Marlowe - boy or girl or either?

[mamablondie33]

I really like Marlowe for a boy (like the playwright) but I’m seeing it used more and more for girls? Is it considered a ‘girls’ name?

I'd assume girl if I saw it written down or it was being referred to but If I heard a boy being called it I wouldn't think it was that strange.

I know one Marlowe (age 2) and she's a girl. I'm fairly confident she is not named after Christopher Marlowe judging by her siblings' names.
If I met a Marlowe I'd assume it was a girl but I'd assume a Marlow was a boy.
I really don't like it at all though.

There's a boy Marlow in my DS's class. It suits him. I didn't actually know it was usually a girl's name tbf

I’m not sure why people copy celebrities. Sienna Miller called her dd Marlowe.

You can say you like Christopher Marlowe and so do I, but I don’t believe for a minute you’d have thought of it as a first name without Sienna.

Honestly, it’s more golden retriever than either for me.

I hear it as a surname only so it confuses me as to which sex. Also makes me think the child may be American.
I think I would expect a Marlowe to be a girl but the Arlo similarity would make me pause.
Not fond of it generally.
Congrats op.

I know a little boy called Marlow. He was named after a male relative who also had this as a Christian name.

@TatianaBis this is genuinely the first time I’ve been told Sienna Miller has a daughter called Marlowe. I’m a lit geek - other contenders are Byron and Oscar (though Oscar is a bit too popular for my liking)

I LOVE the name Marlow but only for a boy. I personally see it as masculine.

Well she is the reason Marlowe is around as a name.

I had it on my list for DD2 so I think of it as a girls name

I guess it can be either.
But who knew it was growing in popularity? I live and learn with Mn.

And yes I think, with my wordsmith hat on, that other surname-first names actually began life as first names and then evolved into surnames rather than t'other way around. But it does seem
That anything goes these days, so
If you like it, use it!

I like Raymonde but got bucket loads of hate for it from mumsnet 😝

@Snog the names that are a hit on MN are never my cup of tea. I love Ray for short for what it’s worth :)

If you’re a fan of the playwright then Christopher nn Kit seems the clear winner.

Neither

@ZoyaTheDestroyer I’m not a fan of Christopher but your Kit suggestion is a good one. He was known as Kit too.

[quote mamablondie33]@Snog the names that are a hit on MN are never my cup of tea. I love Ray for short for what it’s worth :)[/quote]
Probably not worth posting here to gauge a response if your taste in names is so at odds with what you perceive the MN collective’s to be.

If I heard it, I would assume boy as it is similar to Marlon but if I saw it written down, I’d think girl. However, I’d first think of the town.

I know 2 girls called it under 2 no boys though

I hadn't heard of it as a name but I'd think of it as a boy's name. Maybe because my first association is the character, Philip Marlowe.

I had a work colleague who had a son Marlo spelt without the w. The name is ok I think but definitely put the w on the end to make it Marlow

Surname. DC would always have to be spelling it. Bad. Don’t do it.

I think the comments about Marlowe dating badly are weird. Do people really think all the Avas, Evies, Masies, Sadies, Freddies, Wilfreds, etc aren't going to date? They may be "classic" in 30 years very few people will use them. Just think how many older millennials are called Louisa, Jennifer, James, etc. which are all pretty rare for babies now.

OP I think it's fine for either sex. With newish names people tend to accept them either way although you can get unlucky and it suddenly becomes established in the opposite way to the one you've used. I guess that's what you're trying to flush out here. I would say make a judgement on how unhappy you would be if the name did end up being predominantly used for the opposite sex, if it wouldn't actually bother you much (or if you just it unlikely to happen) then go for it.

Argh, apologies for all the missing words above...