unisex names

[ohhvelocitygirl.livejournal.com]

what are some names that if you saw written down, you wouldn't assume either way?  any name I liked was either obviously male or obviously female and that just isn't working now.

I really like "sage".   and I did like bristol and paris.  but celebs have made those names pretty femme. 

so far I've found these, but can't decide if they lean one way or another:
bronte
bronwyn
roman
rowan
arden
celestine
emery
ellery
hadley
december
ainsley

bonus points if the name is somehow winter/christmas related.

Comments

[rubie-dubidoux.livejournal.com]

Doesn't Bronwyn mean "magnificent breasts" or something?

[ohhvelocitygirl.livejournal.com]

I haven't a clue, I'm just looking at unisex name lists.

[ahsavka.livejournal.com]

I looked on behindthename.com because I was curious and it's the only reputable name-meaning site I know of ... and it says Bronwyn is from Bronwen and says:

"Derived from the Welsh elements bron "breast" and gwen "white, fair, blessed"."

So I wouldn't give it to a boy. XD I'm not even sure I'd give it to a girl, now. Branwen is super similar, though, with a less giggly meaning (Bran = raven).

[penguiny7.livejournal.com]

The -wyn ending is masculine, -wen is feminine. But I agree, the meaning isn't very masculine.

[gipro2003.livejournal.com]

Most of the names on that list I assume are more used on one sex than the other. The only ones I wouldn't assume about are: Ellery, December, and possibly Emery.

[requiem-morrow.livejournal.com]

bronte- girl
bronwyn - the y makes it a boy, but still sounds like a girl name to me
roman - boy
rowan - either, though personally I rowan as feminine and roan as male
arden - girl...but prolly just because of Elizabeth Arden
celestine - girl...it think its the celest part
emery - either
ellery - either
hadley -either, but I've only seen on girls
december - either as a middle name, girl as a first
ainsley - either

[jeweledvixen.livejournal.com]

I would assume Bronwyn and Celestine to be girls. I would assume Roman to be a boy.

Noel - could be either Knoll or No-ell'
Kelly
Robin
Riley
Dakota
Meredith
Devon

[quitmyscene.livejournal.com]

From your current list, I assume:

bronte - Girl
bronwyn - Either
roman - Boy
rowan - Either
arden - Either
celestine - Girl (due to the Celest- part)
emery - Boy
ellery - Girl (due to knowing a female Ellery)
hadley - Girl (actually, none, but I think of 13, on House)
december - Either
ainsley - Girl

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

hadley - Girl (actually, none, but I think of 13, on House)

I thought her name was Remy? Which also works for a unisex name.

[kort-ni.livejournal.com]

Her name is Remy Hadley.

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

Oh. That makes sense then!

[quitmyscene.livejournal.com]

Yeah, just the last name.

Similarly, I always think of Dr. Chase when I hear the name Chase. I do not, however, associate Robert with him.

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

He is so not a Robert. That has never computed for me at all. He is a Chase if there ever was one.

[becomingun.livejournal.com]

I know of a really gorgeous male singer named Hadley Fraser :)

[spaceandclouds.livejournal.com]

From your list...

bronte: Girl
bronwyn: Definitely girl
roman: Definitely boy
rowan: Either
arden: Either, but leaning towards girl
celestine: Girl
emery: Either
ellery: Either, leaning towards girl
hadley: Girl
december: Girl
ainsley: Definitely girl

To me, Morgan and Casey are also truly unisex.

[frost.livejournal.com]

Bronte: Male
Bronwyn: Either, lean towards Female.
Roman: Male
Rowan: Either, lean towards Male.
Arden: Male
Celestine: Female
Emery: Either, lean towards Male.
Ellery: Female
Hadley: Male
December: Female
Ainsley: Female

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Of the names you listed, I would assume Bronte was a girl, but that could just be because I have a (female) cousin called Bronte. I would probably assume Bronwyn, Celestine, December, and Ainsley were girls, and that Roman was a boy.

Names I wouldn't automatically assume either way:

Quinn
Augustine
Germaine
Rowan
Riley
Noel
Robin
Devon
Morgan
Casey
Carey
Angel
Cameron
Dakota
Taylor
Reese
Jordan
Peyton

That's all I can think of right now!

[waitingonsunday.livejournal.com]

Bronwyn, Arden, and Celestine would make me think females, and I would always assume Roman and Hadley were males. The rest I could see on either, although my personal associations and preferences would have me leaning one way or the other.

[pegasus2o5.livejournal.com]

bronte-- definitely leans girl.
bronwyn-- EXTREMELY girl.
roman-- extremely boy.
rowan-- put stars next to this one. It's a rare truly-unisex name and I love it on either.
arden-- leans girl but also works for boy.
celestine-- EXTREMELY girl.
emery-- leans boy.
ellery-- works for either, though I like Rowan better.
hadley-- leans girl for me, since the only one I've known was a girl, but I can see it on a boy.
december-- definitely leans girl for me, but not TOTALLY out of the question for a boy.
ainsley--extremely girl.

I think Sage still works on a boy. Morgan? Jordan? Bailey? Taylor? Skylar? Riley? Marley? Cameron? Harper?

Heck, what about Christmas? It definitely leans girl, but I think it's rare enough to work for either. Chris makes an acceptably masculine nickname if he feels weird about it.

[how-obscure.livejournal.com]

bronte - Either in my opinion, although I know it is much more often used for girls.
bronwyn - girl
roman - boy
rowan - leans toward boy
arden - either
celestine - girl
emery - either? boy?
ellery - boy? either?
hadley - either
december - girl?
ainsley - either

Others:
Morgan
Quinn
Dana
Ever
River
Avery
Delaney
Aubrey
Kendall
Lane
Mackenzie
Riley
Skylar
Shay
Taylor
Whitney

[my-little-voice.livejournal.com]

sage - g
bristol - g
paris - g
bronte - g
bronwyn - g
roman - b
rowan - u
arden - g
celestine - g
emery - u
ellery - u
hadley - u
december - g
ainsley - u

[bloomingtulip.livejournal.com]

bronte- g
bronwyn- g
roman- b
rowan- b
arden- u
celestine- g
emery- u
ellery- u (mainly b/c I've never heard of it)
hadley- g
december- u
ainsley- g

Names that I find truly unisex:

Brett
Casey
Dakota
Jamie
Kelly
Kennedy
Lane
Morgan
Nevada (means snowy)
Quinn
Taylor

I personally also think that Addison and Bailey are unisex, but society seems to disagree with me.

[falls2climb.livejournal.com]

I would think Ainsley to definitely be a female name - I coach children's gymnastics classes and I have three Ainsleys right now. I've always liked Hadley for a girl.

I also teach high school, and the two most common unisex names I find are Taylor (this semester, I have three male Taylors and two females) and Jordan (one male, two females). I had a set of twins last semester named Morgan and Taylor; they told me their parents chose the first names because whether the twins were male or female, it would work.