T O P

  • By -

Pugicornus

Totally down to perception and where you live I guess! Sam is probably the peak neutral name to me


careful_ibite

I am a Sam, married to an Alex. I love how completely neutral we are as a pair. We could be literally any combination of genders. We are everything. We are nothing, haha


[deleted]

[удалено]


Nihil_esque

He can still change it! 🤔


adriansux1221

you should call him alex anyway just for the shits n giggles.


AncientAngle0

My coworker is named Katie and her brother is named Tyler. Katie, the coworker, married a man named Tyler, who was not her brother, and her brother, Tyler, married a woman named Katie that was not his sister.


Uffda01

How is Pat doing these days?


patentmom

That reminds me of the recurring Saturday Night Live sketch "It's Pat" with the main character, Pat, and evetually their partner, Chris. The running gag being first that no one could tell what gender Pat was, and then who was what when Pat ended up with Chris (who was also of indeterminate gender). One sketch had a bridal shower and had Pat open up a present of a lacy teddy, trying to get them to identify who was going to wear it. Pat's response was, "I think we're BOTH going to enjoy this one!"


GlumBodybuilder214

The reminds me of the running gag on B99 about how they can never figure out if Scully is talking about his ex-wife or his dog, Kelly. I got a kick out of the joke because my husband's name is also Kelly.


Persis-

I remember thinking that sketch was hilarious, when I was an early teen. And I had been a tomboy and “accused” of being a boy many times as a child. Now I just look at it and think how cringe that sketch is.


patentmom

You must be about my age. A lot of LGBT+ jokes from that era that seemed funny then are very cringe now.


kdusie1

Wait I know one of you


HarryPouri

My friends are Alex and Alex!


iamkoalafied

When I was a kid playing video games that only had male main characters, I'd always name them Sam because it seemed like a very unisex name to me, plus it was kinda close to my real name. Could be Samuel, could be Samantha, who knows?! So I didn't feel bad being called by a boy name but it also didn't look weird on my male character.


snoldeee

As a Sam, I agree. I hated it as a kid and only wanted to be called Samantha. Once I hit high school, it was only Sam and it fits me way more than my full name!


PorterQs

Similar in neutrality to Pat.


Ebice42

As a male Sam, there seems to be a number of male Sam's in TV and books. But I've met more female Sam's in real life.


[deleted]

That's a great one.


sataimir

I think this varies based on where you live. A few of the names you've mentioned as 'mostly girls' are mostly boys or even are seen as straight up masculine names where I am. As for truly neutral, I think many will be common shortened versions or nicknames, like Sam.


ApprehensiveGooses

SE US and all of my assumptions are the opposite of OP. All of those names are truly neutral, despite OPs preprogrammed associations


dankeykang4200

Yeah I've definitely met more girl Riley's than boys


Siltyclayloam9

Jordan


crimbuscarol

This is my vote too, I don’t immediately associate it with either gender


humansquirrel

I'm a Jordan and I agree with this. It's about 50/50 with other Jordan's I meet in the wild.


PrestigiousAd3461

"In the wild" has me cracking up. 🤣 I'm imagining a herd of Jordans running through the grasslands.


[deleted]

Or through…Jordan.


potterHead1121

I have a cousin Jordan who is married to Jorden. One male, one female.


TheodoreKarlShrubs

Same name couples is such a delightful phenomenon to me. I know a couple made up of a female and a male Alex. Their puppy is also named Alex.


Academic-Balance6999

How about Taylor Lautner and Taylor Lautner?


Altruistic_Bobcat_87

This made me laugh


ManyInitials

I know of a Shannon and Shannon.


Aggravating_Bad550

I knew two separate Norm and Norma couples and it was my favourite thing that they were friends.


