Unisex Names for Boys

The heroic movie figure Indiana Jones was often called Indy, as in the equally testosterone-laden Indy 500 car race. It could also be short for Indigo or Indio, or just use it as is.

This is one of the ninety-nine attributes of Allah, deemed by Muhammad to be a recommended name for a male child. In this country, it's been primarily associated with boxing immortal Muhammad Ali, known as "the greatest." But Ali is also one of the most popular unisex names for both boys and girls.

More universal than Elvis...and more conventionally attractive, too. Cindy Crawford used it for her son, though it's on the rise mainly for girls. The last time Presley ranked in the Top 1000 for boys was 1903, 120 years ago. Today, it's used for girls 14 times as often as for boys, mainly because of the -ley ending.

This first name was once a surname derived from Old English. Used quietly a century ago, the current fashion for two-syllable boy names ending in n makes this one a new hit.

Though it's used for boys, most non-French people would hear it as a girls’ name. Most would be surprised to learn that Rene has always charted in the US Top 1000 for boys.

Unseen in the USA since 1901, Boston rocketed back into the Top 1000 in 2004 and, like other place-names such as Brooklyn, London and Paris, is now a reliable presence on the list.

Though Genesis is a Top 100 girls' name in the US, it's by all rights a unisex choice.

A classic virtue name for girls stretching back to the Pilgrim times, in more recent years, Honor has become one of the unisex baby names with a near-even gender split. Rarely used on boys before the 2010s, it has nearly doubled in use over the last decade.

More popular than the Jalen spelling. Like other names with many variants, when you count up all the alternatives, the name is much more popular than it first appears.

Sekani was the fastest-rising boy name of 2019, inspired by the character Sekani Carter in the 2018 movie The Hate U Give.

Attractive North Carolina place-name and surname of explorer Sir Walter Raleigh. Distinctive, classy-but-approachable choice for either sex.

Updates Ellis -- but also has a lot of feminine potential thanks to Allison/Ellie similarity.

Alaska's Denali National Park is the home of the highest mountain in the US, officially renamed Denali in 2014, endowing the name with a lofty feel. There were 20 boys and 55 girls given the name in 2014.

Sounds exactly like Ray—but with an on-trend royal vibe. The central protagonist in the newest Star Wars trilogy is a woman named Rey.

Loyal is one of the few virtue names suitable for boys, an honorable and principled Boy Scout-esque appellation with a surprisingly long and distinguished history.

Relaxed western place-name that still has some masculine punch, but be warned: this whole posse of similarly trendy names, like Sierra and Dakota, will soon ride toward the sunset.

Dior was among the fastest-rising names for both girls and boys in the US in the early 2020s, but was the fastest-falling name for boys in the 2023 statistics.

Once an obscure, surname-inspired option, Payton (and Peyton) hiked up the charts back in the 90s, likely inspired by the football star Peyton Manning.

Oakland is a place name associated mainly with the city near San Francisco, pretty obviously meaning "oak land". Theoretically unisex but used mainly for boys, Oakland is one of a trending group of oak-related names, led by Oakley for both genders, with Oakland and Oaklen trending for boys while baby girls are more often given spellings Oaklynn and Oaklyn.

Not quite a nature name and not quite a surname — whatever Laken is or isn't, we know it's definitely a name to watch.