Boy Names for Girls

Literary hero Holden Caulfield of J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye is now inspiring the names of baby girls. His sister Phoebe’s name would be the more conventional pick, but if girls are being called Hayden and Hudson, Holden is certainly fair game as well.

A Top 100 name among boys, but a rare option for a girl. The French female form is Axelle (emphasis on the "elle").

A much more dynamic nickname than Nicky for any of the Nic-names. Part of a growing trend of boyish nicknames for girls - alongside Stevie and Lou - Nico has cheerful, snappy sounds, and a fresh, sassy image.

Yes, another Irish surname, turned boys' name, turned unisex name. But we think this one has a bit more going for it than Logan or Mason, given its similarity in sound to very traditional feminine names Gillian and Lillian.

This tailored Welsh surname is an attractive option for girls, fitting in with other single-syllable prepster girl names such as Sloane and Quinn.

Yes, Timothy has been given to baby girls before — although how many were the result of a clerical error, we can’t be sure.

A modern unisex update for Rebecca.

The Greek mythological hunter who was turned into a constellation is much more often used for boys.

Theo has a girls' name is used for only a handful of babies today. As a short form of Theodora, Theo is used much less frequently than Thea or even Teddy. One notable appearance was as the younger daughter in Sofia Coppola's film On the Rocks in 2020.

Sonny is one of the term of endearment names on the rise, and it feels like a fresh option for girls as an alternative spelling of bright nature name Sunny or a cute gender-bending nickname name.

Yes, we tend to think of Claude as a male name and Claudia and Claudette as the female, but this ancient clan name is used in France for girls as well as boys, and could make a distinctively chic boy name for girls here too. You may be surprised to know that Claude was in fairly regular use for American girls in the 1880's and nineties, reaching as high as 553 in 1880.

Mason is a supertrendy name for boys that's starting to cross over -- Kelsey Grammer used it for his daughter. Creative speller's delight.

One of the first reality show-inspired names (he was a Texas hunk on an early season of "Survivor"); hugely trendy for boys but just starting for girls.

Now a mostly-male name, in its earliest incarnation Douglas was used equally for girls and boys and could certainly make a comeback as one of the new boy names for girls".

Davis may seem an unlikely choice for a girl, but over 50 baby girls received the name in the US last year, perhaps in honor of an ancestral David. Viola Davis is a notable female namesake.

Montgomery is an increasingly popular name for boys, especially in the UK, and now it's being used for girls as well in the US, where more than 50 baby girls were named Montgomery last year.

Though it's used far more often for boys, Lyle has a lot in common with today's trending girl names that share the double L sound: Lila, Layla, and Lola.

As a boy's name, Shane is related more directly to the 50s movie cowboy and the Irish name Sean; for a girl, it might be a variation on Shannon, Shana, or Shawn. Parenthood star Erika Christensen named her daughter Shane. Another spin, used by Eddie Murphy, is Shayne.

The trendy surname name Ryker, in the US Top 200 for boys, is now used in increasing numbers for girls.

Unisex name around for several decades for boys and now ripe for girls.