# 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:** 4
**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, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/61 "2017-10-29T23:07:17Z")
Riley ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/62 "2017-10-29T23:09:11Z")
My first thought was “Robin”. I might have considered names like “Alex” and “Sam”, but I was sticking to cases where the full name is the same. Likewise, I didn’t consider pairs like “Erin” and “Aaron”, because even though they’re pronounced the same (or very similarly, depending on accent), they’re spelled differently. But “Robin” is likely to be the full name (even though it would originally have been a nickname for “Robert”), and it’s spelled the same way for either gender. Granted that “Robin” is probably mostly girls, now, but the first four Robins that come to mind are Williams, Hood, Goodfellow, and Batman’s sidekick, all of whom are male, and which tips the scales that way. The only female Robin I can think of specifically is Wright. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/63 "2017-10-29T23:12:57Z")
The presence of some of these names on this list intrigues me, as I do not think of them as unisex at _all_. Maybe it’s regional, or maybe it’s the circles I move in, but I’m…surprised. Lindsey. I know about Lindsey Graham the senator, and seems to me there were a couple of male athletes named Lindsey, but I’ve met quite a few Lindseys over the years and I think not a single one has been male. (Goes for alternative spellings as well.) Kim, almost the same. I did have a professor in college whose given name was Kim, and he was a man. Every other Kim I’ve ever met, though, and there are a bunch of them–female. (Though usually short for Kimberly.) Robin. Robin Yount and Robin Ventura, baseball players, and Robin Hood and Cock Robin I suppose–a coworker just had a baby boy and named him Robin, and I think this is the only male Robin I have ever been actually connected with, compared to a bunch of girl and woman Robins. Ashley. I’m quite sure I have never met a male Ashley. Carol. Ditto, even when spelled Carroll. I’d agree that these names USED to be given to boys, perhaps even were USUALLY given to boys (maybe not Carol), but this no longer seems to be the case. Again, maybe it’s just me, but do people really know significant numbers of male Ashleys and Lindseys and Kims, especially under the age of 40 or 50 or so? (And why haven’t I met any?) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/64 "2017-10-29T23:23:12Z")
Sam (First two Sams that came to mind: Stephens and Shepard) ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2017, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/65 "2017-10-29T23:51:07Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Pat. Same here but I blame SNL for that. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/66 "2017-10-30T00:40:33Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > … I’d agree that these names USED to be given to boys, perhaps even were USUALLY given to boys (maybe not Carol), but this no longer seems to be the case. Again, maybe it’s just me, but do people really know significant numbers of male Ashleys and Lindseys and Kims, especially under the age of 40 or 50 or so? (And why haven’t I met any?) If you are interested in playing with what names and variant actually were popular for each gender and when, tracking the switches, then [this site](http://www.babynamewizard.com/voyager#prefix=patr&sw=m&exact=false) is loads of fun. Ashley as a male name peaked with babies born in the '70s when it was the 382nd most popular boy baby’s name but was far from unheard of before that. As a female name it was pretty much unheard of before the '60s but by the '80s and beyond it had become one of the most popular. So how many you know of each gender may depend on the age group you travel in. If you travel with in the 60 and over crowd you had few female friends named Ashley and several male ones. Under 35 and much more like the Ashleys you know are female. Kim? Not too many 30 and under of either gender as it peaked in the '40s for boys and the '50’s for girls (and then many more girls). Over 30? Virtually no female Sidneys but it exploded in the 90s. As a male name it had been hugely popular before 1910 and then began to decline but still not unheard of as a male name through the '90s and aughts. In absolute numbers female Sidneys only slightly outpaced male ones into the '90s female peak. You can play with all of them. It’s fun! ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/67 "2017-10-30T00:46:33Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > If you are from New York, Don and Dawn are nothing alike. Yeah I was going to say the same thing. New York is absolutely northeastern US and those names are **not** said the same here. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/68 "2017-10-30T01:02:14Z")
