"Today’s parents have moved beyond the dichotomy of boy and girl names. They want their children to grow up and be themselves, free from stereotypes. Boys can wear nail polish, girls can ride skateboards. It’s all good."For background, read Parents Allow Babies to Choose Gender From Birth
-- Linda Murray, Editor in Chief, BabyCenter (which declared 2015 “the year of the gender-neutral baby”)
"Think beyond the conventional choices. Any name not traditionally used for people (names of trees places, words and those that are invented) by definition transcend gender and can work equally well for girls or boys. There’s no reason that Arrow can’t be a girl’s name and Alaska a boy’s. . . . Feminism is cool again, gay marriage is the law of the land and transgender celebrities have come into the mainstream."
-- Pamela Redmond Satran, baby-name expert
-- From "Is Hayden a Boy or Girl? Both. ‘Post-Gender’ Baby Names Are on the Rise." by Alex Williams, New York Times 8/18/16
. . . At a time when Banana Republic has done away with pink and blue distinctions in a children’s line, some high schools have stopped using graduation gowns with different colors for boys and girls, and unisex is de rigueur in fashion, gender-blurring baby names are on the rise among American parents.
The numbers seem to bear this out. Researchers at Nameberry analyzed the baby name registry from the Social Security Administration and found that the number of babies given unisex names like Harper, Tatum and Quinn had risen 60 percent in the last decade, to 67,831 babies in 2015.
The most popular unisex names in 2015, the researchers found, were Hayden (about 39 percent girls, 61 percent boys) Charlie (about 48 percent girls, 52 percent boys), Emerson (about 60 percent girls, 40 percent boys), Rowan (about 35 percent girls, 65 percent boys), and Finley (about 60 percent girls, 40 percent boys). Rounding out the post-gender Top 10 were River, Dakota, Skyler, Phoenix and Tatum.
. . . in an era marked by Caitlyn Jenner’s endlessly publicized transition from Bruce, as well as gender-bending shows like Amazon’s “Transparent,” the unisex baby name may also prove to be in its infancy.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Gender-Neutral Baby Names Are In For 2016 . . ." by Maddy Foley 2/2/16
Nameberry, one of the top baby name destinations on the Internet for expecting parents, recently compiled a list of their top 50 baby names for 2016. . . . one of the top Nameberry observations was the surge in gender-neutral monikers.
. . . here are some of my personal favorites from Nameberry's ranking. Good for boys, good for girls, good for choose-whatever-word-you-like-because-gender-is-a-construct: Riley, Avery, Rowan, Finley, Peyton, Jude, Sage, Augustine, Arlo, Charlie.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "25 Super-Cool Unisex Baby Names" by Nicole Fabian-Weber, Cosmopolitan 4/22/16
When it comes to naming your kid these days, there really aren't any hard and fast rules — especially in regard to gender norms. The hottest names are actually being used for girls and boys. (Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, who both have popular unisex names, are obviously the coolest parents for choosing to name their baby girl James.)
To read the entire article above, and see all 25 "Super-Cool" names, CLICK HERE.
