Delaney

When I rediscovered this classic, I was instantly swept up in a memory of my childhood... I would go outside and play in the woods behind my home whenever I had a hard day at school. In my daydreams, I was Delaney Cunningham, aspiring writer and defender of goodness. Looking back on it now, it's a charmer with a lot of heart, and I think it is an absolutely splendid choice, regardless of your gender or race.

If that's your real name then your name is really cool, Delaney Cunningham has a nice ring to it.

This is my name and I think it is very cool. I like the meaning (child of dark defiance) or (offspring of the challenger) and it fits both sexes well. I hope it stays uncommon because it is a rare gem in the world of Braelyns and Brylees.

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Edit: I actually kind of dislike my name and never would have liked it if I wasn't born with it. I would ignore it just as any other surname-turned-first name with no real meaning. Meaning is something that is really important to me now, and my name doesn't really embody it. Also, the name sounds very nasal and the D-L-N are very weird to say. It's kind of childish and whiny with the sharp eEE sound at the end.

Super duper pretty and sexy in my opinion, it’s my fiancé’s name after all. I’ve never met a male with this name, personally, but I can understand why some people would think of it that way. I wish it was more popular though. I don’t really like the comments commenting how it’s childish or a stripper’s name, because I really don’t see that.

In my opinion, this name does not sound right as a first name.

This name is cute! I also like it spelled Delaynee.

I can see it on a girl and a boy. One of the nicest people I have ever met carries this name!

Kinda cute. Not bad as a name.

You don't hear this name that often. I think it's a bit childish but cute.

At first I wasn't sure about this name but I came up with a cute middle name, Delaney Gray, and now I’m obsessed. I like Laney as a nickname too.

Cute.

My best friend is Delaney I think the name is cool because it is her middle name and now her first name and I think she should keep that name because I like the name Delaney, yes it is true. My name is Olive, just kidding, Olivia but I like Delaney's name better because Delaney can be boy or girl but mostly girl, yes!

I absolutely adore the name Delaney, it’s uncommon and Laney is such a cute nickname!

I used to love the spelling Delanie when I was 12. Now I prefer this spelling. I wanted to name my daughter Delanie Rose. I think Delaney Rose isn't a bad combination at all.

Childish.

I named my daughter Delani Mae. I absolutely love this name and love the fact it isn't common. I never knew it to be a boy's name only because the only person I knew with this name was a girl. I call my daughter "D" for short and so does her family and friends. I think this is a very strong, unique and creative name. It represents my daughter's personality perfectly. In my humble opinion a few of the negative opinions some people have said about the name Delani, or Delaney may not see its creative individualism of the name. No offense.

Delaney is a sweet-sounding name to me. I've only known girls who spell their name as Delanie throughout my life and they were very friendly people. It's a nice variant too.

Ever thought of using Dylan for an ugly girl? This is your perfect feminine variant, although it isn't my favorite, please name your this kid this instead of Dylan.

I've had many nicknames with this name, but I'm not a big fan of Laney, personally. Nicknames have included: Delanes, D-mac (with McCormack as my last name), Nini, (which came from not being able to pronounce my name as a kid), Del, D-dog, and Delaney De. I was teased as a kid by people calling me bologna, so whoever mentioned that is spot on, but now as an adult I love my name! I've been told it's a boy name, but have only ever met other females named Delaney. Never heard of it being a strippers name though, so that's a new one.

My husband really likes this name. I think Lainey would be a cute nickname.

Fourteen years ago, I named my daughter Delaney. Coming from a name that has NO nickname options at all, I wanted a name that could offer that, Delaney was perfect to let her choose a name to be called as she got older that derived from "Delaney", if she ever wanted to say "but people call me"... Such as Dela, Ela, Elane, Lane, Laney, or Dee. She goes with family only calls her Laney, everyone else calls her Delaney because in a school of 800, she is the ONLY Delaney. So the name Delaney makes her feel pretty special right now.

