Another -son name

[speakunique.livejournal.com]

I know these names have been discussed here many times but not sure about this name specifically. A girl I grew up with just had a baby girl named Emerson. I actually like the name but wouldn't use it myself. I am speculating here but because they didn't know the sex of the baby was beforehand, I feel as though they chose this name in advance so they could name the baby this either way.

Comments

[brittmarie.livejournal.com]

I love Emerson, it's such a pretty name!

[speakunique.livejournal.com]

It is!

[behindgrey-eyes.livejournal.com]

Its quite a nice name but I think I'd definitely say its a boys name. To me anyway. Also I find the notion of picking just one name [for either gender] even before you know or before the baby is born to be really weird. Most people I know pick out a few names they like and decide after the baby is born. I only know one person who picked her sons name a couple of weeks before he was born. I duno, its probably me who is being weird XD

[speakunique.livejournal.com]

I 100% agree with you. We didn't know what we were having either and had a few names for each sex that we told no one. Once we met our daughter right away we said her name out of the handful we had on our final list. Again, I am only speculating about the name being decided before to be for either sex but because it does feel more masculine to me, and the type of person she is, leads me to believe this is how things went down.

[autopsycorpses.livejournal.com]

My husband and I picked one boys name and one girl's name and put both names in color coded envelopes that we gave to my mother to open when they baby was born. We chose not to find out the sex of our baby until birth.

[behindgrey-eyes.livejournal.com]

That actually sounds like fun :D

[autopsycorpses.livejournal.com]

We thought so but my mom was SO mad that we wouldn't tell her the names we picked before hand.

[daydream11.livejournal.com]

In theory I think I would try to choose only one name, but I'd have a handful at the ready and let the choice ~come to me~ lol. I might want an Ariadne, but she might be an Andromeda or Morgana, you know?

[behindgrey-eyes.livejournal.com]

Yeah I guess having one name is probably good in a way but apparently I was very close to being Clare and then my parents saw me and picked Louisa RANDOMLY XD

ETA - I love Ariadne :D

[autopsycorpses.livejournal.com]

*whispers* your fandom is showing! *wink*

[daydream11.livejournal.com]

...

which one? ;)

[brittmarie.livejournal.com]

My cousin picked out the names for her girls before they new what they would be. They were twins, and with the way they were positioned, it was hard to say for sure what they were. My cousin is the monogram queen, so she chose names that were gender neutral: Averey and Aubrey. Before the girls came along, I always thought of them as boy names because I have an Uncle Avery and an Uncle Aubrey. Somehow, though, they fit.. Maybe because I just got used to it.

[speakunique.livejournal.com]

I think if you know the sex or have one or two names for each, that's cool. However, one name for whatever it turns out to be, just wrong.

[so-there.livejournal.com]

I just don't like the last-name-as-first-name trend. but anything ending in -son on a girl just seems wrong.

[brit.livejournal.com]

I'm curious, why is anything ending in -son wrong for a girl?

[laminy.livejournal.com]

Probably because it literally means "son of." Like Emerson means Son of Emery. Lawson is Son of Lawrence. Wilson means Son of Wilson, etc, etc.

With the exception of Alison, which is a diminutive of Alice.

(not who you asked, but I figured I could chime in.)

[hermione-vader.livejournal.com]

But Allison does mean "son of Alice". At least that's one meaning.

[so-there.livejournal.com]

yeah, pretty much what laminy said. because she's not a son, and she's not the son of someone with the name it's saying she's the son of. and even at that, -son names were usually last names. like Eric the Red, and his son, Leif Ericson.

[daydream11.livejournal.com]

Me neither, I'm not fond of it at all. =\

[redfield79.livejournal.com]

What?! You don't likw Smith Jared? But.its sooooo trendy :p

[autopsycorpses.livejournal.com]

What's wrong with that? My cousin has two daughters, Parker and Hayden. Both names were chosen because they were unisex and could be used regardless of the sex of their child.

[box-of-rocks.livejournal.com]

It's interesting you describe those names as unisex, because I think of Parker and Hayden as boy names, completely. Granted, you can obviously name your kid anything you want (I went to school with a female Michael) but if you're going to pick a name that's usually not unisex, it seems weird to call it unisex? Like, call your girl David if you want, but it's odd to say you specifically picked David since it's unisex since generally, it's not.

[daydream11.livejournal.com]

I agree, particularly re: Hayden. Granted, I think all of the -ayden names are boy names.

[autopsycorpses.livejournal.com]

Tell that to Parker Posey and Hayden Panettiere.... among many others. Just because you think a name is masuline only doesn't mean it is. They're both on unisex names lists all over the internet.

[lil-cherub.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry, its awful. Emerson screams boy to me and I just can not see it as a girl. Why? Ralph Waldo Emerson. I think of his poems and essays. And Emerson Hospital. And Emerson College. And just about every college has an Emerson Building. He was kinda a big deal.

This name just sound too masculine. In 20 years she will be applying for a job, having this name on her resume and then she will have to explain why she sounds like a girl on the phone interview. I suggest she say clear of Boston since I'm sure I'm not the only one with this word association.

[daydream11.livejournal.com]

Boston and the arts set! I immediately got a clear picture of Emerson, and it was those weird musical theatre kids over there.

[kitchen-poet.livejournal.com]

" I immediately got a clear picture of Emerson, and it was those weird musical theatre kids over there." YEP.

[autopsycorpses.livejournal.com]

Wow. I live in Boston. And I guess I am one of those "weird musical theatre kids" which is why I find this horribly offensive. *puts on big girl panties* Ok, I'm mostly over it. Or not.

[daydream11.livejournal.com]

It wasn't meant to be offensive; I'm sorry, luv!

[autopsycorpses.livejournal.com]

It's ok. :-) I saw it and I was like :-O oh no she didn't... but really, I'm okay. Us weird musical theatre types know we're weird and we like it that way! ;-)

[daydream11.livejournal.com]

Emerson College, that's my first thought.

[http://users.livejournal.com/___heyvanity/]

DH and I plan on using Emerson as a boy name... middle name to Louis but DH is throwing around William too.

Love it for a boy but hate it for a girl.

[kitchen-poet.livejournal.com]

Blah. I may be the minority here, but I hate Emerson. Well, to clarify, I hate Emerson on a girl. It feels like a mash up of two uber trendy trends, masculine names for girls and --son surnames, and I can't help hear it as basically being Emily, but with parents trying to hipster and not choose something as popular as Emily. It doesn't help that there has been an Emerson-explosion in my neighborhood, and all five little Emersons (and three Emerys!) have blah/trendy middle names as well. Emerson Grace, Emerson Mae, Emerson Rose, Emery Grace, Emery Rae, etc.


It is a little better as a boy's name, but I still prefer Elliott, or even Emmett, over Emerson.

[speakunique.livejournal.com]

The weird thing is that they are soooooo not hipsters so I was really surprised. I thought they would have been the type to follow the old fashioned name trend and use Amelia or Grace or whatever.

[jeweledvixen.livejournal.com]

Emerson for a girl is fairly popular recently. I hate it. It's a surname and if you have to use it as a first name, it should be for a boy.

[designingdreams.livejournal.com]

Emerson was my TOP choice for dd#1 during pregnancy. I'm so thankful now that my husband hated it.

Last year, I went to see the movie, "What to Expect When you're Expecting", and at the end, one of the couples named their daughter Emerson. I was so relieved at that point that we hadn't. And yes, it's climbing in popularity quite quickly.