# Do you consider these unisex names to be male or female? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 18, 2013, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584 "2013-01-18T03:49:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/21 "2013-01-18T07:17:29Z")
Morgan M - think of Morgan Freeman right away Taylor F - but this is a close one Ashley F - never met a dude named Ashley Dana F - I actually do know a male Dana (50s), but far more female Danas Stacy F - never met a dude named Stacy Kelly F - Do know a guy named Kelly, but far far FAR more female Kellys Logan M - never met a girl named Logan… wasn’t even aware it was a unisex name like Ashley or Hillary Dakota F Jordan M - close one though Jamie M - close one Hayden M Madison F - though felt this was close, really, no SF Giants fans here? Reese M - close one Riley F - weirdly enough, I’ve known two girls with the _last_ name Riley, no one with the first name, so I associate it with female Tate M Tracy M Whitney F ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/22 "2013-01-18T08:02:20Z")
Most of them I really consider to be surnames. Although I have sort of got used to many of them being used as first names, I still cringe slightly. I am not sure I have ever heard of Logan or Tate used used as a first name by either sex, however (although it is somehow easier to imagine a male Logan or Tate than a female one). ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/23 "2013-01-18T08:25:44Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > That’s my take on it. Jamie is tricky, for an adult to call themselves that I’d assume female. Kid, more difficult. Jamie Foxx Jamie Hyneman Although neither man was given the name Jamie at birth, they both use the name and were the first two to come to my mind, given that they have both chosen to be known as Jamie. Hyneman’s first name is James and Foxx was born Eric Marlon Bishop. As for Morgan, Freeman comes to my mind first. And Whitney Ellsworth (male) was an editor at DC Comics who was in charge of Superman. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/24 "2013-01-18T12:37:50Z")
I left Dakota blank because I would just not know. Jordan was hard, but I went male simply because the default spelling is different for women (that I have a male cousin with the name also contributes). Hayden is barely male; I wouldn’t be surprised if it turned out to be a girl. Same with Riley. I even know male Tracys, but I still can’t shake the idea that it’s a female name. All of them up to Logan are obviously female, with Logan being obviously male. I agree with the idea that most guys would not go by Jamie as an adult, especially in a business context. Madison and Whitney are also obviously female, unless the person is just really old. And, finally, I went male with Reese because, other than Hollywood, I never hear this name in people anymore, and, as a kid, it was always boys with that name. Plus it’s what we named my dachshund, due to his coloring, and we wouldn’t have named him that if he weren’t male. ---
**Author:** ![Orville\_mogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/aeb1de/32.png) [@Orville\_mogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orville_mogul)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/25 "2013-01-18T14:15:09Z")
although no one asked, can I just say that I hate hate hate the recent practice of gender-bending names and using last names as first names? What ever happened to good old Peter, Paul and Mary? Orville Mogul (whose RL name was a guys name for like 2000 years and then became cool for girls in 2003) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/26 "2013-01-18T14:26:12Z")
> [@Orville\_mogul](#): > > although no one asked, can I just say that I hate hate hate the recent practice of gender-bending names and using last names as first names? What ever happened to good old Peter, Paul and Mary? > > Orville Mogul (whose RL name was a guys name for like 2000 years and then became cool for girls in 2003) Paul’s real name was Noel… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/27 "2013-01-18T15:07:48Z")
It could be worse; I send my work product to a guy named Carmen. Every last person who has seen his name assumes he’s female. He’s about 55. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/28 "2013-01-18T15:12:28Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > and when a mermaid calls herself by that name, that’s it. And that’s how my friend and her husband chose the name for their daughter. They saw it in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/29 "2013-01-18T15:31:51Z")
I don’t consider any of the names on the list as male or female. I can think of examples where they are used for both sexes. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/30 "2013-01-18T17:27:59Z")
> [@the\_apples\_fell](#): > > The one I never considered female is Morgan. If someone mentioned a friend with that name I’d assume a guy. What if I mention my wife Morgan Fairchild… whom I’ve slept with. Yeah, that’s the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/31 "2013-01-18T17:36:09Z")
Honorable Mention: Leslie. I’ve always thought of it as a female name, but I know a man and a woman who each have that as their first name. In the man’s case, it’s also his father’s and grandfather’s name and his father once told him he couldn’t understand why the other kids wanted to kick his ass and why they made fun of the name. Apparently, he didn’t realize he was turning his kid into A Boy Named Sue. “But, Son, it’s a perfectly good name!” I asked why he didn’t use his middle name, which is unconfusingly masculine, and he said by the time he thought of it, the first name had already stuck and he identified himself that way, so he’s stuck with it. Everyone shortens it to “Les.” ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/32 "2013-01-18T17:53:27Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > male names that are adopted as female names seem to be more common than the other way round. in fact, what are the names that were originally females and are now males? Douglas started off male in Scotland, then turned female for a few hundred years in England, and is now pretty well male again. That might be the closest. There’s a lot of names that are still largely male in the UK (especially Scotland) that have switched genders in the US; I’ve met young guys called Robin, Sandy, Kelly, Kerry- some of which seem to be unambiguously female in the US- and have yet to meet a female Jamie or Riley (or any Dakota at all 😉 ). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/33 "2013-01-18T18:30:34Z")
The great majority of those really could be either male or female, but I designated most as female because that was my gut reaction _except_ for Logan, Jamie, Reese, Riley and Tate, mostly because I personally knew guys of those names. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/34 "2013-01-18T19:00:28Z")
I went with my gut reaction on these (and if you want to know what it is, look at the damn poll). The interesting bit was that for quite a few, a split second later I’d think of some celebrity example going the other way… ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/35 "2013-01-18T19:17:36Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > And that’s how my friend and her husband chose the name for their daughter. They saw it in the movie. Life imitates art! Also: There’s Sidney (M) vs. Sydney (usually or always? F). I think a lot of those supposedly unisex names are actually shorted forms or “diminutives” of full names, where the full names are different for M and F. Example: Sandy. In males, this is probably short for Sanford. In females, probably short for Sandra. Also, Connie. Usually F, short for Constance. Occasionally seen in M, short for Cornelius. Consider the Florida politician Connie Mack whose real name (as NYT columnist Gail Collins is fond of pointing out) is Cornelius Harvey McGillicuddy IV. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/36 "2013-01-18T19:35:40Z")
Also: I know a woman who named her daughter “Hunter.” I thought that was a distinctly male name until I met this little girl named Hunter. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/37 "2013-01-18T19:54:26Z")
Reading all those names together like that was like reading through a roster for a strip club. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/38 "2013-01-18T21:03:05Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > Reading all those names together like that was like reading through a roster for a strip club. Nah. Not a single Britney, Sparkle or Trixi! ---
**Author:** ![Shark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Shark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/39 "2013-01-18T21:42:52Z")
Even good old Sam is no longer strictly a guys name. I think there are more Sam(anthas) than Sam(uels) in my son’s school. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584/40 "2013-01-18T21:43:37Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > And that’s how my friend and her husband chose the name for their daughter. They saw it in the movie. That’s where the female version of that name came from. It basically didn’t exist as a girl’s name prior to _Splash_. Besides, I consider almost any name that ends in -son to be masculine. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-consider-these-unisex-names-to-be-male-or-female/647584.md?page=3)