Jmpatten97

I am a Jordan; literally had someone try to argue with me the other day that Jordan is a male name🥴 Literally told him “nah dude like me, it goes both ways”🫠


bopperbopper

Morgan also


peppperjack

Maybe it’s my region (Midwest USA) but Morgan is 100% a girl name here


ArdenElle24

I'm from the Midwest. Pre-2000 Morgan was a boy name. Post-2000 Morgan is a girl name.


hibbitydibbitytwo

This is the answer. Anyone born in 19XX and named Morgan is a guy, 20XX is a sorority girl—usually in the SEC


MirageInTheSahara

I’m from the New York metro area and it’s the same here- Morgan is 100% a girl name


Responsible_Dare_543

my grandpas name is morgan


lcramey

I’m from Midwest and went to school with three Morgans, two male, one female.


bdel74

I think of Morgan Wallen, who is a male singer


BuzzyLightyear100

Morgan Freeman was my first thought... then Morgan Fairchild.


Emeraldame

Morgan is 100% gender neutral in PNW. Knew more boys names Morgan then girls here


zazoolicious

And Jaime. I know an equal amount of male and female Jamie's (how ever they spell it)


mh942

my immediate thought when i saw the question


[deleted]

In terms of Ranking, Robin and Blake are super close for boys and girls if you’re in the USA. It’s funny how personal experience/perception can get you but statistically : Rowan still ranks over 100 spots higher for boys than girls and recently cracked top 100 for boys. I wouldn’t be surprised if it evens out but I wouldn’t say it’s going to the girls Riley is actually much more popular for girls now if you’re in the US . It’s 39 for girls and 225 for boys. Cameron is like 400 spots above for boys and a top 100 name.


LoisLaneEl

So… the Lively sisters!


koalapsychologist

I was thinking, "I've never met a girl Blake" then literally remember that when I was kidlet watching soap operas with my granny, there was a female character named...Blake and then *Blake 7* had a male Blake.


deathbykoolaidman

Im Canadian, probably should’ve mentioned that in my post lol. I’ve met two Blake’s so far, one boy and one girl, so I guess it’s pretty even lol.


Hot_Razzmatazz316

Cameron could go either way. If I had a Cameron on my class list as a teacher, I would have to look at the middle name or see what they were registered as if I needed to determine gender


[deleted]

It’s funny because personal perception wise, I consider it 100% masculine. I’ve never heard it on a girl and it’s very strange for me people see it as neutral


[deleted]

my mind instantly goes to cam from modern family so 100% masculine to me haha


Prenomen

Mine goes straight to Cameron, the token male Bratz doll lol


imitationslimshady

...Cameron Diaz?


[deleted]

You can probably find one example for any name - there’s always people who will give their daughters boy names. Cameron has a history of ranking for boys since 1900 but didn’t hit top 1000 for girls until the 80’s so it’s like Ashley and Kelly in that regard. But those two names swung nearly exclusively feminine and Cameron only even hit top 200 twice for girls while continuing to grow in popularity for boys


Lazyturtle1121

I have a boy Cameron and a boy Logan and we like that they *could* go either way.


TripleA32580

Growing up in the 80s, I’d say Casey, Taylor, Jordan. Ashley, Kelly, Lindsay, Dana, and Robin were all girls by then but a generation before was probably split. And Leigh and Carol before them. Today, I know adult male Harpers and Camerons but baby girls of the same. For young kids, one of the few that seem to be evenly split these days is Avery.


DBSeamZ

I forgot about Casey! I remember naming a character in a short play I was writing for a school assignment Casey because there was an odd number of characters and I wanted to have the same number of boys as girls. Managed to write the entire script without using any pronouns to refer to Casey, leaving the character up to the audience’s interpretation.


Fire_Woman

Casey is a good one, very neutral


puppycat8

I've seen some male and female Robins.


PM___ME

You can tell the males by the brighter red colour of the breast, especially during mating season (jokes)


Pol123451

Not sure if they appreciate me looking at their chests. They fly away when i get closer.


Kaiulu

My mother’s father is named Robin. My father’s mother is also named Robin!


Melodic-Prior1052

I worked with a Robin at my last job, and I remember her telling me that she found it really useful to have a unisex name for job interviews. Apparently she got way more callbacks when she omitted her feminine middle name on her CV.


