We live in a modern world that challenges gender norms at every turn. From women proposing to their future husbands to short shorts for men, a lot of traditionally masculine or feminine things are crossing the gender boundaries, providing ever-greater mobility and flexibility for both men and women to do whatever they want.
One of the more subtle ways you can observe this social upheaval is in baby names, where more and more baby girls are being given names that are considered traditionally masculine.
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The Rise Of Androgyny And Genderfluidity
The parallel rise of two ideas, androgyny and genderfluidity is responsible for this practice of giving boy names for girls.
The term ‘androgyny’ comes from a combination of two Greek words – andros, meaning man, and gyne, meaning woman. It refers to the characteristic of not being particularly masculine or feminine, and today it’s a growing movement, especially in fashion where a lot of styles and silhouettes that were traditionally accepted for one gender are now being integrated into clothes for both genders.
Meanwhile, genderfluidity refers to the notion that gender expression of any kind, whether masculine or feminine, doesn’t have to be restricted to men or women. For example, a biologically male but genderfluid person might wake up and feel like a woman, then later in the day decide that they’re more on the masculine side. Genderfluidity has been a very big part of the LGBT movement and has been responsible for changes like gender-neutral bathrooms and the popularisation of ‘they’ as a gender-neutral pronoun.
Both androgyny and genderfluidity come into play when a traditionally male name is given to a female child, as this act tries to take away the gendered nature of the masculine name, while also promoting a genderfluid outlook.
Female Celebrities With Androgynous Names
Many masculine names that are used for baby girls are popularised by celebrities who share that name. Here are some of the top female celebs with who’ve been given boy names that can be girl names.
Taylor Swift
One of the most popular stars on the planet, Tay Tay’s uniquely unisex name comes from legendary rock star James Taylor.
Drew Barrymore
Child star and romcom queen Drew Barrymore shares her name with a lot of male stars, including Drew Carey and Justin Drew Bieber. The name is related to the Irish Ó Draoi, which means ‘descendant of the druid.’
Daryl Hannah
Actress Daryl Hannah’s name was once quite masculine and even today is still not quite a common girl’s name.
Blake Lively
Gossip Girl star Blake Lively has a rather androgynous name, leaning towards the masculine. Perhaps inspired by this, she and Ryan Reynolds named their daughter James, an explicitly masculine name that was taken from Ryan Reynolds’ father, James Reynolds.
The Top Boys Names For Girls
Looking for beautiful, androgynous names for your baby boy or girl? Or maybe you’re looking for names for both genders that are cute for a girl? Check out our masculine girl names list for inspiration.
Names That Start With A
Ace, Addison, Alex, Aubrey, Ashton, August, Avery
Names That Start With B
Bailey, Billie, Blaine, Bobbie, Brett
Names That Start With C
Cade, Cameron, Carson, Casey, Chase, Claude, Cory, Curtis
Names That Start With D
Douglas, Dylan
Names That Start With E
Elliot, Evan, Ezra
Names That Start With F
Finn, Frankie
Names That Start With G
Garrett, Glenn, Gray
Names That Start With H
Harlan, Harley, Harper, Hayden, Hudson
Names That Start With I
Ira
Names That Start With J
Jessie, Jordan, Jude, Julian
Names That Start With K
Kendall, Kennedy, Kent, Kyle
Names That Start With L
Lake, Logan, Lou, Lyle
Names That Start With M
Madison, Mason, Maxwell, Morgan
Names That Start With N
Neil, Noah, Noel
Names That Start With O
Oakley, Owen
Names That Start With P
Parker, Paris, Pat, Peyton, Phoenix
Names That Start With Q
Quincy, Quinn
Names That Start With R
Rain, Raleigh, Reagan, Reese, Ricky, Riley, River
Names That Start With S
Sam, Sawyer, Shawn, Shay, Sloan, Spencer, Stevie
Names That Start With T
Tanner, Tatum, Toby, Tony, Tyler
Names That Start With V
Val, Van
Names That Start With W
Wesley, West, Whitney, Wyatt
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