Lindsay (male) and Lindsey (female)

[Saxonanglo]

During the last century it was well known that the name Lindsay has been the spelling for boys and Lindsey the spelling for girls. Unfortunately I see that in recent years parents have ignored this difference and so boys have been given the girl version and girls the boy version. I just wonder whether this has been by design or ignorance. The least parents could do is give their children names that denote the right gender.

It's not particularly recent. I'm over 50 and the use of either spelling for either sex has been around since at least when my generation was born.

The male Lindsays that I know are both Lindsay though obviously an example of 2 isn't much. The females are Lindsey, Linzi and Lynsey.

People can spell names however they want. There are no rules, only inventions. HTH.

Bah, conventions not inventions!

I remember a female Lindsay in an Iris Murdoch novel that must have been from the 1960s.

It's more sexism, I think. Boys' names that are close to girls' names get ditched because parents worry that their sons will get bullied for having a girly name.

Recent years??? It's not been a popular name for girls since the 80s and I very rarely come across males with the name (and those I have are well into their 60s).

I'm a Lindsay and I never realised I had a boys' name. I was named after Lindsay Wagner who was born in 1949 (thanks Wikipedia). I think you're a bit late with your overreaction, OP.

I know a 6yo female Lindsay and its a female family name so this can't be recent.

I'm a Lindsay and don't really care that it's the male spelling. My parents were aware and just preferred it. I prefer the spelling I've got too. I'm definitely not a boy.

I'm a female Lindsay too - my parents also chose it because they preferred the spelling. They wouldn't have given a toss about whether it was traditionally a male name centuries ago!

The world will cave in if everyone doesn't have a name where you can immediately tell their gender.

I'm a proud owner of a gender-neutral name.

I'm male and in my mid 60's and I was christened as Lindsey.
My parents wanted me to be Lindsay but the births registrar made the error in the spelling and doomed me to the girls name.
Yes I suffered years of hell as a child with that name and I changed it to be known by a different name on leaving school at 16.
Parents have a huge responsibility to their children when choosing a name. In my case their choice brought me a lot of misery as a child.

Not "well known" at all, OP. Whilst boys are generally spelt Lindsay, girls in my experience can be spelt any way the parents liked, including the original "male" spelling. It's not as hard and fast a rule as you seem to think it is.

What country are you in?

I’m Uk born and raised.

The only male I "know" with the name is Lindsey Buckingham.

I don't think it matters how you spell it if it has become more widely associated with one sex that the other.

You'll be the boy with the girls name or the girl with the boys name.

I thought it was the other way around, a for girls and e for boys!

Sounds like this is one name where the difference is really long gone by now.

My sisters friend (female) is a Lindsey.

I think that Lindsay is the spelling of the Scottish surname and why it was more traditionally used for boys as many Scottish surnames are. I have it in that spelling as a middle name but it is a surname from in the family which is why it was used.

I really don't think it's a name where you can say there's a definitive boys vs girls spelling; there are simply too many variants. I certainly know of female Lindsays born last century, but I have also known of multiple other spellings (Lynsey, Linsey, Lyndsay to name a few)

I'm a Lindsay (female). My DF registered my birth and it was spelt that way on the advice of the registrar apparently, my DF just went along with it. It's been spelt wrong by friends and family all my life, Lindsey, Lynsey, Lynsay, Lyndsey, Lyndsay, Linzi, etc etc.

Same thing seems to have happened with Robin (boy) and Robyn (girl). Personally I like being able to look at a name and be able to determine the sex of the individual without having to meet them.

Is that the rule? And who bloody cares, it’s a surname and naff as a forename.

We’ll I guess that puts the final full stop firmly in place.