Robin is a guy if he’s from the UK, or the distant past. Otherwise, she’s a girl. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/69 "2017-10-30T01:15:41Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Robin is a guy if he’s from the UK, or the distant past. Otherwise, she’s a girl. For some reason, most of the girl Robyns I know are spelled that way, while the boys are spelled Robin. Once upon a time, boy Lindsays got the A, and girls were Lindsey, but that hasn’t been true for about 40 years. Also, when Marion was a man’s name, that’s how it was spelled, and women were Marian, but as the name fell out of favor for men, women started to use the Marion spelling. I wonder sometimes if Marion Crane in _Psycho_ popularized that spelling in 1960. Another name, if you hear, and don’t see spelled, could go either way, is Jesse/Jessie. Although I did once meet a girl Jesse, and one of the WM3 was a male “Jessie” jr. I have no idea if it’s short for something, and if so, what. ---
**Author:** ![UCBearcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/77aa72/32.png) [@UCBearcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UCBearcats)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/70 "2017-10-30T01:50:00Z")
Madison ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/71 "2017-10-30T01:50:38Z")
Pat and Jamie are both good ones. I think some of the names mentioned strike me more as having changed over the last several generations. Marion, Leslie, and Carol are either old men or young women, but not young men. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/72 "2017-10-30T02:42:49Z")
Sidney ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/73 "2017-10-30T05:41:01Z")
Casey. ---
**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 30, 2017, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/74 "2017-10-30T06:32:24Z")
Just verbally, it’s Jo(e) for me in absolute numbers of people I know. For one where it’s written the same, it’s Kim. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/75 "2017-10-30T07:05:54Z")
Ariel. ---
**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 30, 2017, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/76 "2017-10-30T07:10:42Z")
D.J. ---
**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 30, 2017, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/77 "2017-10-30T08:10:29Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > Robin. Robin Yount and Robin Ventura, baseball players, and Robin Hood and Cock Robin I suppose–a coworker just had a baby boy and named him Robin, and I think this is the only male Robin I have ever been actually connected with, compared to a bunch of girl and woman Robins. Whereas in the UK, I’ve met a bunch of Robins, and all of them have been male, barring one American lady I met on holiday. I know one Merlin of each gender, but I don’t think that’s enough to be a representative sample. ---
**Author:** ![Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/budget_player_cadet/32/205_2.png) [@Budget\_Player\_Cadet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Budget_Player_Cadet)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/78 "2017-10-30T08:21:50Z")
[Pat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_Pat). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/79 "2017-10-30T11:14:49Z")
For Robin it indeed depends on the location of the name bearer for me. If it were in America, I’d assume female, in England I’d assume male. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Another name, if you hear, and don’t see spelled, could go either way, is Jesse/Jessie. Although I did once meet a girl Jesse, and one of the WM3 was a male “Jessie” jr. I have no idea if it’s short for something, and if so, what. This might be the winner, even moreso than Alex, since when I hear that name I do make an assumption that the bearer is male. I’m not sure if Jesse/ie is close to 50/50, but it’s close enough that I don’t make a gender assumption. > [@FlikTheBlue](#): > > Pat and Jamie are both good ones. I think some of the names mentioned strike me more as having changed over the last several generations. Marion, Leslie, and Carol are either old men or young women, but not young men. Pat is another good one but I don’t encounter it that often and I do assume the bearer is female (although am not surprised to find out otherwise and it doesn’t seem odd.) My uncle’s wife’s Carol (no e) so probably for that reason I assume the bearer is female. Marion with an “o” i’d probably assume male, “a” I’d assume otherwise. Leslie is a very good one, almost as good as Jess/e/ie and better than Alex. Even though I’d probably assume female for a moment, I’d catch myself and remember the ambiguity which I might not even do for Alex. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2017, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141/80 "2017-10-30T19:57:32Z")
Unisex names? Well I have to vote for ‘Bob’, obviously. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-whats-the-first-evenly-unisex-name-that-pops-to-mind/800141.md?page=5)