Hey
all,
Long
time, no blog. Summer started out in a really busy way for me and between being
busy and not feeling like I have much to say about naming, this blog kind of
fell on the backburner. However, recently Jamie has been talking about doing a
bit of an overhaul and it all sounded so exciting I couldn’t help but get
pumped up about names again! For my return post, I thought I’d talk about
something that’s really been on my mind lately. For those of you who know me,
you’ll know I generally do not like boy names on girls, however, I’ve recently
been considering using Austin on a girl. This is a big change for me and is
inspiring this post! So here are my favorite boy names on girls and vice versa!
Boy
names on girls
Name: Austin
SSA ranking: 58 on boys, n/a
on girls
Meaning: great
Why I like it on the wrong gender: I blame my
mother and Blake Shelton. Had I not been a girl, my mom would have named me
Austin. She has said that for a while she planned on Austin for either gender,
but my dad said no. I think I could pull of being a girl Austin and could see
it on my future daughter too! The Blake Shelton song of the same name in which
he uses Austin as a nickname for a girl just cemented my love.
Name: Robin
SSA ranking: n/a
Meaning: diminutive of
Robert (bright fame)/the red bird
Why I like it on the wrong gender: this name is so
strongly associated to the bird to me and I’ve just always found the birds kind
of feminine. I also adore Robin on How I Met Your Mother and think the name
fits her to a t!
Name: Arden
SSA ranking: n/a
Meaning: high place
Why I like it on the wrong gender: the first time I
heard this name was for a beading store in Toronto. I didn’t even know it was
an established name at first, I just knew I liked the sound. The only Arden I’ve
met is a girl and she’s so gorgeous, hilarious and smart that I couldn’t not
love it on a girl.
Girl
names on boys
Name: Aspen
SSA ranking: 504 on girls,
n/a on boys
Meaning: aspen tree
Why I like it on the wrong gender: I really don’t understand
how this is a girl name to be honest. To me, it fits in the boy tree name crew
with Ash and Birch. I think it’s so masculine and strong and love the place
association too.
Name: Sapphire
SSA ranking: n/a
Meaning: sapphire stone
Why I like it on the wrong gender: I’ve always
loved sapphires as stones, but had never heard of it as a name until I read
Bitterblue by Kristen Cashore. A male character in that novel is named Sapphire
“Saf” and I fell in love with both the character and the name.
Name: Fallon
SSA ranking: n/a
Meaning: leader
Why I like it on the wrong gender: this name sounds
so much like phallic!! I really can’t even begin to see it as feminine. I’d
rather see a girl named some of my favorite boy names than a girl named Fallon.
Sadly,
I think that for this girl, genderswap names are a no no, even if I adore a
few. I’m just not the kind of namer meant to call a daughter Austin Claire.
However, if this inspires anyone else out there to use Austin on a girl, you
can site me as your bad influence. What are everyone else’s fav gender swap
names?
-Hayl
The first time I ever heard the name Luca was in a movie. One female character called out "Luca!" to another female character, and I was intrigued right off the bat. It was only later that I realised I had simply misheard the name Erica. But I still can't shake that first impression, and I have a soft spot for Luca on a girl.
ReplyDeleteI also love the name Artemis on a boy, which is because of Artemis Fowl.