Giving my son a 'girl' name

[Bowa]

I am due soon to give birth soon to my first child who will be a boy. I struggled to think of any boy names that felt right. I had a long list for girl names, but I couldn't think any for if I had a son.

I found out I was having a boy at my 16 weeks scan and I still couldn't find a name that felt right at the time. Kinda like a missing puzzle piece if that makes sense.

A few weeks later, I was thinking about a movie I loved since childhood and one of the main characters (the character is male) and something clicked and I knew that was the name I wanted for my son. It felt perfect and exactly what I was looking for. I became excited and looked into how I could make things with his name for the nursery, nicknames and that.

I haven't told anyone what name I picked out for him as I wanted to get everything ready beforehand. I have also had some 'complications', so it felt like bad luck if I told people his name before he was born. When I'm by myself, I talk to my son and I will use his name then.

I was looking at something and saw the name I picked for my son. It had a few different spellings, but what stuck out was that apparently it's used more as a girl name. It didn't say anything about it being a unisex name. I assumed because the character who had the name was male (and refers to himself as a male) that it was wasn't a girl's name or maybe it could be a unisex name. Even the way it is pronounced sounds more masculine than feminine.

I feel conflicted. I can't think of any other name that feels right for him (he has middle names that are boy names), but I don't want him to be picked on if people knew it was used more for a girl. I have an unusual first name, so I have experiences with people not spelling it correctly or pronouncing it right.

His name isn't common for this area either, so I don't think anyone would assume it is used more as a girl name and the way it is pronounced is easy.

I know people have named their daughter with names that are more boy/unisex sounding like: Blake, Parker, Dylan, Toni etc.

His name isn't like: Daisy, Penelope, Sophia, Jane etc.

Would it be OK to stick with the name even if it's used more for a girl?

My bets are on Jesse or Marion.

Don't.

918 boys named Jesse in 2023. Ranked 59. Not that rare.

Can’t answer without the name

It's a ludicrous thing that calling a girl a "boys name" is fine, but not the same for a boy having a "girls name". But school can be hard enough for many without adding ammunition.
Hillary, Lindsey, Lesley are all traditional, can be either m/f, so it's not a new thing.

Edited - and will your child love the name, as well as you?

Avery was Fern's brother in Charlotte's Web. I've never met an Avery in real life.

Tracy Beaker?

I've come across several female Ashleys in the UK. I don't like it as a girl's name.

Honestly, if you're having doubts find another. There are literally thousands of boys names to choose from.
Having an out-there name is fine and dandy if the child has the personality to go with it, but can cause issues if they’re not a good match to a name that singles them out. Children are cruel - there was a boy called Jesse in my DC’s school, he was a shy quirky little chap and his (only slightly) unusual monika became yet another stick for the bully’s to beat him with. Obviously it shouldn’t be that way, but the world is a hard and harsh place at times, why make it harder than it has to be for your son.

I have a male name and have hated it my whole life, even attempted to change it by deed poll as a teen. On this basis I do not recommend!

Is it Bryce? I always thought this was a male name but it turns out it's unisex.

We are 9 pages in and still don’t have the name? What a pointless thread.

Isn’t it just. Ridiculous.

Why not say the name????

There are unisex names, like Vivian, Kim and Carol- which some men are called. But those haven't been used for men for decades.

You need to consider how your child would feel for the rest or their lives and the impact on them at school and work.

It's not just about 'you'.

Definitely Rumpelstiltskin!

So misogynistic that girls can be given boys names but not vice versa

Why not mention the name. Did you just want people to list female sounding male names?

Lots of unisex names in the world, lots in Wales - Ceri, Meredith, Glen, Celyn, Eirian, Morgan.

Agree with the others, it's hard to be able to give advice without knowing the name.

I'm going to guess that whatever name it is, it's probably the sort of weird pretentious name that is best avoided.

He will grow up tough, that's for sure.

I agree They do exist. I know when I was young I wanted to call my daughter Ashleigh after the character in the fresh prince!

but it is relatively rare in the UK. No one in the Uk would laugh at a boy called Ashley for having a girls name as it is a common boys name (although I haven’t heard it very recently in anyone younger than 40 so maybe fallen out of favour!)

9 pages and we don't know what the name is. Impossible to say without knowing.

I know a man called Lindsay, and I do feel quite sorry for him.

You’re naming a person, a teenager, an adult, someone who will have a life, career, relationships and everything in between. You need to consider that and the possible impact it will on them not what you want. You’re not naming just a baby.

Is it Artemis like the goddess but after Artemis Fowl the male character?

Yes he was a boy given a goddess name and it had a small peak after that too (like Artemis Pile the drummer of Lynned Skyned). I think because Artie use to be a common nickname for Arthur people 'think' it sounded masculine.

Other name I guess you could mean all tend to be male names that became 'common' for girls like Sasha, Andrea, Kimberly, Leslie, Beverly, Tracey etc... not many go female to male (Artemis is the only one I can think of that has). Those old boys names are still fine to use on boys though even if they are more associated with women now.

As everyone says, it depends on the name.

Shirley or Meredith are more common for girls, Adrian is usually a boy but I have come across a couple of female Adrians (not including Rocky's girlfriend).