Boy Names for Girls

Though Tate is used almost exclusively for boys, we can see Tate as a stronger surname alternative to Kate or a clipped form of Tatum.

This ancient Greek male name, well-used in Britain, also has an herbal quality that may explain its increasing use for girls. While as a name it rhymes with dazzle, the herb has a long a, making the pronunciation BAY-zel.

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.

Huxley is an increasingly popular surname-name for baby boys in the US and now is beginning to be used for girls as well. The -ley suffix, usually denoting a place, is common in names for both genders but more often 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".

Despite its modern sound, Blaise has plenty of history as a given name (for boys), from a Christian martyr to Arthurian legends. Today Blaise feels like the cool and edgy Blaze with a French accent.

This once-trendy name has been fading for both boys and girls. A Top 10 name from 1992 to 2000, it is now at Number 38 and falling. It was the surname of the tenth U.S. president.

If Lulu and Lula and Lou all work for girls, why not Louie? We're predicting a rise for baby girls in the wake of all the Lou names trending.

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

Though Tristan was the male figure in the romantic legend and his name has become trendy for boys, it's used now for girls, too: About 15 percent of the baby Tristans are female. And about three times as many girls are named Tristan as are named Isolde, Tristan's mythical female counterpart. There are also feminizations of Tristan, such as Tristana and Tristine, but these are much more rare than the original.

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

Wylie is one Celtic surname with as much appeal for girls as for boys. Wylie is ripe for spelling variations: Wiley is as appropriate as Wylie but when you spell it Wylei, as Corey Parker did for his son, you're getting into yooneek naming territory.

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.

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.

Aidan is an ancient Irish saint's name with a fire meaning that's mega popular for boys, most often spelled as Aiden. The name is occasionally used for girls, sometimes as Aidyn or Ayden, as well. Aidan was the name of a famous seventh-century Irish saint, and is related to the Irish word for fire.

Androgynous nickname for Veronica, Rhonda or Rona.

Fading boys' name making fresh start for girls, aided by -ley ending.

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.

It’s unlikely Madden will be the next Madison, but we do love hearing this famous football surname on baby girls. Madden is on the rise now, having been given to 108 baby girls in 2022, compared to just 88 in 2021.

A male name occasionally borrowed by the girls, as in Dorian Cramer, a long-running female character on the soap One Life to Live and famous midcentury model Dorian Leigh.