Men who grew up with female names - how hard was it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids school has male "Kelly" and male "Tracy" and they are both good looking athletes so it works. On a nerdier kid (like mine!) it might bother them.

Kelly is definitely on it's way back in for boys. I know more young boy Kellys and I don't know a single female Kelly under 35.

Kelly was still in the top 1000 girl names in 2024, although the popularity is declining rapidly. It hasn't been a top 1000 boy name since 2002.

[Anonymous]

I feel worse for people like Taylor which has traditionally been more masculine up until Taylor Swift showed up. Same with other last name names that used to be considered masculine like Jordan, Riley, Cameron, Morgan, Blake, Bennett, etc.

[Anonymous]

I have met males with all of these names. They all seemed fine and well adjusted.
Dana
Robin
Leslie
Francis (male spelling so maybe it doesn't count)
Kelly

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unisex names have been around forever - Terry, Francis/es, Erin/Aaron, Lindsey/ay, Dana, Mika/Micah, off the top of my head.

Fwiw, I think people who have last names (mom's maiden name) as their first names (Miller, Gray, Smith, Holt, - type names) have it worse.

Some of the names you're calling unisex are just homophones. Francis is a male name originating from Franciscus, Frances is a female name from the same origin; they just sound the same. Erin and Aaron aren't even remotely related to each other, they simply sound alike.

+100

[Anonymous]

Florence
I know three females and two males.

Ripley
It’s quite uncomfortable for a girl.

[Anonymous]

I know a man named Lindsay, a man named Kim, and a man named Kelly.

Lindsay was very proud of his heritage and quite enjoyed giving a long winded explanation about his name.

Kim hated his name - he used a middle name at times but when he was older, he went back to Kim - just for ease of paperwork etc. Most people who have known him awhile call him by a nickname.

Kelly is now 30ish? He doesn't love it (or hate it) but he married a woman with a gender neutral name and everyone thinks he is the wife and she is the husband when they see the names. I think he finds it a bit of an irritant.

[Anonymous]

it never hurt Marion Mason

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids school has male "Kelly" and male "Tracy" and they are both good looking athletes so it works. On a nerdier kid (like mine!) it might bother them.

Kelly is definitely on it's way back in for boys. I know more young boy Kellys and I don't know a single female Kelly under 35.

Kelly was still in the top 1000 girl names in 2024, although the popularity is declining rapidly. It hasn't been a top 1000 boy name since 2002.

Kelly should come back as a boy name.

[Anonymous]

Met a guy named Ashly, and I thought that was a cool name.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems to be slightly more universally favored to be female with a traditionally male name.

What about men with female names? What is your name? What was your experience like?

I know a thirty-something Dana named after his father who hated it because he grew up with female Dana’s while his father had more male Dana’s as peers.

Leslie Odom jr did not name his son Leslie. Bor did Lin Manuel Miranda name either of his sons' Lin. My dh had a friend nane Courtney and he went by Cory. So I am assuming to be male and have a feminine name isn't great

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kids school has male "Kelly" and male "Tracy" and they are both good looking athletes so it works. On a nerdier kid (like mine!) it might bother them.

Kelly is definitely on it's way back in for boys. I know more young boy Kellys and I don't know a single female Kelly under 35.

Kelly was still in the top 1000 girl names in 2024, although the popularity is declining rapidly. It hasn't been a top 1000 boy name since 2002.

Kelly should come back as a boy name.

You first

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unisex names have been around forever - Terry, Francis/es, Erin/Aaron, Lindsey/ay, Dana, Mika/Micah, off the top of my head.

Fwiw, I think people who have last names (mom's maiden name) as their first names (Miller, Gray, Smith, Holt, - type names) have it worse.

Erin and Aaron are two different names!

[Anonymous]

PLAY VIDEO ▶

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unisex names have been around forever - Terry, Francis/es, Erin/Aaron, Lindsey/ay, Dana, Mika/Micah, off the top of my head.

Fwiw, I think people who have last names (mom's maiden name) as their first names (Miller, Gray, Smith, Holt, - type names) have it worse.

Some of the names you're calling unisex are just homophones. Francis is a male name originating from Franciscus, Frances is a female name from the same origin; they just sound the same. Erin and Aaron aren't even remotely related to each other, they simply sound alike.

I know a male Erin though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unisex names have been around forever - Terry, Francis/es, Erin/Aaron, Lindsey/ay, Dana, Mika/Micah, off the top of my head.

Fwiw, I think people who have last names (mom's maiden name) as their first names (Miller, Gray, Smith, Holt, - type names) have it worse.

Some of the names you're calling unisex are just homophones. Francis is a male name originating from Franciscus, Frances is a female name from the same origin; they just sound the same. Erin and Aaron aren't even remotely related to each other, they simply sound alike.

Erin and Aaron don't even sound alike unless you have a southern accent.

I’m midwestern and I pronounce them the same way. I thought only New Yorkers pronounced them differently.

I grew up in Bethesda and live in NYC now. I agree - I pronounce them the same and have always heard others do so too. It’s just people from NY/NJ who pronounce them differently.