# Quick: what's the first evenly unisex name that pops to mind? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 29, 2017, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141 "2017-10-29T15:10:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/21 "2017-10-29T16:39:47Z")
Terry was the first name that popped into mind. I knew a Christopher/Christine married couple. They both went by Chris. It felt creepy and weird but that might be because they were creepy and weird people. ---
**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:** [October 29, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/22 "2017-10-29T16:50:38Z")
Sam. Sure, it’s short for different names; I know several of each, but no-one I know ever uses the full version of either. Most of the names suggested so far are, or at least often are, short forms of names. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/23 "2017-10-29T17:10:49Z")
Lee ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/24 "2017-10-29T17:11:41Z")
Chris ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/25 "2017-10-29T17:25:10Z")
Francis / Frances There’s no reason “Chris” couldn’t be the whole name. It doesn’t have to be short for something else. My high school sweetheart had “N” for a middle name; not an initial, no, “N” was her entire middle name. ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/26 "2017-10-29T17:37:59Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Pat. Of course. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/27 "2017-10-29T17:38:06Z")
Yeah, if Chris doesn’t count then Alex doesn’t count either since it’s also usually a shortened form but for different names in both genders. (Alexander/Alexandria and their variations.) ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/28 "2017-10-29T17:45:18Z")
Jordan. Jordan is also very generic on other axis: rich and poor, Black, white, Hispanic. Urban and rural. ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/29 "2017-10-29T17:58:32Z")
Lindsay/Lindsey. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/30 "2017-10-29T18:07:23Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Terry was the first name that popped into mind. > > I knew a Christopher/Christine married couple. They both went by Chris. It felt creepy and weird but that might be because they were creepy and weird people. I knew a Pat and Pat who were married. Named their daughter Kat, so stupid, if they wanted to be cute they shoulda named that baby Patette or something. Carroll/Carol is a name that is unisex. A rare one is Aubrey. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/31 "2017-10-29T18:17:24Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > … Don and Dawn are pronounced exactly the same … Actually, not quite. Where I live, yes, natives pronounce them the same, but in the central-midwest accent, “Don” has a slightly shorter vowel sound than “Dawn”. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/32 "2017-10-29T18:31:58Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Pat. Chris came to mind first, followed almost immediately by Pat because of the SNL character. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/33 "2017-10-29T18:34:21Z")
Dale ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/34 "2017-10-29T19:13:05Z")
Drew ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/35 "2017-10-29T19:18:39Z")
Robin. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/36 "2017-10-29T19:18:39Z")
Jordan Taylor Lindsay/Lindsey Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/37 "2017-10-29T19:27:56Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Actually, not quite. Where I live, yes, natives pronounce them the same, but in the central-midwest accent, “Don” has a slightly shorter vowel sound than “Dawn”. I know that they sound different in other places, which is why I said > [@](#): > > …Don/Dawn and Aaron/Erin both present problems in northeastern US accents so I wouldn’t be surprised to then meet a person of either gender when someone says “Hey, I’m going to introduce you to-”. Don and Dawn are pronounced exactly the same… ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/38 "2017-10-29T19:55:04Z")
Maybe it’s a regional thing, but the ratio of males named Chris vs. females named Chris that I’ve met in my life has to be at least 20 to 1, probably more. ---
**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:** [October 29, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/39 "2017-10-29T20:09:12Z")
Shannon. I feel like I’ve known equal numbers of both genders named Shannon. Ditto Jo/e. > [@](#): > > Carroll/Carol is a name that is unisex. Yeah, but does it really belong in this thread about unisex names that are split evenly between the genders? It’s my name, and while I have known a significant number of other Carols in my life, not one has been male. Most people don’t even seem to realise it can be a man’s name too. Maybe this varies regionally or generationally, but my experience has been that its technically unisex but in practice overwhelmingly female. ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/40 "2017-10-29T20:20:27Z")
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