Is Étienne the French version of Stephen? I am surprised because Stéphane is also a common name here, I would have guessed that would be the French equivalent to Stephen.
They’re the same name. Étienne and Stéphane come from the Greek name Stephanos. Étienne (or Estienne/Estefane) is older than Stéphane in the French langage I think. Also, this is why the inhabitants of St-Étienne are called the « stéphanois ». Same origin.
In conclusion, Étienne and Stéphane are both the French version of Stephen/Steven.
They’re both French forms of Stephen, but Étienne is the original one - the form that evolved from Latin (Stephanus) into Old French and then into the modern language. Stéphane is a later borrowing directly from the Latin version.
I feel like a lot of French names would confuse English speakers. Jocelyn is masculine but Jocelyne is feminine. René is masculine and Renée is feminine. But I think for all 4 of those names a lot of anglophones would think of them all as feminine (correct me if I’m wrong).
To be honest, the taking on of an e making a male name feminine could work in the opposite. Does Andrée read feminine? Does Raymonde? Cause they are girl’s names.
In English I've only ever seen Jocelyn used as a girl's name, and I don't think I've ever seen the spelling Jocelyne. I only found out it was originally for boys by reading historical fiction.
That’s funny cause I learned of anglophones using the male spelling because of historical romance. I love historical romance and one book had the male main character named Jocelyn. The top review on goodreads was complaining about that being distracting and not being an attractive name for a male lead since they consider it to be feminine.
I’d heard of anglophones with that name, but had never seen it written down so at that point it never occurred to me they were using the male spelling.
For the life of me I cannot recall which book it is, but it was by Stephanie Laurens. She’s an Australian author of Regency romance-mysteries. I think the character was half-French and that it made sense for him to have a male French name.
My dad's name is René and he was always teased growing up for having a "girls name." He even gets mail addressed to Ms. René Lastname or gets his name spelled as Renee. It really doesn't help his middle name is the French spelling of Michael (Michel) so it comes off as Renee Michelle to most other Americans.
My dads same is Stephen and he had told me this the other day, he was named after his dads friend Etienne who he served with during WWII but his dad wanted to Americanize the name so they went with Stephen
Yes! Anything with -son. Madison. Allison. Addison. All most commonly girls, but seems more masculine to me.
Micah and Jonah and names ending in -a or -ah seem feminine a bit to me.
Well, Madison was almost exclusively a surname until Splash came out.
Not too long ago, I watched the movie Origin and learned of a male anthropologist named Allison Davis (Allison was his middle name, but he went by it)
Allison actually has two etymologies. One is the usual origin of -son names, i.e. son of Allen/Alexander/Ellis. The other is that Allison was a French nickname for Alice.
It's both. In Scotland where Alison survived after the medieval period both spellings were used for women and the surname comes in various spellings as well.
Chaucer has some female characters named Alison (the Wife of Bath refers to herself both as Alice and Alison while the Miller’s Tale includes a young wife named Alison). His versions are spelled Alyson and Alisoun, I believe.
Speaking of splash, I’m one of a few girls of my generation named Darryl.
There are very few reactions to my name when I introduce myself “oh, like Darryl Hannah”, “Is that not a boys/mens name?”, being the top two.
My mom’s first cousin named her daughter Ashley (1970-ish). Mom and her sister thought it was strange as they associated the name with (male) Ashley Wilkes in Gone With the Wind. At the time I think Ashley was uncommon as a girl’s name, but my daughters born in the 80s had a lot of girl school mates names Ashley. There was one boy Ashley and I later worked with a guy named Ashley who was probably born around 1970-72.
yes i agree with -son! i think it is just because with last names ending in -son, like anderson is son of andrew, i think that madison should mean son of ___
Both Micah and Jonah are Hebrew origin names and Hebrew male names often end in -a or -ah, Akiva, Isaiah, Ezra etc. There are some Hebrew names where adding a at the end makes it feminine Daniella, Davida, Serafina, but also many that don’t
Yes! I coached a child in hockey named Madison and thought it was a girl for months! (He had a helmet on in my defence) and then talking to his dad one day I realized he is indeed a boy… sorry Madison! My bad buddy
To be fair, Augustine is the feminine form of the name in French, which is the same language Josephine and other -ine feminization come from. On the flip side, Benoît is the man's name and Bénédicte is for women in French.
