# Poll: What gender do you associate with these names? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 6, 2009, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921 "2009-06-06T13:31:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [June 6, 2009, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/41 "2009-06-06T23:59:57Z")
Dylan: Predominately male, but could be female Kendall: Predominantly female, but could be male. Stacy (Stacey): Predominantly female, but could be male. This is a very feminine name to my ear, but I know it can be a man’s name. Devon (Devin, Devyn): Predominately male, but could be female ---
**Author:** ![Fastidiots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@Fastidiots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fastidiots)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/42 "2009-06-07T00:03:25Z")
Dylan - Female Kendall - Female Stacey - Male Devon - Female ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/43 "2009-06-07T00:06:37Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Curious the strong split on **Devon** in particular. Wonder if that’s generational. I would imagine it’s more regional than generational; I would also think that it’s tied to how it’s spelled. I’ve only met one other female with that name- who is significantly younger than me- and although it’s not spelled the way mine is, it is spelled what I consider the ‘typical’ female way. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/44 "2009-06-07T00:12:40Z")
**Dylan** Only M **Kendall** Only F **Stacy (Stacey)** Predominantly F \*\*Devon (Devin, Devyn) \*\*Only M This was answered from first-gut reaction, without examining too much. ---
**Author:** ![firstname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7ab992/32.png) [@firstname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/firstname)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/45 "2009-06-07T00:51:21Z")
Dylan: Only Male Kendall: Only Female Stacy (Stacey): Only Female Devon (Devin, Devyn): Equally Unisex ---
**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:** [June 7, 2009, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/46 "2009-06-07T00:58:51Z")
Dylan - Male Kendall - Neither Stacy (Stacey) - Female Devon (Devin, Devyn) - Neither Devon/Devin is the only name in the list I actually know multiple people with - 2 guys and a girl that I went to HS with. I don’t personally know a single male Stacy (and only know OF one - actor Stacy Keach), don’t know any Dylans, personally, and none of the ones I know OF (fictional or real) are female. Kendall…I can’t think of anyone I know, or know of, with Kendall as a first name… ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/47 "2009-06-07T01:10:31Z")
Dylan - Male Kendall - Female Stacy - Female Devon - male if spelled -on, female if spelled otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/48 "2009-06-07T03:33:24Z")
Dylan - only M Kendall - M, possibly Stacy - only F Devon - never heard it used as a Christian name - only as a food ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/49 "2009-06-07T03:59:02Z")
Dylan - **male** Kendall - **female** Stacy (Stacey) - **female** Devon (Devin, Devyn) - **female** I’ve known people of both genders for all these names, but those are the genders I think of them “belonging” to. If it helps, I’m female and 32 years old. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/50 "2009-06-07T04:21:29Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > My youngest child, my son, is named “Kendall”, which at the time I could not have imagined as a girl’s name. The only two Kendalls I’ve ever heard of are “Kendall Gill”, a former NBA basketball player, and “Kendall Gammon”, a former NFL football player. Also “Jason Kendall”, a baseball player, and what he was actually named for, “Kendall-Jackson” the California vineyard (a friend of mine had just had a son named “Jackson”. I had never heard of a woman named Kendall, real or fictional. Well, every Kendall I’ve ever met has been a little girl, so I found this thread surprising when so many people said it was a boy’s name. ---
**Author:** ![PsychoNoddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e36b37/32.png) [@PsychoNoddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PsychoNoddy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/51 "2009-06-07T04:38:12Z")
I’m male, 50+, Australian If I was considering these names for a child of mine (or offering comment on possible names for a grandchild) Dylan - exclusively male Kendall - exclusively female Stacey - exclusively female these days Devon - not an appropriate name for a human. Like salami, it would be an OK name for a pig. If you must name a child Devon make sure he/she/it never travels overseas. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/52 "2009-06-07T22:58:52Z")
For those who have replied to say that “Kendall” is intuitively an “exclusively female” name – may I ask why? Just curious because not only are the only Kendalls I have heard of male, even without that I would agree that the name sounds most like an amalgam of “Ken” and “Randall”, both exclusively male names. There are no “-all” names I can think of that are female either. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/53 "2009-06-08T00:07:50Z")
Dylan- male. Kendall- male. Stacy (Stacey)- female. Devon (Devin, Devyn)- mostly male. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/54 "2009-06-08T00:09:58Z")
The only female in that bunch is Stacy. I did know a girl child named Devin, but she’s definitely the exception. I’ve never heard of the Kendall character from AMC, and it just seems like a male name to me. I’m female, btw. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/55 "2009-06-08T00:45:31Z")
