Alexi - Boy 40’s
Bailey - Girl preteen
Beryl - Girl 40’s
Chris - Boy any age
Dakota - Girl 10
Dylan - Boy early 20’s
Jewel - Girl 30s
Jordan - Girl teens to 20’s
Kyle - Boy 6
Remi - Boy (probably because of the movie Ratatouille. I was not familiar with the name previously). Age 30
Riley - Boy 60’s
Pat - Boy 50’s
Taylor - Girl teens
Alexi - male (Russian) - no particular age
Bailey - female - 30s
Beryl - female - 50s
Chris - 60% male/40% female - no particular age
Dakota - female - young
Dylan - 75% female/25% male - young
Jewel - female - young
Jordan - female - 30s
Kyle - male - young
Remi - male (French) - no particular age
Riley - female - young
Pat - 50% female/50% male - no particular age
Taylor - female - young
Alexi - F - 13
Bailey - F - 22
Beryl - M - 45 and an English sailor
Chris - M - 32 and Mormon
Dakota - M - 7
Dylan - 27 and cocky
Jewel - If Male, then 85. If Female, 25
Jordan - M - 18
Kyle - M - 8
Remi - F - 16
Riley - F - 19 and emo
Pat - F - 57 and smokes
Taylor - F - 32
Alexi female, early 30s
Bailey female, early 20s
Beryl female, mid-50s
Chris male, 24
Dakota female, 14
Dylan male, 16
Jewel female, 18
Jordan female, 16
Kyle male, 22
Remi no idea
Riley male, 11
Pat female, 58
Taylor male, 15
Alexi - Female, 12
Bailey - Female, 15
Beryl - Female, 80
Chris - Male, 24
Dakota - Male, 16
Dylan - Male, 20
Jewel - Female, 5
Jordan - Male, 19
Kyle - Male, 23
Remi - Female, 7
Riley - Female, 6
Pat - Male, 40
Taylor - Female, 17
Good grief, you know the same Jewels I do!
Alexi - Male, late 20s/early 30s
Bailey - female, toddler
Beryl - female, 50s/60s
Chris - male, mid-30s
Dakota - female, elementary school
Dylan - male, infant/toddler
Jewel - female, teen/20s
Jordan - female, infant/toddler
Kyle - male, elementary school
Remi - male, ??
Riley - female, elementary school
Pat - female, 50s/60s
Taylor - female, elementary school
Iwish you had–I don’t care if the answers are tainted! This book is on my list. I’m moving it up since it seems to apply.
Okay, for those who asked. I’m naming a character. My character is 22 and female, but for plot purposes I needed a name that could easily be seen as male. But, going along, I realized that I don’t personally know a Chris of either sex who’s under 25. I also decided that Chris is usually a nickname, along with Pat (the other name I’d considered). I don’t know any very young Pats, either.
So I compiled a list of names I thought older people would consider male (mostly) but which I would associate as female if they were younger. My criteria were that I must know personally know one of each sex. Here’s the ones I know:
Alexi— male, 27—female, 3
Bailey— male, early 60s—female, 8
Beryl— male, 80s—female, 50s
Chris— too many to list
Dakota— male, 13—female, 12
Dylan— male, 25—female, 12
Jewel— male, 80s (or possibly 90s) —female, 26 (and a horse, age unknown)
Jordan— female, 24—male, 13
Kyle— male, 55—female, 32
Remi— male, 70 (and French!)—female, 15
Riley— male, 12—female, 10
Pat— female, mid-50s, male, late 50s
Taylor— female, 12—male, 4
Madison— male, early 60s—female, 23, female, 12, female, 7
I should have added Shannon. I used to work in the Denver office of a corporation where Shannon, female, was the office manager, while in our New York office the bureau chief was Shannon, male. They were approximately the same age.
Thanks to all who helped me. Tabulated results to follow in a bit, if anyone’s interested.
Interesting, Hilarity! Some of the names had definite class/background associations for me as well. Have you considered that with your character? For example, all of the Dakotas and Kyles I’ve met have been from more “country” families rather than WASP-y families.
Alexi - M
Bailey - F
Beryl - M
Chris - M
Dakota - F
Dylan- M
Jewel - F
Jordan - M
Kyle - M
Remi - M
Riley - M
Pat - M
Taylor - M
Although Taylor and Jordan immediately strike me as both I believe the masculine is more common.
I’d put Sydney on your list, too, although its switchover to being a girl’s name may be a little too recent.
Alexi - F
Bailey - F
Beryl - M
Chris - M
Dakota - M
Dylan - M
Jewel - F
Jordan - F
Kyle - M
Remi - F
Riley - F
Pat - Either
Taylor - M
Alexi - female, 6
Bailey - female, 14
Beryl - female, 9
Chris - male, any age
Dakota - female, 17
Dylan - male, 12
Jewel - female, 13
Jordan - male, 18
Kyle - male, 24
Remi - male, 27
Riley - female, 13
Pat - either, any age
Taylor - female, 16
**Alexi ** - girl
**Bailey ** - girl under 30(a friend of my daughter’s)
**Beryl ** - girl
**Chris ** - boy (my husband’s name)
**Dakota ** - boy?
**Dylan ** - boy (a co-worker)
**Jewel ** - girl
**Jordan ** - boy (maybe a girl under 20)
**Kyle ** - boy (a friend of my son’s)
**Remi ** - girl?(never heard that one before)
**Riley ** - boy?
**Pat ** - girl, but I’ve know boy Pats, too
**Taylor ** - girl under 30, even though I know two boy Taylors
(Not looking at wnswers until I post)
Alexi: Stocky Russian guy, mid thirties.
Bailey: Hot chunky rehead, female, in mid thirties.
Beryl: Elegant white-haired lady in her mid-fifties.
Chris: Skinny surfer-dude guy, soul patch, shorts, mid-twenties.
Dakota: Nine-year-old girl, dark hair, part-Hispanic or Native.
Dylan: Redhead guy in mid-twenties with dreads, pale skinn, and freckles.
Jewel: Airheaded blonde girl. Straight hair, unattractively-shiny makeup, early twenties.
Jordan: Eight-year-old boy.
Kyle: Another eight-year-old boy.
Remi: No idea.
Riley: No idea. Might be a cat’s name.
Pat: Middle-aged 55-ish aunt with blonde curly perm.
Taylor: Yet another boy, a little older than Jordan and Kyle.
I just realised that a lot of these are based on actual people I’ve met.
No opinion on age
Not reading the thread until after I anwer.
Alexi- female, young, probably under 25
Bailey- male, under 10. Or dog.
Beryl- older Jewish man, European.
Chris- male, any age; or female, over 30.
Dakota- female, under 12
Dylan- male, any age under 60.
Jewel- female, any age under 50.
Jordan- either male or female, under 45.
Kyle- male, under 30.
Remi- I honestly don’t think of this as a name at all.
Riley- male, under 10.
Pat- female, aged 40-70.
Taylor- either male or female, under 30.
I once knew a girl named Jody who was accidentally assigned to male housing at a summer program because of her name being spelled the guy way.
The additions:
Madison- female, under 30
Shannon- female, aged 10 to 45
The first thing I thought while reading the thread: Wow, when I look at it for too long, I become convinced that “female” is spelled wrong.
Alexi-male, 25
Bailey-female, 22
Beryl-female, 40
Chris-male, 37
Dakota-female, 4
Dylan-male, 6
Jewel-female, 22
Jordan-male, 5
Kyle-male, 20
Remi-male, 30
Riley-male, 40
Pat-female, 50
Taylor-female, 6