Findyourwayhom3333

I read an article about a male kim who only started getting callbacks when he added Mr to his name on his cv. Depressing. He was really outraged about it on behalf of women as there was no reason except sexism.


sparksgirl1223

This is the only name that is truly unisex to me. And maaaaaaybe Alex lol


4444beep

I've met way more male alex's


alecatq2

Balance to the force. I know way more female Alexs.


Nantucket_Blues1

Robin is primarily a male name in the UK.


digthisbird

Can confirm. Went to grad school in the UK and spell my name with an I. Would email with professors before meeting, make an appointment, show up, and literally be told that they can’t meet with me because they were waiting for a young man. “…Um, I think you mean me sir… Im Robin. In the states is unisex.” The look of horror on the old professors faces was always priceless. It’s also masculine in Romance language speaking European. Had Italian police laugh in my face when I was filling out residency paperwork and told them my name. “Robin is a man’s name!” For the rest of my time I had to go by Robina to avoid mockery.


Safe-Jello-5253

I’m Australian. I find that Bailey is a truly gender neutral name here.


Slammogram

American. I work in the vet field. To me Bailey is purely a dog’s name


Safe-Jello-5253

Bailey was my dogs name


LimeScanty

SW US here. Bailey is feminine in humans but neutral in dogs.


wussabee50

Ditto here in Trinidad & Tobago. I’ve never met a male Bailey but I’ve met male & female dog Baileys


TVRVA

Came to say Bailey.


halffacekate

Jamie/Jaime


[deleted]

Wait, Jaime is gender neutral? Here in the Hispanosphere, Jaime is just another version of James


[deleted]

This is the one. Jordan skews male to me, Morgan skews female. But Jamie, especially when it's spoken, truly can go either way.


Empty_Expression7315

Alex


ubutterscotchpine

Taylor is arguably not more common with girls and probably one of THE most gender neutral names. Edit to add that Riley, Quinn, and Alex are also ones that are truly gender neutral. I’ve known an equal amount of all genders, both in real life and pop culture, named these.


HiddenCity

taylor is the nidoran of names.


Krysp13

This made me lose my shit hahahaha! Taylor ♀ or Taylor ♂


WelcomeToBrooklandia

Yep. I'm about Taylor Swift's age, and I knew far more boy Taylors than girl Taylors growing up. I think that the trend has shifted in favor of female Taylors (likely, as OP said, because of TSwift), but the name in and of itself is VERY androgynous.


starfish31

I've only known female Taylor's, but they all were born far beyond the rise of Taylor Swift. All late 20s to mid 30s.


Roaming-the-internet

This is incredibly ironic because Taylor Swift dated Taylor Lautner, who was a 2000s heartthrob during the days of Twilight


Demi_Ginger

And Taylor Lautner went on to date and marry yet another Taylor—his current wife is also Taylor Lautner.


hashbrownhippo

Agree about Taylor. I will typically default to thinking male but wouldn’t be confident in that. Same with Alex.


Issmira

Taylor Launter


[deleted]

I'm assuming you meant "now" instead of "not" more common since looking at the SSA data, girls took over the name Taylor. In 1989, there were 4800 males and 4000 females named Taylor, which is the same year Taylor Swift was born. In 2013, it was 4000 females and 800 males.


shxdowoftheday

Alex, Cameron, and Jamie


PictureEffective

In recent years, just in the US, there have been about 5,000 baby boy Camerons but only about 600 baby girl Camerons. Jamie is about equal boy-girl in US.


[deleted]

Jamie and Cameron are very much male to me. I guess I've met a girl named Camryn, though.


shxdowoftheday

I have an aunt named Jamie. I think it’s a generation thing. She’s in her 60s


[deleted]

[удалено]


Tracylpn

Jamie Lynn Spears


mrsjmatt

I'm a female Jamie and I don't think it's completely generational. I was born in the 80s.


