A boy named Sue?

[shortlived.livejournal.com]

So I'm reading a book right now called "A Handful of Dust". The author? Well, his name is Evelyn Waugh -- a guy named Evelyn is pretty hard for me to swallow, but my Googling leads me to believe he didn't particularly care for it either.

One of the big trends in recent years as been to give little girls distinctly male names. Some work, others don't.

1) What are some female names that would work on the opposite sex?
2) What are names that were originally meant for males that have since become too girly to be used?

Not pregnant, TTC, or even considering either for at least another ten years. I'm just curious about how names play a part in how you perceive someone.

Comments

[obladi-oblada05.livejournal.com]

2) Lindsey (although McDonald from Angel has prevented it from being too fluffy in my mind), Kimberly, Evelyn, Ainsley...there are others, but I can't think of them.

[obladi-oblada05.livejournal.com]

Madison

[cathkitten.livejournal.com]

When Evelyn, Vivien, Ashley, Lauren, and Lillian first came into being they were boy's names. They were used exclusively for boys. They weren't girl names at all until parents started using them much as we do with boy's names today. One day it might be just as hard to swallow to look at a little boy named Jackson or Taylor or Jordan. Perhaps we will think of them as girls' names in years to come.

[thursdayx.livejournal.com]

1. hmm I can't really think of any..

2. Ashley. It's my name.. when I was younger I was obsessed with Ashley Parker Angel, & I always thought it was so weird that his name was Ashley & he was a boy. Then I found out that Ashley was originally a boys name.

[straight-outta.livejournal.com]

hey! that book is next on my "to-read" list. how is it so far?

[shortlived.livejournal.com]

Were they? I admit to not knowing very much about the history of the some of the aforementioned names but had drawn the wrong conclusion based on familial history. However, I did know about Vivien, Ashley, and Lauren but not Evelyn and Lillian, so I guess I learned something new.

[heyitsrebecca.livejournal.com]

I've read the Crystal & Emma were originally male names.. I'm not 100% sure though.
I love Alexis and Haley for boys.. but they've become far too feminine for me to ever seriously consider for a first name. =/
That's why I hate 'unisex' names.. it really ruins a lot of perfectly decent boy names. =/

[shortlived.livejournal.com]

I just started reading it earlier this morning but stopped toward the beginning of the second chapter. Since I've never read any of his other work, I can't make any comparisons, but I was interested in the twenty pages I did manage to read before my ADD got the better of me.

However, I must admit to being curious as to why you're reading it - for your own leisure or for school? I found the Times All-Time 100 Novels (http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/) list and have been picking out books off of it to check out when I go to the library.

[miss-tee.livejournal.com]

2. Meredith
It's not that it's "girly" but it still seems odd on a guy for me.

[ciara-belle.livejournal.com]

I love Evelyn Waugh! Have you read Brideshead Revisited?

1. I think names like Madison and Mackenzie sound better as boys names, or, preferably, as last names.
2. Well, Ashley, Evelyn, etc. You could still get away with having a man named Ashley in Gone With the Wind, but I can't see that working as well today. Ashley is pretty firmly a girl's name now.

[x-lostinyou.livejournal.com]

A lot of the names already said are ones I wouldn't use on a boy in today's day and age. Another name that I prefer on boys but is now too feminine in my mind is Morgan. Yes, I know there are still boys named it, but it's much more common for girls and I just wouldn't do it. Another similar situation would be Courtney.

[tokossel.livejournal.com]

courtney.

[theravenflower.livejournal.com]

1) Can't think of any.
2) Shirley and Stacey

[straight-outta.livejournal.com]

i honestly don't remember how it made it's way on my list! if i had to guess i'd say that i was looking up another book on amazon & it was recommended as "if you like this you might like this..."

[bopeepsheep.livejournal.com]

You want crazy? Evelyn Waugh was married to a girl with a very 'modern' first name. Her name was Evelyn. (He was Eve-lin, she was Ev-lin. They divorced, and he married again.)

However, Vivian is a boy's name (also spelled Vyvyan), Vivien(ne) is the girl's version. Hilary is a boy's name, the two-l variant (very uncommon in the UK, where Hilary is now used for both sexes) is the girl's name. Tracy and Stacy are male; Tracey and Stacey are female. Leslie is male, Lesley is female.

[maine-girl.livejournal.com]

Meredith and Lesley. I love them on guys but they are mainly used for girls now.

[p-inkjeans.livejournal.com]

1. Morgan.
2. Jordan. Taylor.

And I don't know if Robin fits into the first one or the second.

[p-inkjeans.livejournal.com]

OOoohhh!!! Also, Ashley and Kelly. I HATE them on girls, but they're SO awesome for boys.

[sensualquills.livejournal.com]

Andrea
Bailey
Carey
Dorian
Dana
Francis
Hailey
Harper
Harley
Jamie
Leslie
Loren (Lauren)
Marley
Maddison
Olivier
Pat
Renee
Sam
Stacey
Taylor

[secret-x-stars.livejournal.com]

Oh man, this is totally my post.

1) What are some female names that would work on the opposite sex?

I don't know if you mean names that have always been feminine that I think would be good on boys, or names that are now female that I think are still good for boys... for the former, I always thought that Audrey would be pretty interesting on a boy. For the latter:

Shannon
Shelby
Joscelin
Lindsay
Meredith
Morgan
Nikita
Sascha
Alexis
Ariel

And for the most part, I only ever like those names on boys (except Meredith and Morgan).

I am on the fence about using Evelyn and Vivian on boys. I really like them, but I don't think I'd realistically use them (while I would realistically consider the other list).

2) What are names that were originally meant for males that have since become too girly to be used?

Ashley, Tracy, and Courtney. I simply don't like Tracy and Courtney as names anyway, but I like them better on girls. And I am a late 80s baby, practically everyone in my classes has ever been named Ashley... and they were all girls. I can't think of Ashley sounding good on a boy.

[secret-x-stars.livejournal.com]

Oh, I also love Loren, although Loren and Rene I consider different names than Lauren and Renee.

And Harper is seriously just a great name. :D

[cathkitten.livejournal.com]

I just re-read Gone With the Wind and I was astounded to see that Ashley's real name is George!

[ellycopter.livejournal.com]

i love evelyn waugh! 'the loved one' is an awesome read. but i thought it was his pen name?

[a-groovy-gypsy.livejournal.com]

My husband-to-be's name is Stacey. (yes, we are Tracy and Stacey)

He didn't like his name until he got into high school.

Took me about that long to like my name too.

[shortlived.livejournal.com]

I hadn't remembered Stacey when I should have since I grew up with one. He always went by Ace over his full name until we got into high school.

[shortlived.livejournal.com]

It isn't a pen name, but his first name was the same as his father's according to Wikipedia.

[obladi-oblada05.livejournal.com]

I knew about Evelyn, but I didn't know Lillian (since the records as far back as I could find them and all research I did said it was a female name). Interesting.

And Jackson better not be taken by the girls!

[monalyssasmile.livejournal.com]

I like the name Ashley for a boy