Elliot for a girl

[freethebiscuit]

DH will likely veto anyway, but do you always think of a boy if you see the name Elliot? Dd3 on the way and so hard to think of names I love this time around! Anything similar oh helpful MNetters?

SorenaJ - great answer!

Elliot is on my shortlist for both! I like quite masculine names for girls anyway. The only thing putting me off is nicknames. I can't stand Ellie.

You really think so Jojo?

"She won't thank society for gendering her based on her genitals either"

I thought that was bollocks. I assume then you'd be happy to name a boy a traditional female name, Rose would be nice or Felicity? If not, why not?

And you would almost certainly get people calling her Ellie.

I love it as a girls name but am meh about it for a boy.
I do generally like boyish BBC for girls though- Georgie, Stevie etc met a baby Andi (Andrea) recently and I know someone who has a dd called Dylan too.

Pemba I love names, and have thought lots about how to name my children in a way that won't excessively gender them, because heaven knows they will get enough of that already, which is why I think a name like Elliot with several feminine sounding potential nicknames is really no big deal (and a lovely name).

I will give my children, regardless of whatever genitals they might have, a name that is considered gender neutral, a name that is feminine, and a name that is more masculine.

So for example:
Ainsley Charlotte Matthew
Bailie Jacob Sophia
Frankie Edward Rose
Morgan Eleonor James

That way they can get to choose what name they want to use.

Haha, SorenaJ. Fair play to you. The world is a crazy place full of crazy people.

Pemba, calm down. I actually (rightly or wrongly) just read it as a quip/nod to the ridiculous state of society and how differently both genders are treated.

I said I happened to like masculine sounding names for girls. I dont like pretty-pretty names for girls, let alone boys, so no, I wouldn't call a boy rose of felicity for that reason.

Chinlo - indeed it is! Who is the crazy one we can always debate some other time ;)

Sorena wow that is quite brave of you. That is a really different way of looking at things, but at least you are consistent across genders so good for you I suppose.

It just struck me, and others have said this on previous threads, that the flow of names across genders is almost always one way (boy's name becomes feminine) and people often seem to think it would be silly to give a boy a name that could be female, as if it would be demeaning to him or something. And what does that say about society's view of women?

There are so many great girls names, I just feel quite sorry for girls given a gender neutral or masculine one. Like Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutchner's daughter, who is Wyatt I think. Sounds like a grizzled old cowboy, not a little girl. It is an American trend I think and not a great one.

Obviously other people may have a different opinion.

Jojo I am quite calm actually, but thanks for your concern.

Pemba As someone who is a quite gender neutral person, I'm happy that I have a name with a gender neutral nn. Though some people to have a gender preference, which I feel like a name should accommodate. Alternatively, I'll give my child a name with an option for a gender neutral nickname, eg Alexander, Charlotte, Joanne, Louis, Natalie, Isaac, etc.

I would think of a boy.

I don't think a name will make any difference to people who have fixed ideas about people based on their gender.

What about Ellis [ c.f. Emily Bronte] or Lillith?

I love it (scrubs) and also love Sydney for a girl (scream) but I think they are more accepted in the US as girls names, whereas over here (assuming you are in the uk) I think it would be assumed to be male and therefore difficult to live with (addressed as Mr when not present/obviously female, etc)

Yes I automatically think of a boy.