Boy names for girls

[AmyParker]

me and dh are expecting a dd in june and are making our names list. We both love more 'masculine' sounding names but wanted to know your opinions on these for a girl! I'm aware the boy names for girls usually isn't very popular on here but wanted to see your thoughts.
Our 'boyish' names are
Rory
Cory (maybe Cora)
cal (shortened from Cassia?)
Avery

(we also love very 'girly' names eg. Kitty, Lolly, Blair - so it's not a 'wishing we had a boy instead' thing as many people had said when we mentioned it to others🙄)
Thanks!

Jamie
Philippa nn Pip

Noa

I really wish we called DD2 Noa but we bottled it and I still absolutely love it 💗

Ryan

The only Avery I know is a girl. I've always thought Rowan was a beautiful name for a girl, though it's often used for boys. Or River?

• Rory could be short for Aurora, but it’s a VERY male name (red king) and v popular for boys right now so I wouldn’t.
• Cory, yes for Cora or Cordelia, it feels quite unisex
• Cal I think people will turn into Cally for a baby, could be Caroline/a, Calista?
• Avery - it’s ok.
• Katharine or Christina etc can shorten to Kit or Kitty
• I wouldn’t call someone Lolly, it really doesn’t sound like a full name, but short for Laura or Luella?
• Blair - often a boys name. I wouldn’t saddle a girl with it.

Other thoughts
Robin, Rowan, Laurel, Lauren, Lois, Carey, Cleo/Clio, Erin/Aeryn, Arran, Jocelyn, Frances nn Frankie, Jessica nn Jessie, Alexandra/Alexia/Alexis nn Alix, Leonora/Leonie nn Leo, Maxima nn Max, Georgia nn Georgie

@snowone

Noa

I really wish we called DD2 Noa but we bottled it and I still absolutely love it 💗

I think she will be grateful for that TBH

Quinn

I was at school with a girl Rory. It suited her.

You could go retro:
Lesley
Hilary
Kim

I like Peta and Robyn.

Sydney
Taylor
Jordan
Rowan
Morgan
Robyn/ Robin
Dara
Luca
Rory
Charlie
Augusta nn Gus
Harriet nn Harry

Evelyn

I like -
Ayden
Blair
Flynn
Stevie
Quinn
Darryl
Jamie

I'm not a fan of boys names for girls - it just doesn't seem to happen the other way round - there aren't many boys called Sophie or Emily.

I would go for a girls name which could shorten to a masculine or unisex one:

Roberta - Bobbi
Stephanie - Stevie
Francesca - Frankie
Aurora - Rory
Josephine/Joanne/Joanna - Jo
Samantha - Sam/Sammy
Danielle - Danny/Dan
Charlotte - Charlie
Georgina/Georgia/Georgiana - Georgie
Alexandra/Alexandria/Alexandrina - Alex or Sandy
Philippa - Phil or Pip

There are lots of nice girls names which aren't frilly, like Ruth, Tess, Meg and Beth.

Alix is a girls name in it's own right - the last Tsarina of Russia and granddaughter of Queen Victoria was born Alix (changed to Alexandra when she married).

There are also names like Eden which are unisex.

Some of the ones I’ve come across are:
Addison
Ashley
Paige
Remi

The obvious one is Alexia or Alexandra shorted to Alex

I like Avery. Amery is also a nice unisex name.

I like Cal as a nn for Calanthe and Cory as a nn for Corrina. Alex or Xan as a nickname for several things or Kel as a nickname for Kelsey or Kelley (previously masculine, now unisex-leaning-feminine) could also work well.

I think Aurora is nice, with or without the Rory nickname, though I've known a lot of children who struggle to say it (and even adults who find it tricky to say or spell) which put me off.

I have a soft spot unisex names like Alexis, Emery, Merrill, Sheridan, Sinclair, but having had a sister with a then-masculine-now-unisex name that was repeatedly after moves was put in boy's PE at new schools and dealing with being called he a lot by adults when reading the name off (and with a mother who definitely wanted a boy), I prefer the 'feminine names with a unisex-masculine nickname' option.

Liberty nn Bertie
Sheridan
Jordan
Terri
Toni

Sammy

Rory is also short for Lorelai, which is less common that Aurora at the moment.

Surely Rory would be short for Lorelai, as in Gilmore!

Bit confused about 'Blair' being 'very girly' though To me it's a total American surname-as-first-name phenomenon, like calling kids Parker or Porter.

so it's not a 'wishing we had a boy instead' thing

Bear in mind that your DD is likely to get that asked of her many, many times. "Why do you have a boy's name? Did your parents want a boy?"

A unisex name or one with a nickname you like is, IMO, a better way to go.

I had a name that got lots of questions for a different reason. It's tedious!

Some unisex options

Nico
Remi
Leni
Billie
Phoenix

Uhhh it will make them think you wanted a boy. I went to school with a couple of girls with boys names and I can't say them particularly liked them they were ..

Leigh - which apparently is the feminine version of Lee

Toni - which of course is the female of Tony.

If you chose a boy boys name that ends in a it might sound more feminine like Luca, Sasha, or Misha

Or choose something like
Alexandra or Georgia

Rory - too popular as a boy's name
Cory (maybe Cora) - ot keen on either
cal (shortened from Cassia?) - Too try-hard. Short for calorie?
Avery - too similar to Aviary and Ovary

Kitty - not particularly girly, although my friend's cat Kitty is female
Lolly - not sure, might be ok as a nn for Louise
Blair - boy's name and not a great one

I know boys and girls called
Frankie
Charlie
Rudi/Rudy
Harper
Taylor
Dylan/Dillon