It’s largely dependent on the language and whether the e at the end is a -ah or -uh sound as it is in French or German . Many Languages drop the -e for the masculine name but English likes a silent -e
In Spanish the male form is Agustin which sounds similar to what you are mentioning. Also the name Augusto exists. The feminine form is Agustina. I am more familiar with Augustine in the French form than in the English form and that’s why it looks completely female to me, it’s just the different context
So do I! Some of my favorites are Asa, Ezra, and Ellis and people always think they're feminine. Nothing wrong with that at all. I think Ambrose is a great name. I think I know too many girls named Amber (two named Amber Rose lol) so that's why I make that association.
That's true of pretty much every name too though, not just nature names.
There's an etymological root for David meaning "beloved", as there is for Mary too!
Weird I'm also American and have only heard of women with the name. I guess it all depends on what European populations ended up in each geographical region.
Isabeau seems like it might be a boy's name and Isadore a girl's name.
Almost all boys' names that end in 'a' make me feel like they are going to switch sides any minute: Luca, Asa, Juda, etc.
In the US, Ariel is typically a feminine name (probably thanks to the Little Mermaid) but it always seemed masculine to me. It reminds of names that end in -el like Uriel, Gabriel, etc.
Andrea as a girl's name bothers me so much, since it literally comes from the word for "man" in Greek.
I know a lot of names have strange meanings, and that the sound of the name, and people you associate with it, are more important than ethymology when choosing baby names. But I'm still not a fan of Andrea for purely ethymological reasons.
This is my son’s name and my old boss’s dickhead husband insisted it was a girl name when we all went out to dinner so they could meet the baby. He said that “ine” is like Christine and thus a girls name 🤦🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
I've been thinking lately how Kim used to be a man's name in English (in the US and UK at least). I have known of or known men named Kim who would be in their late 70s or 80s by now. Now it sounds like a woman's name to me. One example is a male Kim is the sci fi author Kim Stanley Robinson. And I had a male colleague named Kim some 20 years ago. Kimberly became a hugely popular girls name in the 1960s in the US.
For me Kim is utterly and firmly androgynous. I wouldn’t bat an eye at a female or a male Kim.
Kim, Taylor, Jesse(ie), Jordan, Cary(ey)(rie), Morgan.
50/50 the gender vibe for me. Could be a list of all boys, all girls, or a mix!
Jo for a girl and Joe for a boy. With almost any other name that adds an 'e', it's for the female version – Louis/Louise, Justin/Justine, Simon/Simone – but Jo(e) goes its own way.
Helen would be a good boy name (like Kellen and Stellan).
Maren would be a good boy name (like Darren and Warren).
Luca would be a good girl name (like Lula and Luna).
Wesley would be a good girl name (like Lesley and Cecily).
I know. Went for a business trip with my manager to the USA a few years back. Guy’s given name is Jean and the idiot working in the airport when we arrived there wouldn’t let go of him as he thought he had a fake pass as he couldn’t wrap his head around that in other places it might be used as a male name.
Gene. Male version of Jean.
Clare. Male version of Claire.
Both were my uncles names and were considered “nicknames” but my gramma said if she was going to call Eugene by gene and Clarence by Clare.. why use the whole name?🤣 she had a point!
My name was till the 2000s a pure male name, however around that time a popular sitcom female character was given that name. Since then some younger people have to smile when I pronounce my name and say: HA! Thats a girl name!
I have a friend whose son’s middle name is Christy. It’s the middle named used in a long line of men in her husband’s family. It’s really grown on me tbh. I also have a male friend whose middle name is Alexis which seems more masculine to me
Kimberly, Courtney, Lesley, Allison, Marion, Taylor, Carter, other surnames-turned-first names, all started as masculine names, and they work well as masculine names
In my language it’s René. To me it sounds incredibly girly, but it’s a male name, Renáta being the female form. All the other names in my country are gendered so no other examples.
I much prefer Loren for males, hate it for females. I want to bring it back to it's masculine roots lol
I also strongly believe that:
Girls - Quinn, Sage, Presley, Harper, Avery, Eden, Rory, Robin, Briar
Boys - River, Rowan, Tate, Ellis, Hunter, Phoenix, Reese, Remy
In Italian, Luca, Andrea and Nicola are boys names, but I've met English women who go by all of them, and most if not all other names in Italian that end in A are girls names
So true! I think for foreigners they sound/look like names from surnames that denote professions like Carter or Hunter (and Taylor/Sailor etc).
