The name Darcy

[HerRoyalGoddess]

My DS is 9 and when he was born I called him Darcy (using the boy spelling) after Mr Darcy from Pride & Prejudice (my all time favourite book) it wasn't a popular name and the only other person I'd heard of was Darcey Bussell (ballerina, notice the difference in the name spelling). When I was in the hospital at the time every single nurse asked "Did you name him after the guy in Neighbors?" WTF!?! No I did not, I politely told them why we chose the name Darcy.

Everything was fine, as far as I was aware there weren't any children in my town called Darcy, my son loves the fact that I named him after my favourite character from my favourite book but...over the past two or three years I've noticed more parents (one being a parent at my sons school) calling their daughters Darcy and when I say Oh that's a nice name my son's called Darcy but I spell it CY for the boy spelling they say "But that's how we spell it as well" and then they give me a look as if I'm the strange woman who's given her poor son a girls name.

I just want to punch them in their smug faces.

It's always the way. I have loved each of my children's names because they were not popular (although not out there and 'wacky' either). Over the years I've met more and more children who share their names and ds1's best friend on our street shares his name (very confusing at times). Dc4 has an old-fashioned name but not one of the very popular ones and at a wedding I met TWO other babies with the same name. I grumped silently.

I would say Darcy is the boys spelling and Darcey is the girls spelling, but I wouldn't think it was odd if I saw a girl with the CY spelling.

Darcy is used in Pride and Prejudice as a surname not a male first name.. I recommend changing your son's name to Fitzwilliam to save your son from further embarrassment.

I wasn't aware there was a male and female spelling. it's origin is from the town D'Arcy, so I think differences in spelling are just down to the parents choice, not really The Male or The Female spelling.

There are lots of androgynous names round at the moment, I don't think there's a correct or incorrect way to spell it. Personally I would use Darcy for a girl or a boy.

Good luck to you, I think you are going to meet a lot more girls named Darcy/Darcey from now on! One of my best friends just had a baby girl before Christmas and they have named her Darcey, another mum I met who is just an acquaintance who also had a baby girl just before that was going to name her Darcey too (not sure how she would spell it). I'm with you on the spelling though - Darcey for girls and Darcy for boys.

You need to let it go though, honestly, or you will just get angrier and angrier when you meet more and more Darceys-spelt-wrongly-as-Darcy! It's going to be one of those names that is going to jump in popularity in the next few years I think! When DS1 was born, we named him Aidan. How hard is that to spell right? One of the reasons why we chose it, easy to spell, you can't get it wrong. You will not believe how often spell it Aiden. DS1 recently started school and I felt so embarrassed (even though I wasn't even in the wrong!) having to email the class rep about the wrong spelling of his name on the class list (Aiden strikes again) as I didn't want to spelt wrong forever in primary school! What can you do? :)

I'd always thought of it as a girl's name whatever the spelling

Surely since it is a new and made-up name (as a first name) people will spell it how they want to? There isn't a girls and boys spelling.

I second the excellent Fitzwilliam suggestion.

I'd say it's predominantly a female name, but acceptable - albeit unusual - for boys too. I know a teenage male Jordan, which is a similar androgynous name. I think you're over thinking this somewhat and you lost my empathy when you mentioned that you wanted to punch other mothers' smug faces. They can also call their children what they like and spell it as they wish.

i've only ever heard it as a girl's name - not a boy's.

Darcy has only very recently become popular, and is pretty androgynous, IMO. The gender of names, including the spelling, shifts and has always shifted. For example, you get lots of girls being called Sasha/Sacha/Sascha and yet it is traditionally a male name. Hundreds of years ago, names were much more fluid. My Uncle's researches the history of names and has told me before that about 1000 years ago, the most popular name for boys in England was Anne! Names like Julian and Christian were female only, names like Felix and Mary were unisex... things change. Even amongst our parents' generation, names like Vivian, Evelyn, Hilary and Kim were fairly common choices for boys, now not many people would consider them male names (said Uncle has one of those!). Ignore those other parents, you gave your son a name that is meaningful to you and he likes it and you are confident in the spelling, so why worry.

Random 's on the word Uncle, sorry.

Thanks for the support I originally wanted to call him Fitzwilliam but DH put his foot down, I gave him the option of Darcy or Fitzwilliam he chose Darcy-Alexander (Alexander being his first name choice).

I also seen Darcy spelt with an ie at the end for a girl which is also nice way to spell it.
My other DC are called Emily Elizabeth (DD 6) and Lucian James (DS 5)

I know two Darcys, both girls

"Thanks for the support"

Did I miss some posts?

I wanted to call my daughter Darcey but was over-ruled by my DH at the time so we called the dog Darcy instead (girl dog). That was 15 years ago now.

DS full name is Darcy-Alexander but he only gets his full name when he's being selective in his hearing

There are 3 Darceys in dd's nursery. It really is a popular name now. My children have popular names too though. They are all girls though. I think Alexander may need to come back into play.

her royal Goddess would like to remind you that you have now identified yourself on here (no, I personally don't know you, but your DC's names and ages are a giveaway!)
You may well be fine with that - but I thought I'd warn you.

Glad you haven't put all the full names and ages. You don't want to be identifiable :o

Other than the surname I've only known girls called Darcy or any spelling. One was at uni with me, so I think can claim the spelling first

I think of Darcy as a surname now used as a first name.

So Darcy is surely -the surname spelling- & therefore male or female??

Fitzwilliam is also a surname, isn´t it?

TBH it sound feminine to me-like Lucy for example.

I prefer it for a boy, personally. But it does seem to be unisex, and used more for girls.

Darcey Bussell was named because of P & P, but her parents decided to feminise the spelling with an 'e' apparently.

I never knew it as a boy's name. Always a girl's name irrespective of spelling.

I've seen D'Arcy spelling too. I think I dislike this (though original?) spelling, as a first name, least.

I have a female Darcy, sorry to hear you want to punch me in my smug face.

I think Darcy/Darcey/Darcie sounds like a girls name, sorry, honest opinion. I know it can be used for boys but I have never met a male Darcy, only female ones. I know about the male/female spelling but decided Darcy would be easier to spell and I believe it is the most common spelling for girls anyway.

I think, sad but true, girls can steal boys names but not the other way around.