A unisex name, also known as an epicene name, is a given name that is often given to either a boy or a girl. Some countries, however, require that a given name be gender-specific (see German name) or have enough names with male and female versions (in Spanish, for example, "Fernando" and "Fernanda"; see Spanish naming customs). This list does not cover names in cultures where the names are often not gender specific, which is common in many cultures. For example, some African peoples have unisex names, and so do cultures which use names which are derived from properties, such as the Amish or many cultures in India.
Unisex names are often nicknames that are also used as given names, such as Alex, Sam and Chris. Alex can be considered a shortening of Alexander (a masculine name) or of Alexandra/Alexa (a feminine name); Chris can be considered a shortening of Christopher (a masculine name), or of Christina or Christine (feminine names) or of Christian (a unisex name). Sam could stand for Samuel or also Samantha.
Some names that were once predominantly used as masculine given names are now primarily feminine given names in the United States, including Alexis, Ashley, Beverly, Evelyn, Hilary, Jocelyn, Kelly, Meredith, Shirley, Shannon, Sharon, and Vivian. Sometimes the modern adoption of a predominantly masculine given name follows the use by an actress (EG Alexis Smith, Drew Barrymore) or fictional character (EG Tracy, Blake Schneider, Meredith Grey).
Some unisex names are homophones, pronounced the same for both genders but spelled differently. One common example of this is a final "y" for the masculine form and an "i" or "ie" for the feminine. (EG Terry and Teri, Jerry and Jeri, Tony and Toni, Billy and Billie, Jody and Jodie). Others have less regular spelling variations (Francis and Frances, Robin and Robyn, Sidney and Sydney, etc.). In many cases, the spelling of what used to be a predominantly masculine name was altered to create a feminine variation. If the feminine variation becomes sufficiently popular, the use of the masculine variation may dwindle, and ultimately the name may be deemed feminine under any spelling.
Some names vary their gender from country to country or language to language. For example, Anne, which is feminine in English, is normally masculine in some Dutch provinces, but normally feminine in the rest of the country; or Jean, which is normally feminine in English and Scottish, is masculine in French. Laurence, which is normally masculine in English and Scottish, is feminine in French (the masculine form being Laurent).
Different parents may adopt the same unusual name for children of opposite sex.
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For 2009, there were 64 names that were both in the Top 1000 lists for boys and girls. Rory was ranked as the most gender neutral name.[1]
Common Russian boys' names, such as Nikita and Misha (short for Mikhail), are assumed to be feminine in English, due to the 'a' termination.
Also, nicknames (shortened versions of names) can be gender-ambiguous: Sasha (short from both Alexandr and Alexandra), Zhenya (Yevgeniy or Yevgeniya).
Common Italian boys' names, such as Andrea, Nicola or Luca, are assumed to be feminine in English, due to the 'a' termination. This also happens to several masculine names ending with 'e', like Simone, Gabriele, Michele or Daniele.
Many Indian names become unisex when written with Latin characters because of the limitations of transliteration. The spellings Chandra and Krishna, for example, are transliterations of both the masculine and feminine versions of those names. In Indian languages, the final a's of these names are different letters with different pronunciations, so there is no ambiguity. However, when they are seen (and usually, spoken) by someone unfamiliar with Indian languages, they become gender ambiguous. Other Indian names, such as Ananda, are exclusively or nearly exclusively masculine in India, but because of their a ending, are assumed to be feminine in Anglophone societies. Many unisex names in India are obvious and are never ridiculed. For instance Nehal, Sonal, Snehal, Niral, Pranjal and Anmol are used commonly to name baby boys or girls in western states of India such as Gujarat. Similarly names like Sujal, Viral, Harshal, Deepal, Bobby, Mrinal, Jyoti, Shakti, Kiran, Lucky, Ashwini, Shashi, Malhar, Mickey, Umang, Shubham and Anupam are also very common gender neutral names or unisex names in India. Most Punjabi Sikh first names such as "Sandeep, Gurdeep, Kuldeep, Hardeep, Mandeep", "Surjeet, Gurjeet, Kuljeet, Harjeet, Manjeet", "Harpreet, Gurpreet, Jaspreet, Kulpreet, Manpreet", "Prabhjot, Harjot, Gurjot, Jasjot" and "Sukhjinder, Bhupinder, Jasbinder, Parminder, Kulvinder, Harjinder" are unisex names and equally commonly given to either gender.[2]
In Spain unisex names are rare. In Valencia and Catalonia though, the name Pau (peace in Catalan) is used both for boys and girls from the mid-70's.
There are many Turkish names which are unisex. These names are almost always from the Turkish language, and are not Arabic names or derived from Arabic (Kamuran being an exception). These names may either be modern names or derived from Turkic mythology. Among the common examples include; Aytaç, Deniz, Derya, Evren, Evrim, Özgür, Turhan, and Yücel. And unlike English unisex names, most Turkish unisex names are traditionally used for both genders. However some unisex names are used more for one gender (for example, Derya is used more for girls whereas Özgür is used more for boys).
Names that end with an i are considered unisex in Brazil. They tend to be Native Brazillian Indian names in origin, such as Araci, Jaci, Darci, Ubirani, but names from other cultures are now being absorbed, such as Remy, Wendy, and Eddy.
Names that end with ir and mar tend to be unisex also, such as Nadir, Valdecir, Dagmar and Rosimar - though in these cases there are some exceptions.
Unisex names can be the source of humor, such as Julia Sweeney's gender-ambiguous character "Pat" on Saturday Night Live. A running joke on the TV show Scrubs is that almost every woman J.D. sleeps with has a unisex name: Jordan, Alex, Danni, Elliot, Jamie, etc. Similarly, the sex of the baby Jamie in Malcolm in the Middle was purposely kept ambiguous when first introduced at the end of the show's fourth season leading to speculation that it would remain unknown. However, the character's sex was revealed at the end of the first episode of season five.
In mystery fiction, unisex names have been used to tease readers into trying to solve the mystery of a character's gender. The novels of Sarah Caudwell feature a narrator named Hilary Tamar, a law professor who is never identified as either male or female.
The names listed here are formal names (IE full legal given names as opposed to social nicknames) which are spelled the same for both sexes. They are also generally considered equally appropriate for both boys and girls even if slightly more common for one sex in a given generation. In no particular order, they are :
A case could be made to include Nikita here, although Nikita Khrushchev is by far the best known male example.