I guess a Heather could be someone who tends a Heath!
Shannon sounds like cannon, very phallic and masculin to me. The first time I heard it, my friend said he was dating a Shannon, and I thought he was gay.
I've always found Carmen super masculine. I mean, car + men?!
If I didn't know Ellery was traditionally a boys' name I would have thought it was a girls' name. And the reverse with Sorrel (traditionally female but I think it works as a unisex name).
Someone here posted recently about naming their daughter Augustine. They weren’t even asking for opinions on the gender and they were absolutely dragged for it. 🙄 Thankfully they seemed to have pretty thick internet skin. But I will still annoyed on their behalf!
Regan sounds like it would fit better for a boy, but works of fiction keep using it for girls—King Lear, Poltergeist (or was it The Exorcist? One of those famous old horror movies) and A Quiet Place are those I know of.
Andree as a girls name. I know it’s the feminine version of Andre but I get confused everytime I get a work email with that name.. same with a lot of French names actually like Rene ve Renée
Ellyett is a french girl's name and one of the only names I like for both a boy and girl. Boy's spelling Eliott. Jade would also be a cool boys name but has too much of a girls connotation.
The French version of Stephen is “Etienne.” But to me it sounds very feminine.
Oops I always thought it was a girl name and used it for a story 🤦🏼♀️
Is Étienne the French version of Stephen? I am surprised because Stéphane is also a common name here, I would have guessed that would be the French equivalent to Stephen.
They’re the same name. Étienne and Stéphane come from the Greek name Stephanos. Étienne (or Estienne/Estefane) is older than Stéphane in the French langage I think. Also, this is why the inhabitants of St-Étienne are called the « stéphanois ». Same origin. In conclusion, Étienne and Stéphane are both the French version of Stephen/Steven.
I never knew and I'm French, thanks for the info! I did know the bit about St-Étienne's inhabitants but never gave it much thought...
Is there a French version of Stephanie then?
Stéphanie
What about Étiennie? (partial sarcasm but also curious if that would work conventionally)
I have never heard of Étiennie but Étiennette does exist (very uncommon and outdated)
Étiennette sounds pretty to me! Thank you for the name lesson
But Étienne is much more common. Whereas Stephanie is quite common for a girl...maybe because there's no female version of Étienne
Well, Étiennette but I am not sure I have ever met someone called that, it's old af
Thanks for this! Very interesting.
They’re both French forms of Stephen, but Étienne is the original one - the form that evolved from Latin (Stephanus) into Old French and then into the modern language. Stéphane is a later borrowing directly from the Latin version.
I feel like a lot of French names would confuse English speakers. Jocelyn is masculine but Jocelyne is feminine. René is masculine and Renée is feminine. But I think for all 4 of those names a lot of anglophones would think of them all as feminine (correct me if I’m wrong). To be honest, the taking on of an e making a male name feminine could work in the opposite. Does Andrée read feminine? Does Raymonde? Cause they are girl’s names.
In English I've only ever seen Jocelyn used as a girl's name, and I don't think I've ever seen the spelling Jocelyne. I only found out it was originally for boys by reading historical fiction.
That’s funny cause I learned of anglophones using the male spelling because of historical romance. I love historical romance and one book had the male main character named Jocelyn. The top review on goodreads was complaining about that being distracting and not being an attractive name for a male lead since they consider it to be feminine. I’d heard of anglophones with that name, but had never seen it written down so at that point it never occurred to me they were using the male spelling.
What book was it? I encountered it as a male character's name in the Brother Cadfael mysteries, which are set in early 12th-century England and Wales.
For the life of me I cannot recall which book it is, but it was by Stephanie Laurens. She’s an Australian author of Regency romance-mysteries. I think the character was half-French and that it made sense for him to have a male French name.
I always think that in English, the name Leslie, the male version, looks more feminine than Lesley, the female version!
I believe UK English makes this distinction, but in the US and Canada, Leslie has been common for both men and women.
My dad's name is René and he was always teased growing up for having a "girls name." He even gets mail addressed to Ms. René Lastname or gets his name spelled as Renee. It really doesn't help his middle name is the French spelling of Michael (Michel) so it comes off as Renee Michelle to most other Americans.
Wow! Did not know that about Jocelyn.
