Unisex Dog Names

It's a hat, it's a race, and it's even been known to be a name. In Britain, it would be pronounced darby.

Baby is rarely seen as a given name — or even nickname — these days, although it did rank in the Top 1000 from 1989 to 2003. These instances can be accounted for in two ways. Firstly, infants whose birth certificates are not filled out on time are given generic placeholders for registration, such as Infant, Unknown, or Baby. But more influential during this decade was the 1987 movie Dirty Dancing, starring Jennifer Grey as Frances "Baby" Houseman. It's the origin of the famed line, "Nobody puts Baby in a corner."

Averill is an ancient name, most properly spelled Averil, that has a Boston Brahmin air – probably due to the image of statesman Averill Harriman. It's of the rare English surname names that originally derived from a female given name: Eoforhild (Everild), meaning "boar battle".

We once dismissed Bird as "too flighty", but with the rise of avian names from Lark to Robin to, well, Birdie, we don't see why Bird can't be a fine choice, especially as a middle name.

Tay is occasionally used on its own, or as a nickname for the now fading Taylor.

An early and still quintessentially androgynous name, now supplanted by thousands of fresher options.

This Puritan virtue name may be unstylish, but it is also sympathetic and appealing in these largely uncomfortable times.

The name of one of the branches of the Great Sioux Nation has a very namelike sound, but is not used as a name by the Lakota people themselves, and could be seen as appropriative.

Epic feels like it could be the boys' version of Saga. Epic poetry tells some of our most celebrated stories - from Beowulf and the Odyssey, to the Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost. Despite being short, Epic is a lot of name, so it might be a choice for an adventurous middle name.

Ambitious geographical name.

Casey-with-a-K never quite reached the heights of the original, but it broke the Top 500 for boys in the late '80s and early '90s.

A unique New Age possibility with a pleasing sound.

A modern alternative to Shelby.

Feels as if it's missing a syllable.

A nonbinary word name that could work perfectly in the middle, especially for a child born under a fire sign.

Coined in the 1960s to define the smallest photographic element of a televised image. It's a portmanteau of "picture" + "cell" or "element".

As a name, a bit too p. c.

An interesting Canadian province and city name that has some literary history as the name of a character in Dickens's Bleak House; could make a distinctive choice for parents with northern roots.

The vowel ending tilts this sharply toward the feminine, and at this point Havana still has some political implications as well.

Because that's what your child is—a gift.