She will spend her life correcting people

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are reasons why countries who regulate baby names (as several European countries do) and don't allow parents to call their child Lampshade also require that the name be gender specific.

What are the reasons?

By the way, here is a German court decision allowing German parents of Indian heritage to name their girl child Kiran, even though the -an ending is usually (though not always) for boy names in German, and even though Kiran is a name for both boys and girls in India, on grounds that it's the parents' right to name their child, unless the name is bad for the child's welfare.

http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/entscheidungen/rk20081205_1bvr057607.html

Because it's bad for the child's welfare to spend their lives clarifying their gender. Of course the rules do and should allow exceptions for foreign names.

Anonymous wrote:There are reasons why countries who regulate baby names (as several European countries do) and don't allow parents to call their child Lampshade also require that the name be gender specific.

What are the reasons?

By the way, here is a German court decision allowing German parents of Indian heritage to name their girl child Kiran, even though the -an ending is usually (though not always) for boy names in German, and even though Kiran is a name for both boys and girls in India, on grounds that it's the parents' right to name their child, unless the name is bad for the child's welfare.

http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/entscheidungen/rk20081205_1bvr057607.html

I dislike it for a boy or a girl, but it is especially bad for a girl.

Only if you use Stabler for her middle name.

Elliot is not a cross-over name. It's a boy's name. If you like cross-over names, go with Charlie or Taylor. If you want to honor the male relative, use it as a middle name or pick a girl "El" name. The female friends I've had over the years with boy names are annoyed at constantly correcting people. The only ones that liked it had a girl name with a boy sounding nick name. It really does sound like you're sending a message to your daughter that you wish she was a boy. Don't do it.

There are reasons why countries who regulate baby names (as several European countries do) and don't allow parents to call their child Lampshade also require that the name be gender specific.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I probably wouldn't do Elliott for a girl, but I love Ellery.

Ellery is a boy name. Like Ellery Queen.

However, I don't have any problem with Elliott, or Ellery, for a girl. So Elliott might have to say, "Hi, my name is Elliott. Yes, I'm a girl." I don't think that would be a big deal.

That would get really old. Having to constantly correct people's assumptions would be a real drag. I don't want my intro to have to include "Yes, I'm a girl" for the rest of my life.

That's a really good point. +1

If you're introducing yourself as Elliott to people in real life, they will presumably figure out your girlness on their own, without your having to clarify.

I work with people who I never meet in person and in some cases don't speak to over the phone - at least not initially. I would assume an Elliot was a man. Would this make a huge difference in terms of work? No. But I'd want my colleagues to know my sex and not to be thrown off by my name. Virtual workplaces are increasingly common, so it's not unusual that people don't meet their colleagues face-to-face.

Just face it - parents who give their kids names that are traditionally associated with the opposite gender don't really care how their kids fare with these names throughout their lives. They just care about coming off as cool and non-conventional parents toward their own peers.

Anonymous wrote:Horrible idea. Poor kid would be saddled would clarifying it to every single caller and new relationship every single day. Might as well name her "T. S." or Richard or Robert if you are going to do that.

Why, though? If the people you're working with are virtual, what does it matter if they're virtual men or virtual women? And do you send many e-mails to Mr./Ms.?

No. It's not great for a boy, but pretty awful for a girl.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I probably wouldn't do Elliott for a girl, but I love Ellery.

[/b]Ellery is a boy name. Like Ellery Queen.[b]

However, I don't have any problem with Elliott, or Ellery, for a girl. So Elliott might have to say, "Hi, my name is Elliott. Yes, I'm a girl." I don't think that would be a big deal.

Historically it is, although I'd argue it's pretty unisex today. If I saw the name Elliott on a resume, I'd automatically assume boy. If I saw Ellery, I wouldn't hazard a guess either way.

Horrible idea. Poor kid would be saddled would clarifying it to every single caller and new relationship every single day. Might as well name her "T. S." or Richard or Robert if you are going to do that.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I probably wouldn't do Elliott for a girl, but I love Ellery.

Ellery is a boy name. Like Ellery Queen.

However, I don't have any problem with Elliott, or Ellery, for a girl. So Elliott might have to say, "Hi, my name is Elliott. Yes, I'm a girl." I don't think that would be a big deal.

That would get really old. Having to constantly correct people's assumptions would be a real drag. I don't want my intro to have to include "Yes, I'm a girl" for the rest of my life.

That's a really good point. +1

If you're introducing yourself as Elliott to people in real life, they will presumably figure out your girlness on their own, without your having to clarify.

I work with people who I never meet in person and in some cases don't speak to over the phone - at least not initially. I would assume an Elliot was a man. Would this make a huge difference in terms of work? No. But I'd want my colleagues to know my sex and not to be thrown off by my name. Virtual workplaces are increasingly common, so it's not unusual that people don't meet their colleagues face-to-face.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I probably wouldn't do Elliott for a girl, but I love Ellery.

Ellery is a boy name. Like Ellery Queen.

However, I don't have any problem with Elliott, or Ellery, for a girl. So Elliott might have to say, "Hi, my name is Elliott. Yes, I'm a girl." I don't think that would be a big deal.

That would get really old. Having to constantly correct people's assumptions would be a real drag. I don't want my intro to have to include "Yes, I'm a girl" for the rest of my life.

That's a really good point. +1

If you're introducing yourself as Elliott to people in real life, they will presumably figure out your girlness on their own, without your having to clarify.

That's when she meets people in person. How many times have you had to send an email to someone you've only seen the name of online or on paper? I mean, there have certainly been female Elliots (and Charlie's and once upon a time Ashley and Lesley were boys' names too), but it just seems like an added complication. What if she ends up being the sort of person who is bothered by it?

Anonymous wrote:I usually don't get down on OPs when there's a name post, but I'll chime in with a thumbs down when someone asks about naming a girl a boy name. Why? Why? There are so many girl names beginning with "El". You can't choose one of those? Ella, Elle, Eloise, Eleanor, Elena, Elaine, Ellen, Elizabeth, Elise, Eliana, Elodie, Elisa, Eliza...

There are so many beautiful "El" names for girls. Choose one and leave Elliot for the boys.