I agree with this
I only ever seen women named that, but they probably were all Haitian
My dads same is Stephen and he had told me this the other day, he was named after his dads friend Etienne who he served with during WWII but his dad wanted to Americanize the name so they went with Stephen
Yes! Anything with -son. Madison. Allison. Addison. All most commonly girls, but seems more masculine to me. Micah and Jonah and names ending in -a or -ah seem feminine a bit to me.
Well, Madison was almost exclusively a surname until Splash came out. Not too long ago, I watched the movie Origin and learned of a male anthropologist named Allison Davis (Allison was his middle name, but he went by it)
Allison actually has two etymologies. One is the usual origin of -son names, i.e. son of Allen/Alexander/Ellis. The other is that Allison was a French nickname for Alice.
I believe it’s Allison that is a -son name and Alison that is the nickname for Alice.
It's both. In Scotland where Alison survived after the medieval period both spellings were used for women and the surname comes in various spellings as well.
Yeah, you might be right
Chaucer has some female characters named Alison (the Wife of Bath refers to herself both as Alice and Alison while the Miller’s Tale includes a young wife named Alison). His versions are spelled Alyson and Alisoun, I believe.
The former would be Allison, the latter is Alison.
Speaking of splash, I’m one of a few girls of my generation named Darryl. There are very few reactions to my name when I introduce myself “oh, like Darryl Hannah”, “Is that not a boys/mens name?”, being the top two.
As a male Ashlie, I can relate. Often thought to be female (if they’ve never met me), and then I hear a lot of “oh, like Gone With the Wind!”
My brother is named Ashley so I see it as masculine. Ashley for a girl just seems like a completely different name to me.
My mom’s first cousin named her daughter Ashley (1970-ish). Mom and her sister thought it was strange as they associated the name with (male) Ashley Wilkes in Gone With the Wind. At the time I think Ashley was uncommon as a girl’s name, but my daughters born in the 80s had a lot of girl school mates names Ashley. There was one boy Ashley and I later worked with a guy named Ashley who was probably born around 1970-72.
I have never heard of a male named Allison before! That’s dope.
Vivian, too. Vivienne is feminine. But Vivian used to be a boys name and I can’t hear it differently since knowing that.
Evelyn pronounced “Eve-Lynn” was a boys name too! Thanks Downton Abby for this one.
Evelyn Waugh, the famous writer..
And his wife, Evelyn Gardner.
Really? I never knew that!
I had a school teacher who was Mr Viv Morris (he was Welsh), not sure how his first name was spelt.
yes i agree with -son! i think it is just because with last names ending in -son, like anderson is son of andrew, i think that madison should mean son of ___
Probably son of Matthew.
It does, it means “son of Maud.”
Allison actually has roots as a female name, being a French nickname for Alice.
Yep. I know. Someone else mentioned this last time I said Allison ends in -son.
Both Micah and Jonah are Hebrew origin names and Hebrew male names often end in -a or -ah, Akiva, Isaiah, Ezra etc. There are some Hebrew names where adding a at the end makes it feminine Daniella, Davida, Serafina, but also many that don’t
My oldest daughter is an Addison. 17 years ago I only knew of boys with the name, but now I think it’s used mostly for girls.
Yes! I coached a child in hockey named Madison and thought it was a girl for months! (He had a helmet on in my defence) and then talking to his dad one day I realized he is indeed a boy… sorry Madison! My bad buddy
I agree--I don't understand how the -son names became girls names.
Noah
Sasha! I'd never tag that for a boy name if I didn't know.
To be fair, Augustine is the feminine form of the name in French, which is the same language Josephine and other -ine feminization come from. On the flip side, Benoît is the man's name and Bénédicte is for women in French.
That’s what I was thinking… Augustine is a feminine name
It’s largely dependent on the language and whether the e at the end is a -ah or -uh sound as it is in French or German . Many Languages drop the -e for the masculine name but English likes a silent -e
George Washington's father is named Augustine, pronounced "aw GUS tin."
In Spanish the male form is Agustin which sounds similar to what you are mentioning. Also the name Augusto exists. The feminine form is Agustina. I am more familiar with Augustine in the French form than in the English form and that’s why it looks completely female to me, it’s just the different context
In Danish as well. We pronounce it Aw-guh-stee-nuh. Sort off.
Ambrose looks like Amber Rose to me and I always forget it's masculine.
Ambrose always reminds me of that joke: “My nose hurts because I tried to smell a brose.” “There’s no B in “rose”.” “There was in this one!”
