Hell if I know. She was a very sweet little girl, one of my favorite kids in the camp, but, really, such an unfortunate name.
Reminds me of a stripper I knew who OD’d last month and is now deceased.
I have two students this year named Taylor. They are both boys. One in particular is a very beefy football player type (very nice and a bright kid, btw), and the name just does not fit him. If there was ever a guy who should have been named Joe or John, it’s him. Taylor is just so damn twee and foofy for a guy.
For a girl, it’s just plain lousy.
I’m sorry to say that the only Henry I know is a 40-year-old nerd that still lives with his parents.
Make of it what you will.
I hate, hate, hate Taylor, per se. Its too uber yuppie.
I like Henry. Alot. A classic name that is strong but not over powering. Henry is a competant guy who can get the job done. Not enough Henry’s around, I say.
Gender would depend on the age of the child. If Taylor is 10 or older, boy. If Taylor is under 10, girl.
I don’t like it. I don’t like most of these surnames-as-given-names, especially when they started out as professions-as-surnames. It’s a stupid trend. I can’t use the actual name here, but I know a kid whose name is equivilant to Hunter Gatherer and I don’t think the mother even realises.
Henry, I like. It’s not something I’d choose, but I prefer it to Taylor or Montana or Destiny or the like. You get the feeling that, 70 years from now, people will still be naming their children Henry, but Parker/Chase/Hunter/Sloane will be considered old man (or lady) names, seen mostly in nursing homes, death notices and cemeteries in much the same manner that the popular names from early last century are viewed now… Agnes, Myrtle, Elsie, Thelma and Marjorie were the Taylor/Jordan/Madison of their day but are now mostly* seen as old lady names.
- Don’t bother telling me about the 5 year old Myrtle you know. There’s always one or two of any name from any era, but it’s never going to be as popular as it was 80 years ago and she’s not the beginning of a new trend.
My brother names his daughter that. Athena Bella I think. I kind of like it. It might be trendy, but not played out. So it’s ok.
Henry sounds like an old man to me. Born in the 30s or something.
With Taylor, I pretty much agree with everyone here. My friend named her daughter Taylor, but specifically because it IS a family surname. It was the maiden name of her grandmother. Her sister will name her child Walker. The surname of the grandmother on the other side. Coincidence!
These days, it seems revolutionary and fresh. I’m really not kidding. It’s a good, non-weird name, and you get the association of all those King Henrys.
I think about 30 people here have already expressed my feelings about Taylor. Twiddle nailed it. I don’t like last names and male surnames on girls. I don’t like last-names-as-first-names in general, though there are a few exceptions. 
To me, Taylor says “another case of suburbanite parents who want to name their child something different… and in so doing will give her the same kind of name everybody else has.”
I seem to remember that Taylor was at one point a considered name for my youngest brother, who ended up being Tyler. Tyler is also too popular for kids his age (had my parents known, they would have thought of something else), but it beats Taylor.
With exceptions such as variations of John, Robert, Katharine, Anne, Elizabeth, Laura and a few others, aren’t most names a matter of trends? What’s wrong with being “contrived” (created)? Forced? I’ve known one person with a forced name. It incorporated something like all of her grandmothers’ names with the names of recent female Dutch royalty. She had eight given names and a nickname.
Names that you don’t see much anymore: Mabel, Ethel, Mildred, Melba, Elmer, Herman
Names from the first half of the 20th Century: Peggy, Patsy, Betty, Sue, Linda, Janet (often, but not always diminutives of Margaret, Patricia, Elizabeth, and Susan)
Names from the Fifties: Debbie and Tammy
Some day the nursing homes will be filled with people named Brittany, Caitlin, Spencer, Colin, Bailey, Taylor, and Hunter with a few oldies that have returned thrown it for good measure: Isabella and Harry.
I didn’t have a child. But my husband and I settled on a name for our firstborn while we were on our honeymoon. Fisheyes. It was the only name we both liked.
I like Henry, but it seems on the cusp of being trendy as well. Lately, I’ve heard of a fair number of baby Oscars, Maxes, and Henrys. It’s a decent name, though, and you can always go with “Hank” as a nickname.
The only first-name Taylor I’ve ever known is a female 1 year my junior (I’m 26 now) back in high school. Sister of a friend, actually. Cute though she was, I knew I had no chance. If things went well, she might end up with a stutter for a name.
Elmer is actually my middle name, and I’m only 34.
another vote for the character in planet of the apes. oh and also the drain on the cold water fountains when i was a kid had taylor stamped on them.
You perfectly expressed my reaction. In the same category as “Madison”, which owes its popularity to the movie Splash.
I was rather snippily educated by a mother at the playground regarding the gender of the name Taylor. Apparently, Taylor is a girl’s name, Tyler is a boy’s name, and if you think any different, you’re an idiot. :rolleyes:
About Athena: The problem with naming your kid Athena or Aphrodite or Cleopatra or whatever is that you are vastly increasing the chances that she will be homely and awkward. You’re tempting fate. Really. A person can’t pull off the name Athena unless she is beautiful, tall, and strong. Therefore, she’ll most likely be stunted, ugly, and weak. I went to college with a girl named Scarlett–one of the geekiest homeliest girls I’ve ever seen. But who knows? Maybe Bear’s niece will beat the odds. I hope so.
Henry is definitely sort of trendy right now. But it’s still an awesome name. Eh, you may not want my opinion on this one, as I named my kidlet Arthur. Clunky old man names are cool. 
[Family Guy]
“Ok, so if you guys could do any chick in the world, who would you choose?”
“Oh, no question, Taylor Hanson! Whoa! All riiiight!”
“Um, Glenn? Taylor Hanson’s a boy.”
“Heh-heh, yeah right, tryin’ to put one over on ol’ Quagmire, huh?”
[silence]
“You’re kidding right? But… but I’ve got all those magazines…”
“OH GOD, NOOOOOOO!!!”
[/Family Guy]
Taylor is this really irritating guy I know. He’s friends with my roomate, brother, and good friend. None of them can say why they hang out with him. I’m not nice to him whenever he’s around, and he pretends I don’t mean it. At least it works.
I’m not sure how I’d feel about meeting anyone else named Taylor, but I would first think guy, not to be suprised at girl. I like Tyler way better for a guy.
Well, at least Taylor is (a little) better than Shithead.
It’s the name of a street near my house.
It’s the last name of a few people I’ve known.
And then there are Liz, Zachary and June.
Another hijack -
The little wife and I have been going over names for the bundle expected this coming February. We have no choice in the matter of his first name, as he is going to be named after my father-in-law OR ELSE (Sephardic Jews - don’t ask). It’s the middle name we’re still working on. Here are some of our options as of today:
Adam
Gilead
Oz
Barak
Kfir
Yarden (Jordan)
As you may have noticed, most of them are not American names; I’d like to know how they sound to American ears.
Adam is a very nice name. The other names, to my American ears, sound like characters from Star Trek. But, really, what do I know? What’s your father-in-law’s name?