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HelpRe: Have you ever seen a post or site claiming the wrong meaning of a name?
in reply to a message by guasguendi
How many persons of each gender have to have a name before it is considered "unisex" would be subjective, and sometimes a name will seem unisex to many people if a very famous person of the opposite gender from the name's normal use bears it, even if there are very few other persons of the famous person's gender with the name.
Michael would often be thought of as unisex in the USA simply because of the fame of the actress Michael Learned. And it certainly has been used for girls, because Michal is normally pronounced the same as Michael in the USA and Michal is a female name in the Bible.
Anyone who used to watch the American soap opera "One Life to Live" would think of Dorian as unisex because one of the most prominent women characters on that show was named Dorian. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorian_Lord
Kyle was unisex at the start of its frequent use due to the fame of model and singer Kyle MacDonnell, who was prominent in the very early days of television in the United States. Kyle was among the top thousand names for girls in the USA between 1950 and 1990. I was born in 1951 and knew two girls named Kyle back when I was in high school. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_MacDonnell
Clare was a short form of Clarence in the USA and some parents named sons Claire because of that. There was a man who was a member of my church in Omaha, Nebraska named Claire who just died last year.
Julian was unisex back in medieval times and the female English Saint Julian of Norwich is still somewhat famous and so would give that name a unisex feel to those who know a good bit about her. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich
The actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds named their daughter James in 2014 and so those who pay attention to celebrity baby names now think of James as being unisex. (Note Blake itself is a formerly male name turned unisex recently.)
I'm pretty sure I have run across examples of Aiden and Flynn used for girls, and almost any mostly male name will be used for a girl in the USA somewhere sometime.
Michael would often be thought of as unisex in the USA simply because of the fame of the actress Michael Learned. And it certainly has been used for girls, because Michal is normally pronounced the same as Michael in the USA and Michal is a female name in the Bible.
Anyone who used to watch the American soap opera "One Life to Live" would think of Dorian as unisex because one of the most prominent women characters on that show was named Dorian. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorian_Lord
Kyle was unisex at the start of its frequent use due to the fame of model and singer Kyle MacDonnell, who was prominent in the very early days of television in the United States. Kyle was among the top thousand names for girls in the USA between 1950 and 1990. I was born in 1951 and knew two girls named Kyle back when I was in high school. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_MacDonnell
Clare was a short form of Clarence in the USA and some parents named sons Claire because of that. There was a man who was a member of my church in Omaha, Nebraska named Claire who just died last year.
Julian was unisex back in medieval times and the female English Saint Julian of Norwich is still somewhat famous and so would give that name a unisex feel to those who know a good bit about her. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_of_Norwich
The actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds named their daughter James in 2014 and so those who pay attention to celebrity baby names now think of James as being unisex. (Note Blake itself is a formerly male name turned unisex recently.)
I'm pretty sure I have run across examples of Aiden and Flynn used for girls, and almost any mostly male name will be used for a girl in the USA somewhere sometime.
This message was edited 2/29/2024, 2:50 PM
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Replies
I see, thank you! I've recently been digging Dorian as a feminine name because of Ms. Leigh. :)
I think Julian could have been a genuine unisex name nowadays because of the saint.
I think Julian could have been a genuine unisex name nowadays because of the saint.
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