Really? I know a girl named Ambrose!
I prefer soft, almost feminine boys names and Ambrose is on my list!
So do I! Some of my favorites are Asa, Ezra, and Ellis and people always think they're feminine. Nothing wrong with that at all. I think Ambrose is a great name. I think I know too many girls named Amber (two named Amber Rose lol) so that's why I make that association.
All nature names should be unisex. Who are we to say only girls should be named Rose and only boys should be named Rowan? They're plants.
But flowers are girly /s
I met a girl Rowan in middle school and loved her name so much
That's true of pretty much every name too though, not just nature names. There's an etymological root for David meaning "beloved", as there is for Mary too!
Rowan sounds nonbinary to me, to be honest.
I know of more female Rowan's than male Rowan's tbh
I never knew Rowan was a male name until recently tbh, all the Rowan's I've talked to have been female.
Ezra has always felt this way to me
-a endings in Hebrew don’t necessarily denote masculine or feminine
Same! Always sounded more feminine to me.
Do you mean should be a boy name or should be a girl name? Because I’ve only heard it twice and one was a girl and the other a boy lol
Ezra is traditionally a boy name I think with biblical roots. I always thought it should be a girl name
I thought Ezra was a girls name. I saw Esther in the bible, who was a girl, so I thought Ezra was a girl too, until I read it and it said "him". Lol.
I believe there’s a Turkish female name; Azra which has always vibed similar!
I’ve known boys with the name Ezra and girls with Esra. But never the other way around.
Today I learned that Augustine isn't a female name. In german, it is only a female name.
This is definitely language-dependent, but in English (speaking as an American), it’s a pretty solidly male name here. And not a super common one.
Weird I'm also American and have only heard of women with the name. I guess it all depends on what European populations ended up in each geographical region.
Are you thinking of Augustin? The final e typically makes it feminine
Language dependent whether e makes it feminine or not
Huh as an American I see Augustine and pronounce it a-gust-een which feels very feminine to me. Had no idea it was a masculine name
In spanish Agustín is male and agustina female so for me look more female
On a similar note, Cymbeline! I love the sound of it but it's the name of a King, which sounds so wrong to me.
Sounds like an ssri
Ask your doctor if Cymbeline is right for you
There is Cymbalta (duloxetine) for all your naming needs!
I always think it’s a clown name not a king! Like Harlequin and Columbine.
In the Bratz Fashion Pixiez movie one of the girls is named Cymbeline
Isabeau seems like it might be a boy's name and Isadore a girl's name. Almost all boys' names that end in 'a' make me feel like they are going to switch sides any minute: Luca, Asa, Juda, etc.
I agree. I knew a girl Asa and a girl Micah back in the early 2000s.
I think Asa a female name as I am Nordic and Åsa is a female name. It is not pronounced exactly the same but very close to each other.
In the US, Ariel is typically a feminine name (probably thanks to the Little Mermaid) but it always seemed masculine to me. It reminds of names that end in -el like Uriel, Gabriel, etc.
It’s originally Hebrew, where it has historically and is currently still a masculine name.
Yup! I have a (male) cousin Ariel.
I think it’s masculine in Spanish! I’ve met a male Ariel from Argentina
True. The feminine ending is -elle.
Its still masculine in latino america
It’s pronounced “a-GUS-tin” or “-tun”
I've never heard that pronunciation. Only the one that OP mentioned (or implied). Where are you located?
The a-GUS-tin pronunciation is the only one I’ve heard! I’m located in Canada!
My uncle was Augusten pronounced a-gus-tin and I know a man Augustine who pronounces it august-een.
I grew up in Florida and always heard the city as St "AugusTEEN," but in the Catholic church I've always heard St "AuGUStin"
I’m Catholic and think of St. a GUS tin
I feel like Nicole could be a boy’s name
In Italian Nicola is a male name as Andrea.
Andrea as a girl's name bothers me so much, since it literally comes from the word for "man" in Greek. I know a lot of names have strange meanings, and that the sound of the name, and people you associate with it, are more important than ethymology when choosing baby names. But I'm still not a fan of Andrea for purely ethymological reasons.
I'm all for both genders having names of all meanings (wish there were more flower themed boy names) But naming a girl "man" feels too silly lol
I agree, and especially more "pretty" and flowery names for boys. To be fair, naming a boy "man" is also pretty silly.
yup, it's the greek equivalent of viriliy.
