# Male Names That Might Become Female Soon **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 3, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491 "2009-10-03T21:56:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/1 "2009-10-03T21:56:56Z")
Inspired by this thread: [Names](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=534405) I got to thinking about this last night when I couldn’t sleep. Here are some traditionally male names that I think may become female in the next few years. This is complete speculation and without any scientific basis whatsoever. Feel free to jump in. Sean Dean Toby Owen–it just sounds like it could pink somehow to me. Rory Clark Justin (perhaps spelled Justyn) Can anyone think of some others? I meant to add in the other thread that I know a young female Madison, Devon, Dylan and Kendall. ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/2 "2009-10-03T22:45:05Z")
I could see “Ryan” making the leap. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/3 "2009-10-03T23:02:11Z")
I already know a woman named Dean. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/4 "2009-10-03T23:09:41Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I could see “Ryan” making the leap. I already know women my age (late 20s) named “Ryan”, although it is still usually considered a masculine name. “Tristan” seems to have largely made the jump already. I know exactly one 20-something man named Tristan, and know or know of at least four female Tristans. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/5 "2009-10-03T23:21:28Z")
Evan Ethan ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/6 "2009-10-03T23:30:09Z")
Keaton Riley ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/7 "2009-10-04T00:14:39Z")
Dylan Cade Corey Gene ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/8 "2009-10-04T00:18:46Z")
Honestly, except for Riley and Dylan, I can’t see any of these names ever becoming girls names. And even then, both Riley and Dylan will likely be popular for both genders for a very long time. ---
**Author:** ![mswas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mswas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mswas)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/9 "2009-10-04T00:32:52Z")
Justine is already a feminine name. ---
**Author:** ![booklover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@booklover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/booklover)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/10 "2009-10-04T00:47:42Z")
Oooh…time for me to fess up to a certain geeky project I have going on. Over the past couple years, I’ve intermittently worked on entering the frequency of most popular baby names collected by the [SSA](http://www.ssa.gov/OACT/babynames/) into one massive Excel spreadsheet. I skip around from year to year but have all of 2004-2008 logeed, so I can tell you that the following typical boys’ names are crossing over to girls’ names: Alex (by itself rather than as a diminutive) Charlie (beginning a steady rise, from 951 in 2005 to 736 in 2008) Dylan (made a huge leap from 705 in 2007 to 532 in 2008, so will probably drop off again in a year or so) Micah (recently peaked and is now dropping off) Parker Phoenix (in 2008, it was 401 for boys and 708 for girls; climbing for both genders) Rowan (similar to Phoenix in terms of being gender neutral) Ryan (appears to have peaked in 2007 since it was in the 400 range for a few years and dropped to 534 in 08) I’ll stop here since I’m starting to realize how weird I am. ---
**Author:** ![Magicicada](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@Magicicada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magicicada)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/11 "2009-10-04T01:47:15Z")
I knew a female Spencer, born in the '90’s. I always expected that name to become more common in the US, courtesy of Diana, but it doesn’t seem to have happened. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/12 "2009-10-04T01:51:10Z")
I know children (girls) named Riley, Dylan, Cody, one older adult woman named Gene, and Corey. Hmmmm… Didn’t know about Dean, but I’m glad my “prediction” came true! I’ll throw in Carson as well. I know one boy named Karson (gah), but I bet it goes gender neutral and then feminine in a few years. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/13 "2009-10-04T01:58:54Z")
My first [name](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola). More commonly seen in the west with the [Italian spelling](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicola_(name)), which dense English speakers and others transmogrified into the feminine. My life has consisted of an endless stream of gender confusions and ID skepticism ( by others, not so much me 😉 ). ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/14 "2009-10-04T02:13:13Z")
I went to elementary school with a female Rory. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/15 "2009-10-04T02:58:50Z")
> [@ErinPuff](#): > > I went to elementary school with a female Rory. There have been female Rorys for a long time. Errol Flynn, the movie actor, had a daughter named Rory who was one of Carl and Vito’s dancing “Harlequins”. This would have been around 1966 or so, and she was presumably old enough to get into the Whisky-A-Go-Go. The Harlequins were an informal group of ten or twenty people who would show up at the clubs where the popular bands were playing, and eventually the club owners started letting them in free, because they brought the paying audiences with them. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/16 "2009-10-04T03:13:28Z")
The only Phoenix I’ve ever known is female - I also know a female Gryphon. I also know a female Ryan, though she spells it “Rian” and it’s short for “Rhiannon” ---
**Author:** ![RandMcnally](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b782af/32.png) [@RandMcnally](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RandMcnally)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/17 "2009-10-04T03:39:49Z")
> [@Oni no Maggie](#): > > I also know a female Ryan, though she spells it “Rian” and it’s short for “Rhiannon” There was a female Ryan in my math class in high school, I’m not too sure how she spelled it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Monstera\_deliciosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monstera_deliciosa/32/109_2.png) [@Monstera\_deliciosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstera_deliciosa)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/18 "2009-10-04T04:59:32Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > Inspired by this thread: > > [Names](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=534405) > I got to thinking about this last night when I couldn’t sleep. Here are some traditionally male names that I think may become female in the next few years. This is complete speculation and without any scientific basis whatsoever. Feel free to jump in. > > Sean > Dean > Toby > Owen–it just sounds like it could pink somehow to me. > Rory > Clark > Justin (perhaps spelled Justyn) > Can anyone think of some others? > I meant to add in the other thread that I know a young female Madison, Devon, Dylan and Kendall. Robert Kennedy’s youngest daughter (born six months after his death in December 1968) is named Rory. (Mama) Cass Elliot’s daughter, who was also born in the late 1960s, is named Owen. ---
**Author:** ![AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AboutAsWeirdAsYouCanGet)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/19 "2009-10-04T06:02:49Z")
> [@](#): > > one older adult woman named Gene, Bet she was named for Gene Tierney. I like the G spelling for that name. The J spelling sounds like some Midwestern Blah housewife like Jean Teasdale. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2009, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491/20 "2009-10-04T09:48:30Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > There have been female Rorys for a long time. I wonder if there’s been a noticeable upswing in numbers post-_Gilmore Girls_? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/male-names-that-might-become-female-soon/512491.md?page=2)