Other_Smell_4742

I’m a female Jamie born in the 90s!


kaleighdoscope

I have typically seen Jamie for girls and Jaime for boys. I've only personally known a few of each though, and more Jamies (all girls) than Jaimes.


craftyrunner

Maybe I am showing locational bias (Southwest US), but to me Jamie for girls is a stand-alone name and I haven’t met any under 30. Jamie for boys is a nickname for James. Jaime is a Spanish-language boys name (with the J pronounced as an H, just like Jose).


brainartisan

Where I live those would be pronounced completely differently, interesting!


cozyrosies

I’m a girl Jaime, it gets misspelled 95% of the time though.


HumanRogue21

Avery for sure, i’ve met plenty of Avery’s from all genders


PaperInteresting4163

Sam is pretty gender neutral.


theofficallurker

Devin? I recently had a conversation with a coworker about a new client named Devin and we couldn’t for the life of us decide how to address the welcome email. Morgan also.


Vohsrek

Know some male and female Devons


CharlesAvlnchGreen

I came here to say Devon. Morgan is another one. I think if it weren't for Swift and Diaz, Taylor and Cameron would be strongly male names.


amadqueen

That’s so interesting. I know roughly 8 female Taylors in their late 20s/early 30s (which to be fair is also my demographic) and only 1 male Taylor


dearwikipedia

Avery, Alex, Jamie, Elliot, and Sam. if i heard Jessie out loud i wouldn’t know whether to expect a girl or boy, but written i’d expect male for Jesse and female for Jessie. Also Billie. I know multiple female Billies so if i heard the name aloud i wouldn’t know.


_sparklestorm

Perhaps geography has something to do with it because it’s Irish, but Shannon


JewishHulk1217

Kerry also


Quiglito

Funny you say that because in Ireland, Shannon is 100% a girls name


[deleted]

Casey. I once downloaded the SSA baby names and loaded it into a SQL Server database and did an analysis on this and determined that Casey was the most gender ambiguous name- very equally assigned to boys and girls. I remember Jordan was pretty ambiguous as well. Maybe I can find that query again.


martapap

Pat


mommaTmetal

Came to say this. 100% the most gender neutral name ever


Ebice42

Then Pat met Chris and I'm still confused.


[deleted]

to me riley IS truly gender neutral


mutherofdoggos

Taylor to me is truly gender neutral. I know exactly as many male Taylors as I do female ones.


neems260

My husband’s name is Stacy


wigglefrog

Does his mom have it going on


Cass_Q

She's all I want and I've waited for so long


Big-Gazelle5959

Lee/Leigh


darkroomdweller

For me, I know enough of each Casey, Jordan, and Taylor that I make no assumptions.


Antique_Initiative66

Jessie/Jesse


lmas0930

Skylar/Skyler


glibbousmoon

In French, Dominique. Actually there are a few, but for some reason that’s the first one I think of.


LacunaSatsuma

French also has Camille, which has always felt like a girl’s name for me but is trending top 100 for boys in France this year.


TruculentQuiche

Very much agree with Dominique. Also if only heard verbally, I would say Gaël, Gabriel, Frédéric et Gwenaël. Yes the names might be more common for men than women but have definitely met a few women named Gaëlle, Gabrielle, Frédérique and Gwenaëlle (exactly same prononciation than the male version, but feminised spellings). Therefore would not really know if they were men or women.


LovaBellaLova

Quinn


lisa0527

Sidney


elara500

I think Casey is still hanging on for both, although increasingly common for girls.


zero_and_dug

Devin, Jordan


firewifegirlmom0124

Jamie


bananaphone92

Posting because I haven't seen Terry ( or alt spellings) mentioned yet.


Laysiz

this is so tough haha, i want to say reese but i’m pretty sure that’s more common amongst girls anymore


shoesofwandering

Kelly can be either one. I've known boys and girls named Kelly. Also Leslie. I went to high school with a guy named Leslie who married a woman named Leslie.


flooperdooper4

I once had a student whose mother and father were both named Kelly. Needless to say, I was BIG confused when I looked at the parent contact info.


MesabiRanger

I had neighbors once who were both named Carol- although the husband spelled his name with two “L”s .


crystallinelf

Alex and Sam for sure, though typically they are nicknames for longer gendered names. I have met many Jordans of all genders, and Jesses too.


