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.

I know a female Dale and a female Kym
....just saying

I know this is a zombie thread, but wanted to join in.

A few people have mentioned that some names are used for both boys and girls, but as Dale Spender pointed out in Man Made Language, the switch is only ever made in one direction. A name starts out as male (e.g. Hilary, Kim) but becomes female. Shirley is a good example of this - in Charlotte Bronte's book of that name, there's much comment about the fact that the main character is a girl who's been given a boy's name.

So bad luck for the OP - looks like her son is now stuck with a girl's name. Bit like the boy named Sue.

A lot of girls names tend to end in 'a' or 'ee', for example Lindsey, Tracy, Isla, Paula, Stacey, etc etc. boys names tend to end in a flat, like, Tom, Bill, James, Paul, etc.
I'm afraid if the rules are followed, Darcy sounds like a girls name.

One of my friend's has just had a girl and called her Darcie and I have 2 other friends with girls called Darcy and Darcey.

Afraid to say it's very much now a girl's name and going down the route of lots of different spellings!

For no reason at all, other than I love the name, I will throw in my male ancestor who was an Elkhannah.

Why Taylor but not Butcher or Baker let alone Candlestickmaker?

I have actually taught a 'Baker'. I was a bit bemused when I saw the class list, but it actually really suited him.

I always thought it was an old Irish name as my great great grandfather was Darcy.

I love names!

Zombie thread and all that... But if op boy grows up into a Brideshead revisited glamorous floppy haired artist OR a body builder then Darcy is fab.

Darcy ordinary bloke in IT is a bit

Darcy is a nice name but i would assume it was a girls name. My OH rang a local bank manager who was called Vivien , very surprised when he found out Vivien was a MAN. Now that is a feminine name.

Trouble is, any name with an ee sound at the end is considered fair game for girls.

Or indeed any name at all, if you're American.

I know a Vivian in his late 20's cindy. Surely the youngest in the country?!

But if you were naming somebody after Pride and Prejudice Darcy, you'd call him Fitzwilliam..........

When I hear Vivian I always think

I'm sorry, I know this is an old thread now but I have just googled the name Darcy and come across this. littlemissnish did you end up calling your boy Darcy? We named our boy, born in 2014, Darcy. It's the only name my partner and I agreed on and both said we loved it for a boy but not for a girl.

There are millions now & I think firmly a girls name for most ?

Agree that YOU are being the smug one, trotting out your "correct" use of the name!

Reminds me of when my mum was chatting to some parents about their little girl and literally did cats bum face when they told her she was called Eden. Tempted to use it myself for the laughs!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, anyone?

I don't think there is a male/female version of darcym unlike Leslie and Lesley for example. I assumed it was a girl's name, as I have taught 3 girls named thus.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, anyone?

Very apt for the revival of a zombie Pride and Prejudice thread!