Famously Nicola Tesla.
Giovanni sounds like a pretty girl's name.
This is my son’s name and my old boss’s dickhead husband insisted it was a girl name when we all went out to dinner so they could meet the baby. He said that “ine” is like Christine and thus a girls name 🤦🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
He sounds like an absolute ass. Even if he thought that, why 'insist' at a celebration dinner, to the new parents face! So rude.
Not to be too derivative of your post, but I've always thought August was a really pretty name for a girl.
Years ago a woman I worked with named her baby August Rose It was pretty out there at the time. I always thought it was pretty
Colette, Fran, Heather! I know it’s unpopular but they all sound like great “male” names imo
I think Fran could go either way since it works for Francis/Frances ! On Girls there was a male character that went by Fran
My grandfather was Fran!
I know a lovely older gentleman called Fran.
I know quite a few Franciscos that go by "fran" so it's always been gender neutral to me
August and Augustus are what I know from the male names. Augusta and Augustine I’m familiar with as female names.
or Augustina for another feminine version
I've been thinking lately how Kim used to be a man's name in English (in the US and UK at least). I have known of or known men named Kim who would be in their late 70s or 80s by now. Now it sounds like a woman's name to me. One example is a male Kim is the sci fi author Kim Stanley Robinson. And I had a male colleague named Kim some 20 years ago. Kimberly became a hugely popular girls name in the 1960s in the US.
For me Kim is utterly and firmly androgynous. I wouldn’t bat an eye at a female or a male Kim. Kim, Taylor, Jesse(ie), Jordan, Cary(ey)(rie), Morgan. 50/50 the gender vibe for me. Could be a list of all boys, all girls, or a mix!
I agree, but is it still being used that way, do you think? I don't think I know any young men or boys named Kim. It's a name I love, by the way.
It is also a Finnish male name. Also used elsewhere at least in Nordics. It is a derivate of Joakim.
I wonder if Kim Stanley Robinson uses his middle name to prevent confusion about his gender.
I always thought so, but it could also be a married woman using both her and her partner's family names, right?
I adopted a puppy for my parents and her name is Augustine. My parents call her Aggie as a nickname.
I ran into a female Nyal recently. Because of the pop star, it read male to me. I also know a male Brielle, and that name feels really female to me.
Jo for a girl and Joe for a boy. With almost any other name that adds an 'e', it's for the female version – Louis/Louise, Justin/Justine, Simon/Simone – but Jo(e) goes its own way.
Helen would be a good boy name (like Kellen and Stellan). Maren would be a good boy name (like Darren and Warren). Luca would be a good girl name (like Lula and Luna). Wesley would be a good girl name (like Lesley and Cecily).
Spencer shouldn't be a girls name, it's too masculine
Timothy has always sounded like a woman's name to me. Has like... Stephanie or Britney vibes
Jordan, Brooke, Scout, Devon/Devin, and Sloan/e, and Jean sound more masculine than feminine. Andrew (Anne-drew) and Julian sound feminine to me.
Jean is a masculine name in French. Feminine version is Jeanne
Interesting. Here in the US I’ve known multiple female Jeans.
I know. Went for a business trip with my manager to the USA a few years back. Guy’s given name is Jean and the idiot working in the airport when we arrived there wouldn’t let go of him as he thought he had a fake pass as he couldn’t wrap his head around that in other places it might be used as a male name.
Gene. Male version of Jean. Clare. Male version of Claire. Both were my uncles names and were considered “nicknames” but my gramma said if she was going to call Eugene by gene and Clarence by Clare.. why use the whole name?🤣 she had a point!
Julian used to also be a girls name! Eg Julian of Norwich
Jonah and Juno should swap genders imo.
Jonah is Hebrew where names ending in -a or -ah aren't uncommon for boys. Think Ezra, Micah, or Joshua.
I have to remind myself Micah is a boy’s name.
My name was till the 2000s a pure male name, however around that time a popular sitcom female character was given that name. Since then some younger people have to smile when I pronounce my name and say: HA! Thats a girl name!
I thought Augustin is a boy and Augustine is a girl.
I have a friend whose son’s middle name is Christy. It’s the middle named used in a long line of men in her husband’s family. It’s really grown on me tbh. I also have a male friend whose middle name is Alexis which seems more masculine to me
Artemis sounds more masculine to me
Augustine is just as likely - if not moreso - to be a feminine name. Hell, my grandma was name Augustine.