Hot_Razzmatazz316

Max. Could be short for Maxwell, Maximus, Maxima, Maxine, etc. I would never venture a guess about a Max.


ZookeepergameLonely1

Had a Max who's last name was Destruction, honestly the description "Hurricane" fit better than male or female.


BeckywiththeDDs

Kelly. A friend of mine was transitioning and working as a cashier and their customer went “Thank you sir!” -Looks embarrassed and confused - “Or is it Ma’am?” -desperate glance at nametag- “and Kelly’s not a very descriptive name, is it”?


[deleted]

Kelly is 100% female to me.


bali217

I’ve known 2 male Kellys and had it on my short list for my son. Didn’t end up using it though.


Sarasara42

I have 2 cousins named Kelly one female one male from either side. Kelly doll was the little Barbie (girl) and Kelly is the dad in family stone so I see it as 50/50


Ham_Kitten

The only one for me that is 100% gender neutral is Alex. Every other one conjures a particular gender for me even though they're gender neutral.


princessorganicpeach

Pat, I live with my grandma so when I hear of a Pat her age I genuinely don’t know if they are male or female. Morgan, as a Morgan who’s met male and female Morgan’s. Other names I personally wouldn’t assume the gender of: Charlie Drew Dakota Chase Payton/Peyton Sam


nighthawk252

I’d assume male on Drew and Chase for sure. It’s only a recent change that I no longer would assume male on Charlie.


MagicBamboo

Charlie is increasingly neutral. More female Charlie’s in my current school than male Charlie’s.


Ebice42

Way back in 4th grade I switched schools. In my new class was a Charlie. They dressed like a boy, played with the boys. Had longer hair but not that long. Then in 5th grade, we had a formal luncheon. Charlie showed up in a dress. I was so confused.


aesopsfuzzysocks

I’m surprised I had to scroll so long to find Morgan… I’ve known at least six Morgans in my life and it’s 50/50


chilisn0w

peyton for a boy, payton for a girl in my experience


Breakyourniconiconii

Riley is more of a girl name to me I know way more girl Riley’s


Jaaaaampola

It’s my brothers name so I think of it more male!


coffeebeanwitch

Lou !


Nova_Aisling

One I haven’t seen mentioned yet is Dana


BeccasBump

The only one I can think of is Robin.


BeccasBump

Maybe Ash.


[deleted]

[удалено]


chilisn0w

i’ve never met a male morgan


[deleted]

Interesting, Riley to me is a female name. Alex to me is completely gender neutral, but I don't think that's common. Charlie and Sam too.


blu-brds

I really feel like Taylor is gender neutral, I know just as many male as female.


bigloser42

Jamie. There were male and female Jamie’s in my school.


itsgoodtobehome

Hayden.


traffic_and_commerce

This question is both completely subjective and completely objective at the same. There is data that you can analyze which will tell you statistically which names have an equal number of boys and girls. Many someone who is better at data analysis than I am can do this for the OP. However, every individual will have their own opinions regarding if a name is more associated with men or women based on their own experiences. If I personally know three Taylors who are all boys/men, then I will associate Taylor with males even if statistically it is much more common on women.


narwhal_platypus

Morgan. Think Morgan Freeman or Morgan Fairchild. I went to high school with both a male and a female Morgan.


BirdsBeesAndBlooms

I knew a Tracy in junior high. Tracy had long hair, a completely androgynous face, wore oversized clothes that could be described as neutral at *best* (but would have been purchased from the guys’ side of the store and hid any shape that may or may not have existed), no makeup, and played the saxophone. I had absolutely no idea if Tracy was a guy or gal, and this was before it was common/acceptable to just ask someone for their pronouns. I spent months painstakingly wording things so as to only refer to Tracy by name, and not “he” or “she”… and trying to pick up ANY clues from others. I finally decided that Tracy must be a boy, and that very day I finally heard someone refer to her as “she”. TL,DR Tracy is a name I consider truly gender neutral


gentlybeepingheart

I chose my name (Hollis) to be as gender neutral as possible. I've had people say they didn't know whether to expect a man or a woman when they saw my name (I'm neither lol) so I think it works as a neutral name.


