# Curious: Unisex Names **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 19, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520 "2005-05-19T02:02:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/1 "2005-05-19T02:02:09Z")
Can “Marion” be a guy’s name? Regardless, what other unisex names are out there? Stacey Lynn Robin Leslie Kelly Carol (Caroll?) What else? Thanks, - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/2 "2005-05-19T02:03:59Z")
Pat Chris Robin Ryan Erin Taylor Baily Jan Casey ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/3 "2005-05-19T02:04:18Z")
My daughter’s name is Sam. (short for Samantha, but still.) ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/4 "2005-05-19T02:04:39Z")
Wasn’t John Wayne’s name originally Marion Morrison? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/5 "2005-05-19T02:04:41Z")
Ashley Allison Pat ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/6 "2005-05-19T02:05:56Z")
Another unisex name: Leigh / Lee ---
**Author:** ![Oregon\_sunshine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/50afbb/32.png) [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/7 "2005-05-19T02:08:54Z")
Lee Jay ---
**Author:** ![La\_Llorona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@La\_Llorona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/La_Llorona)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/8 "2005-05-19T02:09:09Z")
> [@Jinx](#): > > Can “Marion” be a guy’s name? Yes. Marion is the more usual spelling for guys and Marian for girls, but that’s not a hard-and-fast rule. IIRC, there is or was an Amfoot player by the name of Shannon Sharp… ---
**Author:** ![MrPeabody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@MrPeabody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrPeabody)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/9 "2005-05-19T02:12:11Z")
My son is named Logan but I was going to name a daughter the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![Imasquare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Imasquare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imasquare)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/10 "2005-05-19T02:20:00Z")
Tracy used to be a unisex name in the 19th century, and in fact the crooner who goes by the name of Ice T has Tracy as his real name. Traditionally Tracy was the masculine form of the name and Trac **e** y was the feminine. Other examples are Kelly and Kim. ---
**Author:** ![DrLoveGun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@DrLoveGun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrLoveGun)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/11 "2005-05-19T02:22:02Z")
Don’t forget Terry ---
**Author:** ![AThingWithFeathers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@AThingWithFeathers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AThingWithFeathers)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/12 "2005-05-19T02:28:27Z")
Jordan Angel Bobby Jamie Mackenzie Alexis Andrea Harley Reagan Jean Sydney Dylan (technically only male, but increasingly female, with variations) That’s all I can name off the top of my head. Has Logan always been a girl’s name as well, or is that a recent trend? ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/13 "2005-05-19T02:46:34Z")
kerry Riley Alex Tony/i Billy/ie ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/14 "2005-05-19T02:49:34Z")
[Evelyn](http://www.catholicauthors.com/waugh.html). Anne Rice’s real first name is Howard, but I doubt that name’s going to become wildly popular for girls any time soon (not to mention all the female Southern writers with family names as first names - O’Connor, McCullers, Lee). > [@belladonna](#): > > Erin I’ve never heard of a guy named “Erin.” Are you referring to “Aaron”? That’s a homonym but I wouldn’t consider it to be the same name. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/15 "2005-05-19T03:06:22Z")
> [@Lisa-go-Blind](#): > > I’ve never heard of a guy named “Erin.” Are you referring to “Aaron”? That’s a homonym but I wouldn’t consider it to be the same name. I knew a guy named Erin. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/16 "2005-05-19T03:11:10Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I knew a guy named Erin. Seconded. (You may have read about him – he tried to kill his wife a while back in Milwaukee and is now in serious stir. :eek: ) ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/17 "2005-05-19T03:13:48Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Seconded. (You may have read about him – he tried to kill his wife a while back in Milwaukee and is now in serious stir. :eek: ) Oh dear. Not the same guy! Er, I hope! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/18 "2005-05-19T03:15:07Z")
**jsgoddess** and **Scarlett67** (and **belladonna** , of course), consider my ignorance fought. I wonder if the male name “Erin” derives from the same source as the female “Erin” or if it is an alternate spelling for “Aaron.” ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/19 "2005-05-19T03:19:58Z")
Good question. I just did a search on this site: [http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/](http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/) For male Erin and found that it was 654th in 1990. That looks like the peak popularity in my cursory research. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520/20 "2005-05-19T03:24:28Z")
Gah. Hit submit too soon. And on this site: [http://www.babyzone.com/babynames/babynamedisplay.asp?ID=5403](http://www.babyzone.com/babynames/babynamedisplay.asp?ID=5403) it says that it’s Gaelic, means “peace” and is a poetic name for Ireland, which is the same etymology they give for the female version. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/curious-unisex-names/304520.md?page=2)