Emma-James?

[SeaPorpoises]

Expecting my first daughter, DH loves Emma and I like it too, but since Blake Lively named her daughter James I have adored that for a girl too.

So thoughts on Emma-James? or suggestions of similar if you're not a fan?

As pp have said it will sound like she’s got a double barrelled surname when she gives her full name, eg Emma James-Smith - no, it’s Emma-James Smith. Repeat ad nauseam for the next 80 plus years.

Plus, why do you want to give your daughter a traditionally male name? You never hear of baby boys being called Lucy for example.

Bizarre that this needs pointing out!

Emma is a nice name, James is a nice (boys name), Emma-James just sounds daft as a double barrelled first name (as do most double barrelled first names tbh) and it does definitely just like she’s called Emma James (first name surname)

Everyone will mishear it as the 1980s classic Emma Jane. And then when you correct them they’ll think you’re saying the first name and the surname. Or it’s a double barrelled surname. Then when you correct them again and have to yes really James for a girl and it’s because I copied an American celeb it’ll sound cringe worthy. Don’t do it.

I love James and also Ryan and Owen for a girls name.

names are just made up it doesn’t matter.

names are just made up it doesn’t matter

It doesn’t matter what you name your child, because they’re all made up?

I think it's too confusing- it sounds like James is the surname. Or it would get misheard as Emma Jane

I wish someone would name their son Emma.

So depressing to see all these daughters given boys' names.

They won’t, because the thinking amongst some parents seems to be that boys names = cool/edgy; girls names = weak/ineffectual, even for an actual girl.

Funny how when a boys name becomes common for girls, then the parents of boys start avoiding it.

As it stands, though, James is still a top 30 for boys, but doesn’t even feature in the top 1000 for girls, despite a PPs claim that it was now “gender neutral”.

but do you love Emma, Sarah and Rebecca as boys' names?

The inevitable problem is it remaining niche for a girl and yet there are millions of male James’, including small ones. It’s not like calling your daughter an unusual male name. Blake Lively’s daughter will go to a school with other sleb names not a normal state school. So no boy there will be called James, they’ll be too busy being called things like Madrid.

Ref Ryan and Owen. Why then? What about Colin? Pete?

Them*

I quite like James for a girl too but I don't think it works with Emma, which is one of the most "vanilla" names going at present. It just doesn't gel having such a conventional name with an unconventional one, it makes you jump to the conclusion that you must have misunderstood and James is the surname.

I read the title as Emma-Jane and suspect she'll get that a lot.

How many female posters on here would be like to be called James?

Drop the hyphen and I like it.
I hate hyphenated names.

@Daringbear if you had a boy would you name them after your mum, nanny etc?

Yup all the Soups and Dragons I know are female.

Sorry James is a boys name or a surname .
If said their child's name was Emma James I would assume it was her full name not just her first name

@FayCarew "
but do you love Emma, Sarah and Rebecca as boys' names"

I ask this all the time. I even started a dedicated thread. Nobody will ever say, because they know it's pure misogyny and don't want to admit it.

Hard no. As others have said, because James is also a common surname it will sound like she is being called by her first and last name. Why not Emma-Jane? Jane is a great name (no bias here 😅), lots of cool famous Janes and hardly used nowadays.

I'm not a fan of double barrelled names.

James is a boys' name or a surname. Just because someone else has used it for a girl, doesn't make it a girls' name.

Wherever she has to give her name, EVERYONE will assume Emma is her first name and James her surname if she says 'Emma-James' .
Don't do it to the poor girl.

I'm not keen on hyphenated names nor James for a girl, so not my cup of tea. Being introduced as Emma-James I'd hear first name surname. If introduced as Emma-James Surname, I would hear Emma double barrelled surname.

No, but none of the female names is our family are "family names", if it had been a different male name we maybe wouldn't have to, but James is a surname too so we used it in that way (I'm sure people just think it is my maiden name or similar), I think for Matthew or similar we'd have used it but not Ian.

I'd never saddle a kid with a complicated name that they will constantly be correcting or explaining.