"girl" names for boys

[SavannahMayfield]

Me and DH are expecting a DS soon and were brainstorming ideas. My mother then told me I couldn't give him "girl" names. We didn't realise it at the time but our favourite names are seen as "girly". She said that he would sound more like a girl than his sister Benji (who when we talk about her is presumed to be a boy named Benjamin).
Some of our names include Laurie, Avery, Wren, Bea and Eli
What are your opinions??

To be honest I think all the names you've chosen are awful.

Of your names, I like Avery and Eli best, Laurie somewhat, and wouldn't use the others.

I know a female Eli, short for Elinor.

Intrigued what is Benji short for?

Benji is a boys name in Hebrew it means son of my right hand. This thread must be a wind up.

@LouiseTrees

I’ve known boys and girls named Ellis in Scotland, and a boy and a girl Laurie. In fact I think Laurie is quite established as a boys’ name in Scotland? It’s a Scottish surname, and a Scottish tradition (perhaps outdated now) to name a son with his mother’s maiden name.

@Marble2302, that's Benjamin/Binyamin not Benji.

I really like Eli ♥️

I quite like Sabre for a masculine girls name/for a boy...

My friend has a son called Ren :)
What about Nova? It's both and it's more of a popular Male name in easten Europe but more commonly girls in America.
Or maybe just Alex? Or Alexi?
I think Bea is a bit too girlie imo, but at the end of the day you have to choose what you like :)

Are you pronouncing Eli

Eel eye - boy name
Or
Ell eee - girl name

Nova is still a small Vauxhall car in the Uk I’d say.

Nova is the car, and it's a car which had to be renamed for the mainland European market as it means 'doesn't work / no go'

(Not just the meaning of the name IYSWIM - the actual translation of 'no va')

MY NAME IS SUE.
HOW DO YOU DO?

@Allmyeye

I had a child in my class years ago who hated his name and regularly cried about it. He hated it because he said it was a girls name and tbh he had a point at that time. Many years later it is more used for boys now but that didn’t help him at the time. His parents were upset and said they were loath to let him change it as they had chosen it very carefully. They were considering it though because of his distress. He was 6/7. The other children thought it was a girls name which added to his distress. I’d be really careful before I gave my boy a girly name or visa versa.

I appreciate that this is reality but I still think it's sad that even by the ages of 6 our children are conditioned to view 'girly' things as negative.

I doubt very much you'd get the same issues with a girl called Elliot, Riley etc

Why can't you pick a name that fits him, and not pick a girls name.

Your post seems to be 'oh look how quirky and different we are'

@Veterinari I wouldn't say in this context it is negative because boys names are better than girls ones. If a girl was called something like John (clearly a boys name and not something that could be unisex like Sam or Nicky) then it would be equally upsetting if she was being bullied, surely. It's just that people hear the name and presume a different type of person to what they get, which people find unusual/silly etc.

Eli and Laurie (when short for Laurence) are nice names. Laurie always makes me think of Little Women.

Avery and Wren are silly for either boys or girls. Bea is short for Beatrice, I can't think of a boy's name that would work for.

Benji is an awful spelling of a diminutive any way round and really not a nice girl's name at all.

Laurie - traditionally short for Laura (Laurel, Lauren) or Laurence, or from the surname.
Avery - unisex to me
Wren - the 2 Wrens I know are both male, both short for Lawrence, but I've seen it in fiction as a stand-alone girls' name
Bea - never seen this as a boy name; would assume short for Beatrice, Beatrix, Beata, etc.
Eli - traditionally a male name as a stand-alone. (I've known a few Eli-short-for-Elizabeths, pronounced EE-lie, but it's a stretch).

I'd go with that you love, but of all of these, I think Bea might be consistently mistaken for a girl.

Benji could be short for Benjamina. It's a bit of a silly name because the Ben bit means son.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the names you have chosen for a boy (Other than Bea).
BUT in the context of your dd being named Benji it’s big no I think.
People will assume your ds is Benji and dd is for example Wren which I would imagine will get rather annoying.

Eli (Elizabeth, Elinor etc) and Laurie are very feminine names imo. Laurence is the feminine form of Laurent.

Wren could work for a boy?!

Eli is pronounced Ee-lie not like Ellie

@netflixismysidehustle

Eli is pronounced Ee-lie not like Ellie

Well I think that, but I’m checking the OP thinks that too.

The male Eli I know pronounces it exactly like Ellie - it’s short for Elias (Eh-leee-as - he’s German).

I also know an Eli pronounced Ely.