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Baby names

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Original poster

Willow for a boy?

86 replies

Almondinha · 26/12/2016 11:20

Hi! We just found out recently that we are having a little boy - our first baby. So if course we have been busy talking about names.
The other day while we were out on a walk, I came up with the name Willow which we both love and were really excited about.
I don't know anyone named Willow and to me it sounded like a perfect boys name and seemed perfectly suitable. However when we got home and looked up the name online, we found out that it is a girls name! We were quite disappointed.
I know that nowadays children can be called anything. However I don't want to give my child a higher likelihood of being bullied etc just because of his name.
Should we think about something else or does Willow work fine for a boy too?
Thank you for your opinions.

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Giselaw · 26/12/2016 21:19

Just call him Apple or Pear, if you want to be that speshul.

Giselaw · 26/12/2016 21:20

Hey, you could call him Per. Which sounds like Pear but is actually a lovely Swedish name.

alltouchedout · 26/12/2016 21:26

Depends where you live really. In Brighton you'll get away with it, in Wisbech you won't.
Honestly though, the potential for really cruel mockery is just too high. Which is very sad and as a pp said we should all actually be teaching our dc not to make fun of other's names, but seeing as dc do mock their peers and Willow is regarded as a girl's name...

albertcampionscat · 26/12/2016 22:06

1horatio,

Yes. I agree there's an underlying sexism in how the name thing works (rather like how women can wear trousers but men can't wear skirts).

BeastofChristmasIsland · 26/12/2016 23:03

No, it's definitely a girl name and much as it's fine to say that people should teach their children not to tease based on names, poor boy Willow will still have to live in the real world. Will/William is fine, Willow is not.

Solo · 27/12/2016 02:30

What about Willman (I know a Willman) or even a Willowman?

Out2pasture · 27/12/2016 02:33

it's a beautiful girls name.

ColaSpangles · 27/12/2016 02:42

Any tiny thing can and will be used against a child at school by other kids. In an ideal world other parents would 'teach' their kids not to bully. But bullying and teasing exist and will always exist in schools. I speak from battle scarred experience of what one of my children has been through and many others I know of. Please lessen the odds for your little one, lovely though your name choice is. He'll thank you. Sorry that's unpalatable but it is the grim truth.

ChocolateCakeandSprinkles · 27/12/2016 02:43

Definitely a girls name. Sorry!

Shadowboy · 27/12/2016 02:52

My daughter is Willow. Suits her not sure if it's because I have a daughter with that name but I can't see it on a boy

acornsandnuts · 27/12/2016 02:52

I think you are thinking of a baby boy's name not a stinky 6ft teenager or indeed someone who wants to become a lawyer or police officer. He won't thank you when he's thirty.

MinisWin · 27/12/2016 02:59

Willem? Agree Rowan is also a good alternative.

nichito · 27/12/2016 21:46

alltouchedout has it spot on.

I am very traditional insofar as name tastes are concerned but although I wouldn't choose it for a child of either gender, I didn't baulk at the notion of Willow for a boy at all....

.... I am, however, from Brighton!

Ipushedmygrannyaffabus · 28/12/2016 05:49

It's a girls name and he would be teased by being called Willy. Why would you do that to him?

AntiQuitty · 28/12/2016 05:54

I knew a boy Willow so it's not unheard of.

feetheart · 28/12/2016 05:56

When expecting DS over 11 years ago we heard of boy triplets called Willow, Oak and Ash so it's not exclusively a girl's name. In the end it was the latter name we liked best :)

PeoniesPony · 28/12/2016 07:38

No I think at the present time it is a name for girls.

Maybe in the future it could become a boys name, but at the moment it's is a fairly popular girls name so there is a good chance he would be in a classroom with a girl Willow.

FreshHorizons · 28/12/2016 07:43

There Is only one answer- NO. (Think of the poor child forever having to explain his parents).

1horatio · 28/12/2016 09:00

albert it is imo clearly sexist. However, who would want to make their do that in the name of gender equality,,,?

I think Willoughby would be a lovely choice and Willow could be a nice nickname!

Crumbs1 · 28/12/2016 09:02

It's the name for a black Labrador, sorry.

albertcampionscat · 28/12/2016 09:12

1horatio

Quite.

SirChenjin · 28/12/2016 09:20

It's a girls name - but it's interesting that more boys names are being used as girls names, and less so the other way round.

Use it by all means, but remember he has to live with your decision for a lot longer than you'll have to.

ocelot41 · 28/12/2016 09:22

Er no. Sorry. I like unusual names but you will be giving this child a bit of an uphill struggle if you give him a girl's name.

caffelatte100 · 29/12/2016 22:37

No, it's a girls name. I agree with others, you would be doing your son a disservice should you choose this, as others have said, life is difficult enough. I think that it is also a kind of real wimpy name for a boy. Some names could break the gender barrier, but definitely not this one.

Good luck though!!!

Kr1stina · 29/12/2016 22:40

William is a nice name and very similar

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