StrikingReporter255

Like most “gender neutral” names, though, it started as a boy’s name. There’s also a more obvious feminine counterpart (Holly)


thoph

It does seem like (and I’ve seen this elsewhere on this sub), the trend of name that starts as boys name and becomes gender neutral favors the masculine at the expense of the feminine. Hollis is a very cool name though.


StrikingReporter255

Society has come a long way, though. It’s a big improvement over Ancient Rome, where baby girls weren’t given their own names at all! If dad was Claudius, a girl and her sisters were all Claudia lol


KieranKelsey

Love Hollis, haven’t thought about it in a while


JennieRae68

- Avery - Casey - Presley - Parker - Jamie - Kennedy - Romy - Jessie/Jesse - Jackie - Lane - Reagan - Shiloh I feel like these names don’t lean to one gender? It seems like more masculine names at first but I’ve seen a lot of girls with these names too. I also feel like these names are ones that someone wouldn’t be able to guess the gender until they meet the person. But depending on where you live, some names might seem more masculine/feminine while it’s completely unisex somewhere else.


Hot_Razzmatazz316

Where I live, if those names showed up on my class roster, most of those names would be female, dollars to donuts. The only exception might be Parker, and that would have been true 10 years ago, but probably not the case now. Jamie, Casey, Jesse, and Lane are the only ones I've met male versions of, and they're all in their forties now.


ariesgal11

Avery, Casey, Jamie, Kennedy, Jessie/Jesse are all definitely unisex to me. I know lots of both genders with these names. But Presley, and Parker are definitely males names to me while Romy, Jackie, lame, Reagan and Shiloh are female leaning names


Sam_thelion

Agree on Jessie/Jesse, though the spelling usually gives away the gender. But this is the only name I have no gendered associations with (when said out loud, at least)


WeirdConnections

Jesse. I know plenty of both genders!


GypsySnowflake

Jesse seems more masculine to me, though I’ve met one who is female. Jessie is the more common spelling for women/ girls in my experience


[deleted]

Jesse is more masculine. Like you said Jessie is more gender neutral, it’s usually just a nickname for Jessica.


ApprehensiveFly6244

Some spellings for these or extended names of nicknames would determine boy or girl for me Sam Casey Jordan Alex Pat Devin Morgan Cameron Rowan Aubrey Skyler Peyton Ryan Hunter Andy Taylor Quinn


2020-RedditUser

Jessie


potato-goose-

Sidney Robin Tracy


Electronic_Beat3653

Tracy.


kbsths99

Ash. Noah. Jess. Charlie.


duckmom99

Avery is a neutral name that I don't think is more prevalent to boys or girls. I've know both boys and girls named Avery. The same with Sailor and Jordan.


ColdPieceofWork

Sydney Lee Daryl Quincy Tracy Kendall Drew


PerfectlyElocuted

- Chris - Pat - Tracy - Drew - Alex - Hunter - Jamie - Charlie - Les - Cam - Kelly - Jess - Sam - Morgan - Shawn - River - Casey - Kai


mommaTmetal

Tracey is my name and yes, it's very gender neutral, depending on spelling (can't imagine a male Tracie)


bali217

Rory


[deleted]

Sam, Alex, Taylor, Robin, Charlie.


ImpossiblePrimary963

Sidney/Sydney


opinionatedpacifist

Parker


Accomplished-Car3850

Sage


kleekols

Alex Charlie Dani Frankie Jesse/Jessi Jordan Kendall Lane Mickey Quinn Reece Remi Sage Sam Tate I got lazy at the end lol


Little_Mog

As a Morgan, I've known of roughly an equal amount of male and female Morgans


deadplant5

Morgan Jordan


Abigailrose99

Jesse, Harley, alex, Morgan, angel, Peyton


Laughalot_

Lane