Opinions on unisex names

[IceTippedMountains]

DH and I are extremely keen on giving our DC a unisex name.

So far we have:

• Jordan / Jordyn
• Indianna
• Kennedy
• Quinn
• Bailey / Bailee
• Devon
• Jesse / Jessie
• Taylor / Tayla
• Avery

Honest opinions! (and yes we are in the UK)

Does anyone actually know adults that are bullied for their name, or any adults that bully others? In regards to jobs, has anyone, despite being professional and having the relevant qualifications, been rejected for a role because of their name? If so what sort of company/job was it?

I was made a mockery of at a "posh" university when I went - because my name was considered "oikish". Yes, that may say something more about the people doing the mocking, but it still hurt at the the time - me from an ordinary background not having a clue that my name wasn't quite de rigeur.

I was made a mockery of at a "posh" university when I went - because my name was considered "oikish".

And I was mercilessly bullied at a state school for having a name percieved as "posh" (well the fact I had been taught to speak RP was also a factor). I wonder if the inclusivity that millenials are famous for extends to breaking down these class barriers?

It is quite common for names to get said the wrong way.
I work with people who are originally from other countries whose names aren't much used in the UK, and others get their names wrong a lot.

Examples are Alain being called Alaine, Ilaria being called Ilaira, Annalise getting called Annalouise and the like. And the people who do it, keep doing it even when corrected.

I think that it is quite likely that people make assumptions based on someone's name. If a name suggest a sex, religion, race, nationality, age-group, social class or whatever, then it may go against you.
It shouldn't but it might.
Likewise, your postcode might go against you.

On the postcode front, say you are looking for an apprentice, you have two candidates and you need to choose one. Their qualifications are the same. One is from Slough, one is from Maidenhead...

When you were at school did the good-looking kids have more friends than the plain ones?

Life isn't fair.

Love Quinn. Not keen on the rest from your list.
I like Blair, Francis/Frances, Riley, River, Eden for unisex names but Quinn is probably my favourite.

Well thank god I work for a company that would never judge people on where they’re from or their names. That sounds a very dated thing to happen? I’m talking about grown adults not kids picking friends in a playground. Aim higher than companies that would behave like that would be my advice.

Yeah right.

Well big companies now actively run recruitment schemes for people from less privileged backgrounds, to get them in the City and give them equal opportunities, which is completely contrary to what you’re saying, which is that people get favoured based on where they’re from or their name.
And as someone who works for one of these companies i’m just really genuinely interested to know who are these companies that are making these judgements? People make comments that kids won’t get good jobs if they have an unusual name, but from experience it’s the larger companies that are more accepting. Others may not agree, which is fine, but I don’t think it’s fair to scare people into thinking that their children will get overlooked for jobs because their name isn’t one of the most popular.
Also just to add, it’s our CEO’s and senior members whose kids have the wackiest names here.

I work with people who are originally from other countries whose names aren't much used in the UK, and others get their names wrong a lot.

I have a dutch name and have lived in several different countries. Everywhere people tried to pronounce my name correctly except for the UK. They didn't even make an effort. I don't know why. I found it really strange tbh.

I like some unisex names but I know several women with unisex names who don't like it. So I probably wouldn't use it but do whatever you like OP. If you've fallen in love with a name then the opinion of a bunch of strangers on the internet shouldn't matter.

*I work with people who are originally from other countries whose names aren't much used in the UK, and others get their names wrong a lot.

Examples are Alain being called Alaine, Ilaria being called Ilaira, Annalise getting called Annalouise and the like. And the people who do it, keep doing it even when corrected.*

That's so rude. I wonder why they don't make an effort to pronounce the names correctly?

My favourite has to be Bailey, so much so that i named my male cat Bailey and then regretted it as i then couldn't call my son when i had him the same :( i also love the name for a girl too and would have definately considered it for my little girl due later this year, but nobody else likes it for a girl except for me lol!

I don't know. It depends on who does it, I suppose. I think the Annalouise one was someone 'on the spectrum' but I don't recall them getting anyone else's name wrong. Alaine was by someone who was 'a bit of a joker'. The Ilaira one was by several (all men, if that is relevant).
There was someone else who had a very difficult to pronounce name so used a shortened form and would get upset when people mangled the long version, and carried on doing so, even though it was obvious that she was upset. IME, that was bullying. I can't give the name as it would out her, but it would be something like the following:
Jiaxin, calls herself Jenny at work but colleague1 calls her Jaxon repeatedly and colleague2 calls her Jackseen.
Vasiliki calls herself Vicky but colleague3 calls her Vagilicky and colleague4 calls her Valisilki
Not their real names, but gives an idea of the offensiveness.

Short forms are a nightmare too. You try working with a David who won't answer to Dave and a Steve who hates being called Stephen.

Maybe I just work with weird people.

The unisex names I listed earlier - it was Lindsay who surprised me. He was over 6". All the other Lindsays (lots of different spellings) I know are female. Courtney was the son of immigrants. 1 Ashley was male and the other Ashley female. Kim has been about 50:50.

There have been studies that show that changing a name on a CV and submitting both the unchanged name CV and the original can result in the changed one resulting in an interview.

Think about your friends, are they quite similar to you. Are the names of the same era etc. Chances are you will probably be quite similar in lots of ways - height, weight, names, ages of children, marital & social status, intelligence, dress sense etc.

My sister's family court lawyer is called Roxy. In Australia.
I can't imagine that happening here so consider the 'high court judge' test for a child who is going to grow up in the UK.

I thought Avery was a male name rather than unisex? Same with Aubrey which has been mentioned upthread.

Devon is nice. I only know one (female)

What about
Hilary
Francis / Frances
Frankie
Kim (love the full name Kimbal for a boy)

More out there ones could be
Jet
River
Indigo
Blue (I know a boy and a girl Blue)

I’ve known both sexes called Riley too

Just realised Ariel is a unisex name isn’t it? I think Shakespeare when I hear it but the Little Mermaid effect may have altered its unisex-ness??!

One more (sorry)

I knew a girl Iggy, it suited her.

Penny
Sally
Julia
Helen

Unisex names I like are:
Sam
Alex
Frances / Francis
Gerry / Ger
Lou
Teddy

Ally

Short forms are a nightmare too. You try working with a David who won't answer to Dave and a Steve who hates being called Stephen.

Then you should just call them David and Steve. It's not that difficult.

Yes, but you forget which way round it works, especially if they are commonly abbreviated names. I have worked with a Karen (rhymes with Darren) and a Karen (Care-en) too, and it was easy to get it wrong.
I'm normally good with names.