# Any feminine names that became masculine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 30, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193 "2009-05-30T20:08:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Teacake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teacake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teacake)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/21 "2009-05-31T11:05:03Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > Not common, and kind of rare and 19th century sounding, but in Spanish, sometimes males had a female middle name (likewise females having a male middle name). > > [Eugenio María de Hostos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenio_Mar%C3%ADa_de_Hostos) being the first name that comes to my mind. It happened (happens?) in English too. All my uncles on one side had Mary as a middle name. They were a very Catholic family. It confused the registrar no end; apparently one of them found out much later his birth had been registered as a girl. This confusion suggests to me that it wasn’t particularly common, but it did happen. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/22 "2009-05-31T11:09:48Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I thought that “Diego” was the Spanish equivalent to James? Diego is just one of many names in Spanish derived from root as James - it’s not even the oldest, it’s derived from Santiago (Saint James), which, of course, comes from the older Iago. ---
**Author:** ![Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superfluous_Parentheses)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/23 "2009-05-31T14:39:33Z")
> [@KarlGrenze](#): > > Not common, and kind of rare and 19th century sounding, but in Spanish, sometimes males had a female middle name (likewise females having a male middle name). This used to be relatively common for catholics in European countries. My grandfather’s middle name was Maria. > **[Middle name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_name#Catholic)** > > In various cultures, a middle name is a portion of a personal name that is written between a person's given name and surname. > A middle name is often abbreviated and is then called middle initial or just initial. > A person may be given a middle name regardless of whether it is necessary to distinguish them from other people with the same given name and surname. In cultures where a given name is expected to precede the surname, additional names are likely to be placed after the given name and befor... ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/24 "2009-05-31T14:58:07Z")
> [@Tengu](#): > > Diego is just one of many names in Spanish derived from root as James - it’s not even the oldest, it’s derived from Santiago (Saint James), which, of course, comes from the older Iago. Not true. Diego is the Spanish form of Didacus. The equation to James is often made, and you’ll find it in otherwise good sources, but it’s wrong. Details [here](http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/76fall/saint.htm). There is an awful lot of nonsense out there in the study of names; I wonder why? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/25 "2009-05-31T15:24:09Z")
**Marxxx** took the one I was going to mention – “Beverly”, which surprised the heck out of me when I first heard it. There are nicknames that switched gender, too. I was very surprised to learn that **Bunny** used to me a male nickname. And it’s worth recalling that Felix Salten’s\* **Bambi** was male. and later Disney’s. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/26 "2009-05-31T15:24:46Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > This used to be relatively common for catholics in European countries. My grandfather’s middle name was Maria. > > [Middle name - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_name#Catholic) Cool, I didn’t know that it happened in other languages. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/27 "2009-05-31T17:47:33Z")
All this time and nobody’s brought up that strange boy named Sue? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/28 "2009-05-31T18:00:58Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > There are nicknames that switched gender, too. I was very surprised to learn that **Bunny** used to me a male nickname. I had an uncle everyone called Bunny, but that was because he kept rabbits as a child. It’s hard for me to think of him as Henry. ---
**Author:** ![Vimp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vimp/32/4186_2.png) [@Vimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vimp)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/29 "2009-05-31T18:26:20Z")
Wasn’t **Julian** (or **Julien** ) originally a feminine name? There was a (female) Saint Julian way way back. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/30 "2009-05-31T18:29:39Z")
Kelly? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/31 "2009-05-31T18:30:46Z")
Sorry for the double post, but this is the ad at the bottom when I posted Tampax Pearl® Tampons Help stop leaks for up to a max of 8 hours, even at night. Learn more. > **[Tampax Tampons & Feminine Care Products | Tampax®](https://tampax.com/en-us/)** > > Learn more about Tampax tampons and feminine care products, including tampon and period information and helpful women's health articles. TY googleads ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/32 "2009-05-31T18:56:24Z")
Sally Leslie Carol Sharon Claire I’m missing something, huh? I suspect that this isn’t what the OP is after. 😕 Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/33 "2009-05-31T19:27:59Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Sally > Leslie > Carol > Sharon > Claire > I’m missing something, huh? I suspect that this isn’t what the OP is after. 😕 > Peace, > mangeorge Nope – he wants names that were originally feminine, but are now considered masculine. ETA: I had a great-great Uncle Albert that everyone called “Bun”. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/34 "2009-05-31T21:30:12Z")