I found an interesting website that charts the historical popularity of the top 1000 boy’s and girl’s baby names in the US. [Kendall](http://www.yeahbaby.com/baby-names-popularity.php?name=Kendall) is seen as a boy’s name since the 1920s. It was always a rather rare boy’s name, being a “last name turned into a first name” formation; but sometime in the 1980s, presumably in the late 1980s, it crossed over to becoming a girl’s name as well. It surged strongly in popularity as a girl’s name around 1992 or 1993 (I assume that this coincides with the character appearing on _All My Children_?), going from being the 413th most popular girl’s name in 1991 (versus 321st as a boy’s name) to 186th as a girl’s name in 1994 (it did also gain in popularity as a boy’s name in that same period, but not nearly to the same extent). Since then it’s continued to climb in popularity as a girl’s name, with a corresponding decline in popularity as a boy’s name. It’s definitely much more popular now as a girl’s name than a boy’s. (Too bad I didn’t find this website 5+ years ago… Oh well, the kid’s gonna have to live with it.) [Dylan](http://www.yeahbaby.com/baby-names-popularity.php?name=Dylan) crested as a girl’s name in the early 1990s but appears not to have really caught on, probably because it surged strongly in popularity as a boy’s name in the late 1990s/2000s, when it’s become among the top 25 boy’s names in the US. [Devon](http://www.yeahbaby.com/baby-names-popularity.php?name=Devon) was most popular as a girl’s name in the early 1990s but lost the battle to overtake it as a boy’s name. After 1995 it declined in use as a girl’s name, and after 2000 really fell off the map (but not entirely so). [Stacy](http://www.yeahbaby.com/baby-names-popularity.php?name=Stacy) was a moderately popular boy’s name in the 1960s and 1970s, but never close to its popularity as a girl’s name. Interesting for this one, it seems to have been a longstanding girl’s name (since 1950) that made it into the top 300 as a boy’s name in the 1960s and 1970s. It’s died off as a boy’s name though: 1993 is the last year it made the top 1000, while it remains popular for girls. “[Tracy](http://www.yeahbaby.com/baby-names-popularity.php?name=Tracy)” is an interesting case too (and what I was actually thinking of, not “Stacy”, when I wrote my OP but I couldn’t take it back). It first shows up as a girl’s name in the 1940s (it had previously been a rather rare boy’s name), and very quickly gained parity: between 1950-1959, it was the 298th most popular boy’s name and the 250th most popular girl’s name. (Interestingly, even as there was an enormous surge in popularity for “Tracy” as a girl’s name, it was also the most popular it had ever been as a boy’s name – it was just suddenly a much more popular name, period.) After that there was no looking back. Even as it more than doubled in popularity as a boy’s name in the 1960s, hitting 117th, it skyrocketed to #41 on the girl’s name list and continued to climb, peaking at #25 in the 1970s. So for those of my generation (born in the 1970s) Tracy is firmly a predominantly girl’s name, but we all know or have heard of the odd male named “Tracy”, such as the current NBA star Tracy McGrady (born in 1979), or the comedian/actor Tracy Morgan (born in 1968). Younger people are never going to think of Tracy as a boy’s name at all (especially with athletic nicknames as “T-Mac” to help mask the gender bender name). ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/56 "2009-06-08T00:53:31Z")
Oh yes, and the back story on the females I know of named “Dylan” and “Devon (Devyn)”: I knew a couple who had twin baby girls in 1991 or 1992 and named then “Dylan” and “Devyn” (I think they spelled it with an interior “Y” to echo the Y in “Dylan”). I remember thinking at the time that BOTH names were boy’s names, were they not? Oh, and there’s now a trendy candy shop in Midtown Manhattan called “Dylan’s Candy Bar” that I’ve learned is named after, and owned/run by, the daughter of the clothing designer Ralph Lauren. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/57 "2009-06-08T00:59:26Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > [Kendall] surged strongly in popularity as a girl’s name around 1992 or 1993 (I assume that this coincides with the character appearing on _All My Children_?) … [Wikipedia says yes](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendall_Hart). Not only did the character first appear in 1993, but has grown to be one of the core and most popular characters on the still-running show. So there’s no going back now unless I can blackmail the show’s writers into writing in a discovery that she’s chromosomally an XY and she suddenly wakes up one morning with rippling biceps and a basso profundo voice. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/58 "2009-06-08T01:30:06Z")
Dylan - mostly M, but can be F Kendall - mostly M, but can be F Stacy (Stacey) - mostly F, but can be M. Prolly 'cos I know about 5 guys named this. Devon (Devin, Devyn) - First spelling I would think M. Last two, I would think F. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/59 "2009-06-08T02:11:02Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > For those who have replied to say that “Kendall” is intuitively an “exclusively female” name – may I ask why? Just curious because not only are the only Kendalls I have heard of male, even without that I would agree that the name sounds most like an amalgam of “Ken” and “Randall”, both exclusively male names. There are no “-all” names I can think of that are female either. It’s the “elle” sound. Michelle, Chaundel, Danielle, Gabriele… Sure, you’ve got Randall, Mitchel, and Montel, but I don’t know anyone named those. I know about 10 gazillion Michelles. I would have guessed it was an amalgam of Candace and Michelle, myself. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921/60 "2009-06-08T02:32:58Z")
Posting before reading the rest of the thread: Dylan - male. Kendall - no idea. Never heard it as a name. Could be either, I guess, so unisex. Stacy (Stacey) - F, though there have been a few famous male Stacys in the past. Devon (Devin, Devyn) - I’ve only heard it in American movies/TV, where it’s men, so M. Devyn looks more female, though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-what-gender-do-you-associate-with-these-names/498921.md?page=4)