"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??

[quote eatthepineapple]@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. [/quote]
Then if that's true why are girls called Rowan, James etc?
There is a history of 'male' or 'unisex' names becoming 'tainted' and falling into disuse by males once females start to use them but the reverse never occurs. Eg Beverly, Lesley, Evelyn are now considered to be pretty much exclusively female names because their use in males dropped when they started to be used for girls. A similar pattern is happening with Elliot, Riley, Rowan etc at the moment.
Conversely female names are never used for boys because the ingrained misogyny in our society makes feminine names for boys undesirable in a way that masculine names for girls are not.

So no, I don't think a girl called Elliot, Charlie or even James would be teased in the same way.

Eli is often pronounced Elee. Short for Elinor. Or Elizabeth.

I also know an Eliott who goes by Eli. (Ell Lee)

@netflixismysidehustle

Eli is pronounced Ee-lie not like Ellie

The Hebrew pronunciation is more like Ellie though. I know a few men called Eli pronounced Ellie but they are all Jewish.

I would pronounce Eli as Ee-lie too, however the only Eli I know (male) pronounces it Ellie.

The character called Eli on The Capture pronounced his name Ee-lie.

Wren and Bea are clearly girl's names to me - especially Bea, I can't see how that could be anything other than a shortening of Beatrice/Beatrix. The rest seem like boy's/unisex names. But Benji is also clearly a boy's name and you named your daughter that so gender doesn't seem to be particularly important to you when naming? I do agree it would be a little weird to have a family of Benji and Bea where Benji is the girl and Bea is the boy! I would just think why not the other way around if you like those names?!

Ohhhh I didn't know that Eli could be pronounced Ellie

Is Benjie Benjamina or another name on her birth certificate?

When Benji is older she might like having the nickname B so I'd save it for her. Bea and Benji is far too similar imo

Eli is pronounced Elly in welsh. The name sounds silly because eli is the welsh word for ointment.

I worked with a Benji. An adult man.

Bea is the only one I see as a girl's name.

Wren as a name is something I've only ever seen on talkboards about names, and never heard of one in real life. I'm not sure that I really like it as a name.

Laurie, Avery and Eli all seem like normal boys' names to me, and for what it's worth I like Laurie best out of the 3.

Well, there's Leslie. And anything with son at the end- Madison, Addison etc.- were originally for boys. There are loads out there. Eden?

I know a few guys with 'girl' names.
Ones Jody and the others Courtney.
Neither are really phased by it, but do often say 'I know ive got a girls name' - both of which are 'guys' names in America apparently!

I love Eli and Wren for a boy

Ellis is one of my favourite boy names

Why would Eli be considered a girl name by the way?
It's outside the top 2,500 girl names! There was less than 10 girls given this name last year according to official statistics - but over 500 boys given the name. It's very clearly regarded as a boy name - just show her the statistics if she questions this- the statistics speak for themselves. The name isn't even unisex - it's regarded as a boy name

Eli is a boys name. Bea most definitely a girl. Why not go for something like Rowan or Robin which I think are truly unisex.
You're making your kid's life harder than it needs to be by choosing something like Bea for a boy.

Eli for girls may not show up in the statistics as it's often a nickname for Elizabeth, Elinor or Eliana.

Hello,
You call your child whatever you want to, as long as you love it, that’s all that matters.
I have identical twin boys called Remi and Riley and when they aren’t with me, I’m frequently asked, aww do you have twin girls then, I also have a daughter called Mackenzie and people see, to get confused with that name too. Call your baby what you want to call him, it’ll be perfect for him.