My name is Delaney and I love the name. I have only meant one person with the name Delaney though.

I would spell it this way for either gender, since Delanie would be too close to Melanie (although that is a nice name too).

I love it spelt Delani or Delanei for a girl. Delaney or Delany for a boy. I kind of like kreatyve a bit. Really cute for a boy or girl. I wish it was my name, to be honest.

My name is Delaney and I love it. I am a tomboy and have only met three GIRLS with the same name but with different spellings. My friends call me "D" and on rare occasions a family member calls me Laney. I can't see it on a boy or used as a surname. Sorry if I offended you, but I just can't.

I like Delanie, spelled like that, it reminds me of Melanie. And I only see it as a feminine name, it's like Eve or Stella.

I strongly view Delaney as a masculine name. Delaina\Delayna in my opinion, would be a beautiful and stunning, feminine version.

Why in life, do people try to change a male name into a female name? DELANEY is a very old Irish or Celtic surname, many years ago I met old Irish man, I said to him have you met many men with the name Delaney? He said "I've met lots and lots, it is a very old male name in Ireland" I said "Have you ever met any females with the name DELANEY?" his answer was swift and brutal "Are you stupid, calling your daughter Delaney, it's like calling your daughter DAVID in New Zealand, YOU JUST WOULDN'T DO IT!"

I was so glad to find this. My name, but I spell it DELANIE. I looked on this site a while back and was upset to not find the name. I am always surprised when I hear the name in songs, because it is such a unique name. I've only met one other person with the same name. I also have a friend named Delania (Del-ain-a).
And on nicknames, I personally hate the nickname "Laney" (or Lanie). I was called "Dee" growing up by my little sister who couldn't say my full name. Now only my family, and some of my best friends call me "Dee". "Delain" is also a nickname I've been called (pronounced DEL-ain, and used only by my grandma).

The second I heard Jimmy Buffett's song "Delaney Talks To Statues" I knew that would be my daughter's name. It was pretty, not popular and reflected our Irish heritage. We have always gotten compliments on her name. We never liked Laney as a nickname so we have never shortened it to that.

For some reason I love Delaney as a middle name. Whenever I'm making a female character, this is always the first middle name I think of. As a first name, it's decent, not great.

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It sounds very feminine to me, but I suppose that's because I've never met a boy Delaney.

Daughter's name is Delani, did just the "I" for completely selfish reasons on my part growing up with the boy spelling of Kelly and all the other girls had Kelli, I had to give my girl the "I". Love Irish names and her name had to start with a "D". I fell in love with Delaney when I first heard it, never even thought it was also a boy's name. We have only run across a couple others with the same name, but all girls.

I like this name on a boy only!

My Daughter's name is Delainie. I love it! I wanted to make it a little more feminine so I changed the spelling. I knew we wanted to call her Lainie for short and there is an actress named Lainie Kazan so that is where I got the spelling for it. I will never get sick of it.

I love the name Delaney. It's pretty and sweet sounding just like the little girl I know who is called Delainey (different spelling). She is called Lainey as a nickname.

Whoa! I stumbled upon this page randomly and its been really entertaining to read. My name is Delaney. Growing up, I wished I had a name like everyone else, but now in my 20s I couldn't love the name any more than I do. I think it's really nice having a rare name. I am female and feel a bit odd about it being used as a male name (tad biased, sure). Interestingly, I don't find the name overwhelmingly feminine as many here do, but it's really pretty fascinating to hear how other people interpret the name.

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A note on nicknames -- No. No nicknames. Especially not Laney... or Dee. Some of my family members and very close friends call me dee, but it's more like "D" if that makes sense. It's an awesome name and it should stay as is.

Delaney is (besides a surname) a male's name in my book. I see NOTHING remotely cute, flattering or feminine for it on a girl whatsoever. I boo the use of Delaney on a girl and cheer it on for a boy.

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Delaney on a boy please! I knew one. There needs to be more if the name's going to be used. Give your daughter something that doesn't sound masculine and boyish for a change.

