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When I hear Harper I assume girl, because it's very trendy for girls now (due to Harper Lee and the Beckhams). The only Harper I actually know is an 8 year old boy, though. I think I liked the name before it became trendy, but once names enter the top 20, I am tired of hearing them and can't look at them objectively anymore. I never mind true classics like Elizabeth, Anna, Daniel, Michael, etc.

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Ellis sounds more masculine to me, but I know that a lot of people are taking any name that starts with El- and making it feminine these days. It bugs me, but I'm powerless to stop it, so I try not to stress out about it.

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I would never expect Shane to be a girl. I like it fine for boys, though.

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If I heard of three siblings with these names, I would assume that their parents were white, middle class, and trend-followers, and I would guess that they were all under 12 years old. I think I would guess that Harper and Ellis were girls and Shane was a boy.

This message was edited 11/5/2018, 6:41 AM