# What gender comes to mind when hearing these first names? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 5, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725 "2011-10-05T20:57:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/21 "2011-10-05T21:54:50Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > Am I the only one who thinks of Terry as female? Hm… must be because my sister was a Terry. During her tweens she spelled it with an “i”. With a heart. I’m a lifelong gamer. The first Terry I think of is [this one](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Bogard). ---
**Author:** ![Trick\_Rider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Trick\_Rider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trick_Rider)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/22 "2011-10-05T22:04:22Z")
Robin - Female Terry - Male Kelly - Female Shannon - Female Tracy - Female Tony - Male Jody - Female Sidney - Male Courtney - Female Hilary - Female Alex - Male Jamie - Male Erin - Female Qbert - I’m not sure what to think about that one ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/23 "2011-10-05T22:13:11Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > When you **hear** the following names, what gender pops into your mind first? Robin - male where I come from (UK - I know in America it is normally female) Terry - male (female if Terri) Kelly - female Shannon - female Tracy - female Tony - male (female if Toni) Jody - female Sidney - male (female if Sydney or Sidne or other variants) Courtney - female Hilary - female (though I think it should be _Hillary_, regardless of gender) Alex - male, (but I am not at all startled by a female Alex) Jamie - that is difficult, but probably male Erin - female Qbert - non-gendered, but the “bert” part says male ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/24 "2011-10-05T22:14:20Z")
Robin - Girl Terry - Guy (thanks to Terry Pratchett) Kelly - Guy Shannon - Girl Tracy - Girl Tony - Guy Jody - Guy Sidney - Guy Courtney - Girl Hilary - Girl Alex - guy Jamie - Guy Erin - Girl Qbert - _Thing_ ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/25 "2011-10-05T22:17:18Z")
I’m basing this on hearing, not on seeing the spellings: Robin - male Terry - male Kelly - female Shannon - female Tracy - female Tony - male Jody - female Sidney - male Courtney - female Hilary - female Alex - male Jamie - male Erin - female Qbert - never heard it before ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheField](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@LilyoftheField](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheField)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/26 "2011-10-05T22:19:00Z")
Just based on those I’ve known… Robin - girl Terry - my cousin! girl Kelly - I’ve actually known one of each gender Shannon - don’t know any but sounds like a girl Tracy - don’t know any, would think girl Tony - only know guys Jody - girl Sidney - girl Courtney - girl Hilary - girl Alex - don’t know any, but I’d go with guy Jamie - guy Erin - girl Qbert - sounds like a robot to me… ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/27 "2011-10-05T22:26:21Z")
Male for Tony, Sidney, Alex, and Jamie. Female for all the rest, except Qbert, which is not a human name. ---
**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 5, 2011, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/28 "2011-10-05T22:28:46Z")
Robin - girl Terry - boy Kelly - girl Shannon - girl Tracy - girl Tony - boy Jody - girl (my sister’s name) Sidney - boy Courtney - girl Hilary - girl Alex - boy Jamie - boy Erin - girl (boy would by Aaron, which _does not_ sound like Erin) Qbert - boy ---
**Author:** ![Invisible\_Chimp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f05b48/32.png) [@Invisible\_Chimp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Invisible_Chimp)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/29 "2011-10-05T22:50:15Z")
Robin-boy Terry-boy Kelly-boy Shannon-girl Tracy-girl Tony-boy Jody-girl Sidney-girl Courtney-girl Hilary-girl Alex-boy Jamie-boy Erin-girl Qbert-boy ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/30 "2011-10-05T23:01:03Z")
Robin - female Terry - male. Terri is a girl. Kelly - predominately female Shannon - female Tracy - female Tony - male Jody - male. Jodie or Jodi would be a female. Sidney - female, but not overwhelmingly so. Courtney - female Hilary - female Alex - male Jamie - male Erin - female Qbert - umm male? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/31 "2011-10-05T23:04:12Z")