> [@Gala\_Matrix\_Fire](#): > > When Beckham and Posh named their son Cruz, some English college professor claimed that it was a girl’s name. > [Cruz Bustamante](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruz_Bustamante), [Cruz Reynoso,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruz_Reynoso) and [Cruz Martinez](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruz_Mart%C3%ADnez) beg to differ. As well as Juan Cruz Alli (ex-president of Navarra) to name one off the top of my head. Multi-word names where one of them is Cruz are common in Navarra; for a girl it’s usually María de la Cruz (Mari Cruz), for boys I know Juan Cruz, José Cruz and Andrés Cruz. My father and all his siblings had “María” somewhere, but you have to take into account the difference in Spanish between a “nombre compuesto” and “multiple names.” A name is “complex” either when all words are needed in order to make sense, or when the meaning with all the words is different than without (a Francisco’s patron saint would be Francis Asissi; a Francisco Javier’s is Francis Xavier), or when a group of names is intended to be used fully (Juan José, or those Cruces I mentioned). My grandmother never intended for any of her sons to be called María except for uncle José Mari (which, being Joseph Mary, is a GUY’s name while Mary Joseph is a GIRL’s - both are “complex”). Most of those Hispanic women that according to the US census are called “Maria (something)” are not called María by anybody except the US government (and maybe our employers); my name includes María but it is not María. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/35 "2009-05-31T21:56:13Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Nope – he wants names that were originally feminine, but are now considered masculine. > ETA: I had a great-great Uncle Albert that everyone called “Bun”. In that case, there are none. Maybe Leslie. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/36 "2009-05-31T22:36:16Z")
If you include names that changed form when they changed gender (like Joseph -\> Josephine, or John -\> Jane), then the only one I can offer is “Mario”, which I presume is a masculinized form of “Maria”. Possibly also “Evan”, but I don’t know whether that’s actually derived from “Eve” or not. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/37 "2009-05-31T23:44:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > If you include names that changed form when they changed gender (like Joseph -\> Josephine, or John -\> Jane), then the only one I can offer is “Mario”, which I presume is a masculinized form of “Maria”. Possibly also “Evan”, but I don’t know whether that’s actually derived from “Eve” or not. No, Mario is simply the modern Spanish and Italian form of the Latin name Marius. Maria looks like the feminine form of the same name, but it’s actually a back formation from Miriam / Maryam. At least, so says my source (Oxford Dictionary of First Names), but they don’t say how they know that there was no feminine of Marius, as Roman women’s names are not as well attested as men’s. “Evan” is an anglicization of a dialectal Welsh form of the equivalent to John. Welsh “John” names include “Ieuan” (yey-ahn), “Ioan” (yo-ahn), “Ifan” (ee-vahn), and, archaically, “Iefan” (yeh-vahn). Completely unrelated to Eve. “Leslie” is another Scottish placename-turned-surname. It’s another Celtic name, with the first element either from the medieval etymon of Gaelic _lios_ or Welsh _llys_, both “court,” and the second element a matter of some dispute. Beverly and Shirley are placenames-turned-surnames, too, and only later given names. Kelly is original a man’s name, Irish Ceallaigh or something like that. \. Wait a minute, we may have a winner. This is long so I’ll add a separate post. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2009, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/38 "2009-05-31T23:48:06Z")
From Donnchadh Ó Corráin & Fidelma Maguire’s _Irish Names_: Cellach [Old Irish spelling], m. and f. Traditionally believed to mean ‘frequenter of churches’, it is almost certainly a much older name meaning ‘bright-headed’. A text of the Old Irish period says that this name may be male or female. … However, it was much more common as a male name. Of course, the modern name Kelly derives from the surname O’Kelly, which is Ó Cellaig [the genitive of Cellach], so modern Kelly is originally a guy. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/39 "2009-06-01T01:14:58Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > From Donnchadh Ó Corráin & Fidelma Maguire’s _Irish Names_: > > Cellach [Old Irish spelling], m. and f. Traditionally believed to mean ‘frequenter of churches’, it is almost certainly a much older name meaning ‘bright-headed’. A text of the Old Irish period says that this name may be male or female. … However, it was much more common as a male name. > > Of course, the modern name Kelly derives from the surname O’Kelly, which is Ó Cellaig [the genitive of Cellach], so modern Kelly is originally a guy. I know a woman named Kelly. And a man, too. Weenah? No, that’s backwards again. ---
**Author:** ![Mississippienne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mississippienne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mississippienne)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2009, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193/40 "2009-06-01T01:54:35Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I had an uncle everyone called Bunny, but that was because he kept rabbits as a child. It’s hard for me to think of him as Henry. My great-grandfather’s _given name_ was Bunnie LaRue. It sort of seems like his parents intended him to be a drag star, but who knows, perhaps that was a masculine name back in the day. Per the OP, I doubt you will find any names, at least in English, aside from one-off unusual examples like my great-grandfather. It would seem that names are very gendered; when a boy’s name is adopted by females, parents will drop it altogether for their boys (Vyvyan, Marion, Ashley, etc.), and parents just do not give their sons girl’s names. Even in the extremely rare cases that you’ll encounter a male with a feminine name (and I’ve personally met a very old black man named Ethel, Jr. [his father being Ethel, Sr.]) that doesn’t mean the name has become \*considered \*masculine, as other parents are hardly likely to name their sons Jennifer and Susan just because there exists one little boy with those names. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-feminine-names-that-became-masculine/498193.md?page=3)