My (female) dog's name was Kelly. All the human Kellys I've know have been female, but I don't run in Irish circles.

Oh I loveee Kelly as a boy's name. To me, it comes off more Irish than the girl version for some reason. I actually prefer it to Kelly for a girl.

Love this. I did a thread back in 2020 on it. Ended up with a daughter we named Sunny

No. It will be a pain in his ass. No Kelly, Stacey, Carroll, Gale, Ashley...

There are literally thousands of other excellent choices that won't cause him annoyance for 80 years.

My cousin, Kevin, is Kelly by nickname. I prefer that over a female name.

How about a name that honors Kelly but is more masculine - Kellen. A friend of mine has sons named Kellen and Patrick, plus a daughter Maeve.

You could always have Kelly be a nickname but at least in writing the name is more obviously masculine.

No

I like it but I do think there will be times when people assume he is female based only on the name. I might use it as a middle name.

I work with someone who has a feminine name and in the virtual age everyone thinks he’s a she, or transitioned. It’s the exact opposite of parents who give their girls a masculine name so they’re not discriminated against in the workplace. Its weird, OP.

I like it. But the one man I know named Kelly hated it growing up. But maybe things are easier since names have jumped the shark a bit...

Anonymous wrote:My maiden name is Kelly. My dad and brothers all have careers where they go by their last name so I'm used to associating Kelly with them as males.

Is it too female leaning now for a boy's first name?

Personally I would not.

I don’t know any women or girls named Kelly anymore. I know one man, a colleague of mine, who’s in his 40s named Kelly. I probably wouldn’t name my son Kelly bc I do think a lot of ppl would assume female but since it’s your maiden name I’d give it as a middle name.

It's def a female-first name but Kelly for a boy isn't so out there. I think of the Kelly Severide character on Chicago Fire.

You could always make Kelly the middle name, since it's both a name you like and a fairly common practice to give kids their mom's maiden name as a middle name.

I LOVE Kelly as a boy and I've heard a few other moms my age (late 30s) say it too. In my opinion, it really is a boy name. It was in my top 5 names.

FWIW I went to school with some guys with typical female names like Courtney and Lindsey and they were some of the most popular guys in school.

My maiden name is Kelly. My dad and brothers all have careers where they go by their last name so I'm used to associating Kelly with them as males.

Is it too female leaning now for a boy's first name?