Worried i have gave my son a girls name

[girlsnameboysname]

Name changed for this.

Please be kind, I'm feeling a little stressed.

My son was born 6 weeks ago and we struggled to pick a name. I chose Riley and I really like the name. OH took a bit of convincing as he felt it was very unisex. I had only really thought of it as a boys name though. After a couple of days OH 'gave in' and we named him Riley.

But since then we've had various comments about it being unisex and iv also now heard of 2 girls in my daughter's school with the name!

I'm also still following various baby name groups on FB and keep seeing Rylie/Rayleigh/Rylee etc being suggested for a girl.

I'm now feeling a bit of name regret and worrying that the name is now becoming a girls name.

It will bother me lots of there are other Riley's in his school group and even more so if they are girls.

Yes I'm aware this might be seen as ridiculous, but it's how I feel.

Ps, I haven't spoke to OH about this as I was the one rubbishing his (I feel now valid) concerns.

It's a boys name imo

I only know a male Riley. My first cat as a child was called Riley named after my Dad’s Classic Riley car.

It’s definitely a unisex name but to me names that end in “ey” always sounds a bit cutesy and therefore feminine.

I've got a daughter named Riley. As long as you like the name that's all should matter. Its a lovely name regardless of gender!

If you had called him Alex and there were say, 2 girls in his school also called Alex, would you feel the same was as you do now? I doubt it. Honestly, Riley is a lovely name, I love it even more after watching Midnight Mass as the male character is adorable. Don't change it.

I’ve known Riley’s who are male. I’d be more concerned at the chavvy connotations it has. Never known a non chav Riley.

Much prefer Edward Riley anyway. Could you swap them?

There are two girls in my daughter’s preschool called Riley. Riley Rose and Riley Rae. Until meeting them, I associated Riley with male
teenage scallywags.

I think you're fine, op x

I think it's a lovely boys name OP.

Riley is a boy. Specifically, he's a hunky airman who helps to foil a plot to steal nuclear weapons (showing my age there). But leaving that thought aside, Riley is still being used as a boy's name and I can't see any reason why that shouldn't continue. I suspect that when girls are given some version of that name, it's usually one with a jazzed-up spelling (same with Ashley versus Ashleigh/Ashlee etc) and anyone seeing Riley written down in its original form will expect a boy. I like it. Don't let them get you down!

I knew a few female Riley’s in the USA, but in the UK, all the Riley’s I know are male. I personally think of it as a male name, but that might be because I’ve watched Buffy eleven billion times.

In any case, I wouldn’t worry about it. Nothing wrong with a unisex name.

My boy's got a unisex name and I love it. In English it's more often given to girls I think, but where I'm from it's a male name. I think names are much more fluid these days.

I would automatically assume boy upon hearing Riley.

Riley for a girl is an American trend. You have to accept it is unisex though. I'd put it in the same bracket as Harley, Frankie, Taylor. They all use to be predominantly used for boys but are now firmly unisex.

Congratulations op, if you like the name this is not something to worry about.
it doesn’t really matter if there are girl rylees in his class, no more than it matters that both girls and boys are given names like
Wyatt, Billie/y, Ashley/leigh, Sam, Alex, blue, Blake, James, Frankie, or the thousands of other unisex names
If you want to change it though you can.

It's a popular name for boys but also works for a girl.

Definitely unisex these days like many names. Don't worry, he'll be fine ☺️

Definitely a boy's name for me!

I know a boy called Riley.

Life of Riley by the Lightning Seeds was written about/for his son.

I know

Ryley
Rylie
Riley

All 3 are boys. I have to focus when writing them cards though!

Girls name.

Leave it, OP 😊 Riley is largely a male name here. more than that, if he does meet a female Rylee, I bet he won’t even see it as the same name, and not only because of the spelling. Reading your thread, I’ve only just realised I have a male friend and a female friend with the same name. The name is Alex. I don’t see the two of them as having the same name at all, even though they do. I see them as a man called Alex and my funny, chatty female friend Alex. Hard to explain, but it won’t be an issue x

I see it as unisex but if someone talks to me about a child called Riley I will automatically think it’s a girl unless I’m told differently.

If you do want to change it, it's really easy before the baby is 1 year old, and still possible any time by deedpoll. We did that. It wasn't a problem really except for the grandparents thinking we were idiots.

It’s fine. I would t think of it as a girl’s name and Life of Riley is a great tune. 🎵

In think in the UK it's more likely to be a boys name. I would imagine Rylee etc would be pretty unusual and I also think they sound more American. Don't look at the FB groups! The Riley I know of is a boy.