Robin male, though I know a female Robin. Terry usually male Kelly either way Shannon Yeah, I know, Shannon Tweed, but the Shannon I know is male. Tracy female, from Teresa Tony usually male Jody male Sidney In the US, male Courtney female Hilary female Alex either way Jamie mostly female Erin spelled that way, female Qbert I dunno, but Cuthbert is male. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/32 "2011-10-05T23:06:51Z")
Qbert is a computer error. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/33 "2011-10-05T23:08:24Z")
Robin - F Terry - M Kelly - F Shannon - F Tracy - F Tony - M Jody - F Sidney - F Courtney - F Hilary - F Alex - M Jamie - F Erin - F Qbert - M At the risk of opening a familiar can of words, you will be hard-pressed to find a male named Erin. Aaron, however, is a male name and pronounced differently. Aaron like Baron, versus Erin like heron. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/34 "2011-10-05T23:27:08Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > At the risk of opening a familiar can of words, you will be hard-pressed to find a male named Erin. Aaron, however, is a male name and pronounced differently. Aaron like Baron, versus Erin like heron. > > Joe Yeah, that’s interesting. To this middle-aged upper Midwestern boy they both sound the same. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/35 "2011-10-05T23:35:06Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > When you **hear** the following names, what gender pops into your mind first? > > Robin f > Terry m > Kelly f > Shannon f > Tracy either > Tony m > Jody f > Sidney f > Courtney f > Hilary f > Alex either > Jamie f > Erin f > Qbert Much of this depends on the spelling though…I have a sibling Aaron, so I associate that spelling with a male but “Erin” is female. “Tony” is male but “Toni” female. ---
**Author:** ![Al\_Bundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@Al\_Bundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al_Bundy)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/36 "2011-10-05T23:51:39Z")
I wavered for a second, but then I came down for female on every one as I know females with most of those names, except the last one, which is not a name. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/37 "2011-10-06T00:30:55Z")
My _first_ impression on _hearing_ the name would be: Robin - F Terry - M or F ( I’ve known both ) Kelly - M or F ( I’ve known both ) Shannon - F Tracy - F Tony - M Jody - F Sidney - M or F Courtney - F Hilary - F Alex - M Jamie - M or F ( I’ve known both ) Erin - F Qbert - [M](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Qbert) ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/38 "2011-10-06T00:40:57Z")
They are all pretty much officially unisex in English-speaking countries, except Qbert. I’ve never met a Qbert but I’m pretty sure no girl has ever been named that. I’ve never met a male Courtney, Hilary or Erin - those are common names for girls and women under 40, where I’ve lived in America, and unheard of for boys. I have met one male Shannon (in swim class when I was like 5). We all thought it was really weird. I have known several girls named Shannon. I’ve met multiple men and women (and boys and girls) IRL with every other name on that list. Though most women spell these: Jodi, Teri, Toni rather than with y. Alex, Jamie and Kelly are very common names for both boys and girls right now. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2011, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/39 "2011-10-06T00:46:21Z")
[quote=“Laggard, post:1, topic:598725”] When you **hear** the following names, what gender pops into your mind first? This is just the first thing that pops into my head… Robin-_female_ Terry-_male_ Kelly-_female_ Tracy-_female_ Tony-_male_ Jody-_female_ Sidney-_female_ Courtney-_female_ Hilary-_female_ Alex-_male_ Jamie-_ **male** _ Erin-_female_ Qbert-_eunuch_ ---
**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 6, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725/40 "2011-10-06T01:00:50Z")
Robin - F Terry - F Kelly - F Shannon - F Tracy - F Tony - M - It’s short for Ant Knee Jody - F Sidney - F Courtney - F Hilary - F Alex - M Jamie - F Erin - M - hearing it as Aaron Qbert - M - it’s spelled Cubert With the exception of Courtney, Hilary, and Cubert, I’ve personally known both men and women with each of those names (the way they sound anyway). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-gender-comes-to-mind-when-hearing-these-first-names/598725.md?page=3)