What’s More and More Not In A Name? Gender Identity

 

What do you think these names have in common?

Royal. Charlie. Salem. Skyler. Justice. Oakley.

Well, in the United States, all of these names are considered fitting for girls and boys. They are considered gender¹-neutral.

And modern American parents appear more willing than ever to consider the possibility of gender fluidity in their children.

Linda Murray is the head of BabyCenter.com. She told the AP [Associated Press], “This generation is truly interested in gender-neutral names.”

The Social Security Administration puts out a list of most popular baby names every year based on its registrations². Observers say the gender-neutral names have not made it into the top 10. However, they say such names are heavily represented in the longer list.

Younger parents seem especially likely to choose gender-neutral names for their babies.

Pop culture and honoring family or religious history are important to baby naming. But more and more parents are choosing names that can be used for either sex.

Some names just sound cool

Lori Kinkler, a psychologist in San Antonio, Texas, said she chose the gender-neutral name Riley for her daughter. She said if the 3-year-old does not identify as female later in life, she will not have to change her name. In Kinkler’s words, “I like that she feels she has options and knows she’ll be accepted by us no matter what.”

Pamela Redmond Satran is a writer of The Baby Name Bible and Cool Names for Babies. She also writes about the subject online and is a founder³ of baby name site Nameberry.com.

Satran says possible gender fluidity is not the only reason parents choose unisex names. She says, “A lot of people choose unisex names because they think they’re cool or they’re meaningful to themselves but they raise their kids in a very gender-specific way.”

Kirsten Hammann, 45, lives in the San Francisco Bay area. She and her husband named their daughters Teagan and Sigrid. She considers both names gender neutral.

She said, “Sigrid is technically⁴ a girl’s name but because it’s so uncommon⁵ in the U.S. it reads as gender neutral to most people."

She said she and her husband did not directly discuss gender neutrality. But she said she did think about the difficulties women face in the world.

In her words, “Whether we like it or not, names that skew a little masculine, or less feminine, are perceived as stronger, and I wanted that for my girls.”

River, Lake, Dakota and Blue

Pamela Satran said some gender-neutral names are part of other trends, such as choosing traditionally last names as first names, like Madison. She also noted⁶ gender-neutral names linked to geography and nature are another trend. Examples include River, Lake, Dakota and Blue.

Some countries bar unisex names by law, including Portugal, Denmark and Iceland. In Germany, local registrars⁷ decide if an unusual name would harm a child.

It is hard to say how such laws might affect Harper. It was the 10th most popular name for baby girls in the Social Security Administration’s 2016 list. For boys, it was number 793.

The top female name was Emma, followed by Olivia, Ava, Sophia, Isabella, Mia, Charlotte, Abigail and Emily. For boys, Noah was the top name, with Liam, William, Mason, James, Benjamin, Jacob, Michael, Elijah and Ethan rounding out the top 10.

Top 10 Gender Neutral Names

Nameberry.com examined the 2016 Social Security Administration data and created a top 50 gender-neutral name list. The most popular are Charlie, Finley, Skyler, Justice and Royal.

Rounding out the top 10 were Lennon, Oakley, Armani, Azariah and Landry.

Rebecca Connolly is a 29-year-old mother in the western New York town of Castile. She said she and her guitar-playing husband chose Lennon Wallace for their son, now 2 years old. Both she and her husband are fans of The Beatles’ John Lennon, for his music and his activism.

Connolly said, “As a child I felt bad for all the Taylor, Jordan and Jamies I knew, whose names didn’t identify their sex. By the time I was having kids, 50 percent of the little girls I met were named Riley, Avery, Logan, etc. And I realized all soft-sounding boy names are now considered unisex.”

Connolly also has a daughter, Lucille Beatrice, and is pregnant with a second son. She said their current leading choice for the baby's name is considered masculine. She would not tell what it is. But she said with the rising popularity of boy names for girls, it might be considered unisex by the time he goes to school.

That is fine with her.

“I plan to teach them there is nothing inferior about women, so sharing a name with them is not a big deal,” Connolly said. “Being called a girl is not an insult.”

I’m Caty Weaver⁸.

And I'm Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

gender - n. the state of being male or female?

option - n. the opportunity or ability to choose something or to choose between two or more things?

unisex - adj. designed for or used by both men and women?

cool - adj. very fashionable, stylish⁹, or appealing in a way that is generally approved of especially by young people?

specific - adj. relating to a particular person, situation, etc?

skew - v. to change (something) so that it is not true or accurate?

masculine - adj. of, relating to, or suited to men or boys?

feminine - adj. of, relating to, or suited to women or girls?

perceive - v. something that is currently popular or fashionable? to notice or become aware of (something)?

trend - n. something that is currently popular or fashionable?

geography - n. the natural features (such as rivers, mountains, etc.) of a place?

inferior - adj. of little or less importance or value

1 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

2 registrations   

n.登记( registration的名词复数 )；登记项目；登记（或注册、挂号）人数；（管风琴）音栓配合（法）

参考例句：

• In addition to the check-in procedures, the room clerks are customarily responsible for recording advance registrations. 除了办理住宿手续外，客房登记员按惯例还负责预约登记。 来自辞典例句
• Be the Elekta expert for products registrations in China. 成为在中国注册产品的医科达公司专家。 来自互联网

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

5 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 registrars   

n.主管注册者( registrar的名词复数 )；记录者；登记员；注册主任

参考例句：

• Authorization Code is required when attempting to transfer a domain between registrars. 当域名要转移注册商时需要授权代码。 来自互联网
• Only IATF registrars are authorized to conduct the surveillance audit. 仅仅IATF登记官被授权进行监视审计。 来自互联网

8 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

9 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。