Gender-Neutral Baby Names

For a generation, this name will always be linked to 1990s hit TV series Friends. Whether this is a positive or a negative will depend on your fondness for the show, and character Chandler Bing, but this name deserves consideration beyond these connotations: Chandler is a fresh take on the professional surname names.

Most familiar to American ears as the Russian variation of George. Not recommended for a daughter.

A Native American tribe name which is found in the names of two US states, Dakota was one of the first trendy nineties place names, but is now flagging a little in popularity. The cultural question around using a Native American tribe name as a baby name may be partly to blame.

Honor is a somewhat more straight-laced virtue name than Hope or Grace, placing a high standard on any girl carrying it, but it's a goal worth setting. By choosing Honor for her daughter, Jessica Alba brought it very much into the modern world.

Oakley, with its nature name roots and its Annie Oakley charm, is a hot name for both genders but more than twice as popular for girls. This name made it into the Top 1000 for the first time in 2013, one of only four girl names starting with O to rank that high. A decade letter, it's aiming for the Top 100.

While Larkin takes this name from girlish bird to boyish surname, there are actually more female Larkins these days than male, and it's a name that works as well for either gender.

Lux, one of the light-filled names that include Lucy and Lucian, broke onto the scene as a girls' name but now it's decidedly gender neutral. In fact, at the last count there were slightly more boys named Lux than girls: 140 to 120. But that's pretty close, making this a truly nonbinary name.

Before there was Aspen, Denver was the Colorado city name of choice, and it reentered the US Top 1000 in 2015 after a 14 year absence as a stylish two-syllable boys’ name with its trendy -er ending. Its decade of greatest use was the 1920s, when it reached as high as Number 422.

Channing is a sophisticated surname name whose use is probably linked to actor Channing Tatum and Channing Crowder, former linebacker for the Miami Dolphins.

Perky, pretty nickname name that seems to have been invented by or for Marlo Thomas, who was born Margaret. Hipster mommy blogger Dooce named her newborn daughter Marlo Iris and comedian Rob Corddry named his daughter Marlo Stevenson.

Down-home nickname name once associated with the friendly dragon on kids' TV. As Oliver rises, we may well hear more Ollies.

This unisex name, the seventh most popular surname in Scotland, can make a more unusual Cameron alternative. It is represented on the girls' side by TV news correspondent Campbell Brown, for whom it was a family name, Brown was born Alma Dale Campbell, Alma Dale being her grandmother's name,and Campbell her mother's maiden name.

Aven is used as a surname in various countries across the globe, and occasionally as an Anglicized variant of the Irish girl name, Aoibheann. In the US, Aven only started to see significant use in the 2000s, and over the next two decades, it has slowly risen in popularity.

There are now more boys than girls given the name Joan each year in the US, although the two are distinct names. The masculine version, pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable, is among the top names in Spain.

While Skylar is currently the most popular spelling choice for girls, the Skyler option is more (statistically) unisex. Given to boy and girls in nearly equal numbers each year, it ranks around the middle of the US Top 1000.

Ocean is a nature name that comes right out and states its meaning and association. Full of power and depth, Ocean is one of the fastest-rising baby names for both girls and boys, making the US Top 1000 for both genders in 2021. Oceane, the version that's trendy in France, was used for only 11 baby girls in the US in the same year. Ocean-lovers who want to be less obvious can choose such subtler names that mean ocean as Jennifer or Marissa, but coming right out and using Ocean is a perfectly valid way to go.

Indiana is one of those place-names (think Camden and Trenton) that sounds cooler than the place that inspired it. Its fashionable -ana ending certainly sounds eminently name-like, and Indie/Indy/Indi is one of the hottest nickname names for girls right now.

More authentic and original form of Ryan, but far less common of the two spellings.

Many parents seeking a return to more basic values and a simpler lifestyle are turning to such virtuous girls' names as Grace, Faith, and Hope, but there are a handful that work just as well on boys, including True.

Though used quite often for babies of both sexes, Khari, meaning "kingly," was traditionally a boys' name. Musical couple Fetty Wop and Masika Kalysha, however, named their daughter Khari.