying unisex names only go one way - I have a male friend called Jess and it really suits him."
Jesse is and always has been a boy's name.

ShoesoftheWorld · 06/10/2023 19:01

Tbh (inspired by the poster above) Olivia might work - no pronunciation problems (German and English pronunciations pretty much as close to each other as it's possible to get), quite unusual here despite its popularity in the UK but very clearly 'a name' iyswim, and you could call her Olli if you wanted (although at school etc she would definitely be Olivia, see my post above).

FirstLaburnum · 06/10/2023 16:59

We considered Olive mainly because we thought Ollie would be such a sweet nickname.

Also to pp implying unisex names only go one way - I have a male friend called Jess and it really suits him.

KirstenBlest · 06/10/2023 16:49

Alexander and Alexander were often shortened to Sandy, Xander, Sandra or Xandra, but none of those are natural diminutives of Alexis, but Lex or Lexi might be.

CowboyJoanna · 06/10/2023 16:48

crumblingschools · 06/10/2023 16:43

@CowboyJoanna there is probably a reason his parents call him Ray.

There are quite a few posters on MN who live in other countries.

Same reason Michaels become Mike, Matthews become Matt and Daniels become Dan I suppose

CowboyJoanna · 06/10/2023 16:45

CurlewKate · 06/10/2023 16:39

There have been no boy Rachels since 1996.

Obviously you're wrong because of DS's friend.

The friend in question was born in America though so maybe that explains it

UsingChangeofName · 06/10/2023 16:44

It’s a forum

If you ask for input you’ll get it - some will be a direct answer to your question, and some won’t, some you’ll like and some you won’t.

That’s just how it works - if you don’t want opinions just use google

This.
If you ask on an massive internet forum, you will get a variety of opinions, and different people posting. You can't police who replies.

The point about Sasha not being a shortened form of Alexis is quite valid, even if you don't want to hear it.