My daughter is called Delhaney, loved the name but wanted it to differ from the surname spelling of Delaney. She hates her name but as I did with my unusual name grew to appreciate the rarity of it. My Dad is Irish, so I've always looked into Irish names for my children even though we have typically Irish surnames anyway!

I think Delaney is an adorable name. One of my best friends is named Delaney and she is a GIRL. She is so sweet and she has such a cute and nice personality (we're 12 years old) I call her Lanie or Lane for short, but I just like "Lanie" a bit better then Lane because Lane just sounds a little... plain. But overall, this name is such a cute name!

I see this as a males name.

I went to school with a guy named 'Delaney' nickname 'Del'.
So I see this as a males' name. I don't like it on a girl.

I was given the name Delaney-Gail and I have yet to meet another Delaney but I love it.

I don't really care for Delaney but my cousin's name is Delana (də-LAYN-uh) which to me sounds much more feminine and I always think of a pretty blonde haired Eastern European girl when I hear my cousin's name, despite the fact she looks nothing like that.

I adore the name Delaney for a girl. It's not something you hear every day, even though it's gaining popularity. It's sweet but not sickening sweet like Annabelle or anything. I think it would suit a girly girl, tomboy, sporty girl, all personalities! Delaney is a favorite of mine, for sure. (:

I think this name is very, very beautiful on a girl. I also love the nickname Laney. My twin girls are going to be named Delaney and Calista.

I love this name and I'm quite proud that other people think my name is beautiful. I grew up thinking my name was weird, and I wished I had a more common name like Alyssa. It does feel very little kiddish to me, but maybe it's because I've had it since I was a little girl. I disliked the comment about a drunken Irish person. I've never even had a drink thank you very much. I definitely think a guy could have this name, although I've never heard it.

I love Delaney. I think it's very unique and feminine. Although it isn't very traditional, more modern I still think it's very pretty. I also like the nickname "Dee".

This name is really beautiful for girls, but I do have a male friend with this as his middle name and it sounds good with his first name. I also like it for males (probably as a middle name, though), but overall, it is a pretty name.

It's not stunningly beautiful or utterly classic, but I kinda like this name. It sounds spunky and fun. But too youthful for me to use.

Nice name, I also have a friend named Delanie. I kind of like that spelling better though.

The name Delayna is prettier! I HATE the nickname Laney which is why I kinda hate this name. The name Layna is PRETTY though.

This is my last name, so it was kind of hard to imagine it as a first name at first. But now I like it, but it bothers me when people pronounce it DEE-lay-nee (yes, this does happen). And I dislike the nickname Laney.

Nice, but it seems ditzy to me.

I love Delaney! I also love Delani and Dubhshlaine as well (DOO-lah-nya.) This name is perfectly feminine and lovely. Any bearer of this name should be proud of this name's beauty.

Eep, Tom DeLay comes to mind. I don't like this name as a first name anyway. To me, it sounds feminine, quite frankly. Lane sounds okay on both sexes, but Laney sounds like a girly nickname for it, which is why Delaney also sounds feminine to me. Somehow the name annoys me. Can't quite put my finger on it, except for the DeLay and 'delay' thing about it.

I think this is one of the prettiest names I've ever heard of. It's not like Emily or Isabella where you get sick of hearing it every single time you go anywhere.

I think this name is very unique and it's strange that you don't hear this name every day, I think it's a very pretty name.

This name reminds me of bologna.

I named our daughter Delaney Erin. I get several comments in our small Wisconsin town on her name. I've seen several Laney's in her school though, GRR, lol.

I think it's a little odd that people say this should be a boy's name. It sounds really feminine to me. Laney is a great nickname for it.

I love the name Delaney and the nickname Laney is awesome.

Delaney, like Liam, makes me think of an Irish drunk at a filthy pub somewhere.

Delaney is such a pretty feminine name for a girl. Laney is a nice nickname too.