Worried i have gave my son a girls name

I have preschool children and the only little Rileys' I've come across have been girls.

I definitely still see it as a unisex name though and think it's lovely for a boy.

Only know boy Rileys - in my experience, as a teacher, sorry they’re always naughty!

Was just about to say this. Written by Ian Broudie for his son. Wonderful song too (most famously used on Match of the Day during the goals roundup).

My advice to you OP is that no matter what anyone on here says, you are clearly not 100% content about your baby’s name.

Regardless of whether it’s unisex, a boy’s name or a girl’s name, all that matters is that you are having doubts.

You are already worrying about what might happen when he goes to school which is 4 years away. Do you really want to spend the next 4 years worrying about his name?

My advice is that if you are having this level of worry then I would just change it.

A poster above mentioned swapping his first and second names so he’s called Edward Riley and I think that sounds fab! When it comes to nicknames you may give him as a little one (or his school friends give him), he could turn out to be an Eddie or a Ted but both of them don’t leave any room for ambiguity. Nor does Edward.

By swapping the names round you are still having Riley but his main name will be one that is clearly masculine.

In think in the UK it's more likely to be a boys name. I would imagine Rylee etc would be pretty unusual and I also think they sound more American. Don't look at the FB groups! The Riley I know of is a boy.

It’s fine. I would t think of it as a girl’s name and Life of Riley is a great tune. 🎵

If you do want to change it, it's really easy before the baby is 1 year old, and still possible any time by deedpoll. We did that. It wasn't a problem really except for the grandparents thinking we were idiots.

I see it as unisex but if someone talks to me about a child called Riley I will automatically think it’s a girl unless I’m told differently.

Leave it, OP 😊 Riley is largely a male name here. more than that, if he does meet a female Rylee, I bet he won’t even see it as the same name, and not only because of the spelling. Reading your thread, I’ve only just realised I have a male friend and a female friend with the same name. The name is Alex. I don’t see the two of them as having the same name at all, even though they do. I see them as a man called Alex and my funny, chatty female friend Alex. Hard to explain, but it won’t be an issue x

Girls name.

I know

Ryley
Rylie
Riley

All 3 are boys. I have to focus when writing them cards though!

Life of Riley by the Lightning Seeds was written about/for his son.

I know a boy called Riley.

Definitely a boy's name for me!

It's a popular name for boys but also works for a girl.

Definitely unisex these days like many names. Don't worry, he'll be fine ☺️

Congratulations op, if you like the name this is not something to worry about.
it doesn’t really matter if there are girl rylees in his class, no more than it matters that both girls and boys are given names like
Wyatt, Billie/y, Ashley/leigh, Sam, Alex, blue, Blake, James, Frankie, or the thousands of other unisex names
If you want to change it though you can.

I would automatically assume boy upon hearing Riley.

Riley for a girl is an American trend. You have to accept it is unisex though. I'd put it in the same bracket as Harley, Frankie, Taylor. They all use to be predominantly used for boys but are now firmly unisex.

My boy's got a unisex name and I love it. In English it's more often given to girls I think, but where I'm from it's a male name. I think names are much more fluid these days.

I knew a few female Riley’s in the USA, but in the UK, all the Riley’s I know are male. I personally think of it as a male name, but that might be because I’ve watched Buffy eleven billion times.

In any case, I wouldn’t worry about it. Nothing wrong with a unisex name.

Riley is a boy. Specifically, he's a hunky airman who helps to foil a plot to steal nuclear weapons (showing my age there). But leaving that thought aside, Riley is still being used as a boy's name and I can't see any reason why that shouldn't continue. I suspect that when girls are given some version of that name, it's usually one with a jazzed-up spelling (same with Ashley versus Ashleigh/Ashlee etc) and anyone seeing Riley written down in its original form will expect a boy. I like it. Don't let them get you down!

I think it's a lovely boys name OP.

I think you're fine, op x

Much prefer Edward Riley anyway. Could you swap them?

There are two girls in my daughter’s preschool called Riley. Riley Rose and Riley Rae. Until meeting them, I associated Riley with male
teenage scallywags.

I’ve known Riley’s who are male. I’d be more concerned at the chavvy connotations it has. Never known a non chav Riley.

If you had called him Alex and there were say, 2 girls in his school also called Alex, would you feel the same was as you do now? I doubt it. Honestly, Riley is a lovely name, I love it even more after watching Midnight Mass as the male character is adorable. Don't change it.