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Kelly as a boy's name?
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Anonymous
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My DH and I are considering the name Kelly for the baby boy I'll be having in a few months. There are some naming traditions we have to honor, and Kelly fits the requirements really well. Without discussing it with each other, we had each individually ruled it out as being too feminine. Then we finally "came out" to each other that it was our favorite of the possibilities, and each of us was surprised that the other also liked it. Now we both really like it! The day after we admitted that we like the name, pro surfer Kelly Slater won his record 10th world championship, which we thought was a good sign. We ran it by our four year old daughter, and she said it was a woman's name because of Kelly on Handy Manny. This is a kid who names every stuffed animal she has either Lolly or Sassy because she can't think of anything else, but she remembered that Kelly is Manny's female friend.
As a side note, we usually live overseas and our kids will be in international schools with lots of uniques names for most of their academic careers. It's possible my little man Kelly wouldn't even find out his name is more common for girls until college. So, DCUM... what do you think of Kelly as a boy's name? Would we be dooming the kid to a lifetime of bullying? TIA! |
Anonymous
| Love it! And how special that you both agree. It is a fine boys name. |
Anonymous
| Sorry, but I really, really don't like it. I think it has been a few decades since it lost its place as a male name, mainly because of the huge popularity of Kelly for girls in the late 70s-early 80s. |
Anonymous
I actually really like it - I thought of the surfer when I read the title. But what do I know, I posted about naming my daughter Ryan. 
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Anonymous
| I personally don't like it. I knew one guy named Kelly and he hated having a girl's name. |
Anonymous
| I don't care for the name Kelly in general, but if you and husband both like it, great! Opinions from DCUM really matter if you both really like the name and think it will suit your son. If Kelly happens to be a family surname then I think it's a totally awesome first name choice. If for any reason your son doesn't like the name, do you have a good middle name he could go by instead? |
Anonymous
| When I was a little girl had a really good friend named Kelly who was a little boy. We must have been about 4 or 5. He was so cute and nice that I still remember him. I was born in 1968. As a grown up I know a few Kellys, all girls, but I do not think it is so common that it has to be a girl's name. I love it for a boy actually. I say go for it!! People turn lots of names into opposite gender names. Lord knows, my son, who has a very traditional boy's name has met a few girls with his name too. It doesnt phase him. |
Anonymous
| I'm in my 40s, so take that as you will, but I love the name for a boy. Probably because the few male Kellys I knew growing up were really handsome and nice! If you both love it, go for it. Names get messed up, confused, made fun of for all sorts of reasons. So while that is a consideration, I don't think it should be a primary one. |
Anonymous
| DH' best friend is Kelly. They are both mid/late 30's. I'm used to it now, so I don't think it's strange. I probably wouldn't name my son Kelly, but that's because it's not really a name in our culture, but I think it is an OK name for a boy. |
Anonymous
| I am not a fan. Sorry. |
Anonymous
| Interesting. We all associate Kelly as a girls name because of the boom of Kellys in the 70s and 80s. However, I am pretty sure your son would be the only Kelly in his class or even school (obviously if overseas, but even here). I doubt this next generation will have heard the name Kelly much at all, unless the parents are named Kelly. If you both really like it, I say go for it. You have Kelly Slater on your side. |
Anonymous
| Kelly is a girls name in 2010. But it's your kid. |
Anonymous
| I wonder if you can give him Kelly as a middle name and call him Kelly? Then, when he gets older, he can choose what name he wants to be called? Or, perhaps, use a derivation of Kelly - Kellan, Kellson, (?) and call him Kelly as a nickname? |
Anonymous
| My first reaction was yuck...but, I kinda like it. Kel would make a rather cute nickname. I say go for it. He'll probably be a real cutie pie. |
Anonymous
| I really hate girls names as boys and vice versa. It sounds like you wanted the opposite sex. |