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Micah - is it unisex?
I've been thinking about the usage of Micah on females, and I think it makes sense. Micaiah is already a unisex name, which is borne by multiple characters on the Bible, both male and female. Since Micah is a contraction of Micaiah, is it reasonable to think it can be used for both genders? Besides, it hasn't been rare for American girls since the late 70s, making it sort of established.So, do you think Micah can be unisex?

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Micah (my-ka) - male
Micah (me-ka) - female
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I could see how it would work on girls, and why some might like to use it as a girl's name. If a person didn't know much about Biblical names, Micah's sound and look could definitely translate as feminine. There's always Mica, like the crystal!
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of course yes.It's fine to have preferences, but that isn't what determines the gender of a name.
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True, that's usually based on meaning and history, not just wishful thinking.
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No, it’s a brilliant boys name.
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No
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Inside my head, no, I don't think it's unisex at all. In the wider world outside, who knows? If James, why not Micah, or even Reginald?
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No. Because Micaiah is a unisex name, there was cause to make a strictly masculine form, in the same way that there are masculine and feminine versions of multiple names. Why should there be yet another masculine name dumped on girls when there really are enough feminine names in the world where little girls don't have to be hidden behind a mannish mask.
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Just going off the sound, Micah sounds like the feminine form of Mike. Micah still sounds more masculine than feminine, but I'm open to more names becoming unisex. I can't go off the etymology because I know little of it and honestly don't find it too important.
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I've seen Micah on a girl a couple times. It works fine but I prefer Micah for a boy and Mica for a girl (as a word name for the mineral).
Micah on a boy has a specific soft and feminine kind of tone that makes it appealing. It seems intelligent and well thought out. That tone is sort of wasted on a girl IMO, and it comes off as... careless maybe? Like an English speaker heard a name with "ah" on the end and went "that ending sounds girly, I'll use this name for a girl".
(I realize this comment is silly coming from someone who likes Luca on a girl! But that's my impression when I meet boys named Micah and girls named Micah.)

This message was edited 1/1/2024, 2:02 PM

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