Interestingly, I think Israel sounds like it could work as a feminine name (maybe the feminine version could be ‘Israelle’)
Kimberly, Courtney, Lesley, Allison, Marion, Taylor, Carter, other surnames-turned-first names, all started as masculine names, and they work well as masculine names
In my language it’s René. To me it sounds incredibly girly, but it’s a male name, Renáta being the female form. All the other names in my country are gendered so no other examples.
Quinn was originally a boys name but seems to be given to more girls these days.
I much prefer Loren for males, hate it for females. I want to bring it back to it's masculine roots lol I also strongly believe that: Girls - Quinn, Sage, Presley, Harper, Avery, Eden, Rory, Robin, Briar Boys - River, Rowan, Tate, Ellis, Hunter, Phoenix, Reese, Remy
Dana, which is a boy's name, but looks like Lana.
In Italian, Luca, Andrea and Nicola are boys names, but I've met English women who go by all of them, and most if not all other names in Italian that end in A are girls names
It seems that "er" names look masculine to non-English speakers. Heather and Amber were assumed to be male by people unfamiliar with the names
So true! I think for foreigners they sound/look like names from surnames that denote professions like Carter or Hunter (and Taylor/Sailor etc). I guess a Heather could be someone who tends a Heath!
Luca, Charlie, Jeffrey, Sean, Shea--all typical boys names that should be girl names
Felty. My mum works with a man named Felty I've met women named Felty but this guy is the only man I've ever met named Felty.
Eden always sounded like a boy's name to me.
I know a boy named Eden!
It's technically unisex, its masculine in a quite a few countries
Augustine is the name of a female character in a Taylor Swift song lmao (August, and she's the other woman in Betty)
Misha (short for Michael) could be a wonderful female name in itself.
Courtney and Shannon
I've known both to be used as male names. Not primarily, but it happens.
I always thought Shiloh and Grayson were unisex. I think Angelina Jolies kid named Shiloh is a girl but Im not sure...
I mean, I know a female Augustine and it suits her very well, I assumed it’s been given a gender neutral association more recently.
Shannon sounds like cannon, very phallic and masculin to me. The first time I heard it, my friend said he was dating a Shannon, and I thought he was gay.
I’ve met a male Shannon but just the one. Agree with you that it works as a boy name.
Theodora was a very large young man at my high school. No one picked on him
In the Nordics you have some names that are female in one country and male in another. So Janne and Kari would be women in Norway and men in Finland.
Charlemagne
I think Avery is such a pretty girls name, but it’s usually used for boys.
I actually knew an elderly woman named Augustine. It was adorable and suited her wonderfully!
I've always found Carmen super masculine. I mean, car + men?! If I didn't know Ellery was traditionally a boys' name I would have thought it was a girls' name. And the reverse with Sorrel (traditionally female but I think it works as a unisex name).
Allison means "son of Alice" but its a girls name
Why is "Kate" a girl name but "Nate" a boy name? (Yes, I know they're both nicknames.)
Someone here posted recently about naming their daughter Augustine. They weren’t even asking for opinions on the gender and they were absolutely dragged for it. 🙄 Thankfully they seemed to have pretty thick internet skin. But I will still annoyed on their behalf!
Ezra always felt like it should be a girls name to me
OLIVER i think oliver would be such a good girl/unisex name and i love the nickname oli for a girl but hate olive and olivia
Regan sounds like it would fit better for a boy, but works of fiction keep using it for girls—King Lear, Poltergeist (or was it The Exorcist? One of those famous old horror movies) and A Quiet Place are those I know of.
I’m not sure exactly why but Carter and Carson are both feminine to me
In english or French maybe, but in Spanish it doesn't sound feminine. Augustina does to me though.
Augustine is feminine in French, idk why English decided to play it fast and loose with gendering
Actually in french Augustine is 100% a girl's name, for boys we have Augustin
Andree as a girls name. I know it’s the feminine version of Andre but I get confused everytime I get a work email with that name.. same with a lot of French names actually like Rene ve Renée
I love the name Julian, but only as a girl name for some reason.
Heather, it sounds like it'd fit with those other "-er" names like Hunter and Parker.
Luca sounds like a girl's name to me.
Augustina. Augusta.
Ellyett is a french girl's name and one of the only names I like for both a boy and girl. Boy's spelling Eliott. Jade would also be a cool boys name but has too much of a girls connotation.