Truly Unisex Names

Seneca's distinguished heritage as the name of the ancient Roman philosopher-playwright who tutored Nero, and of an Iroquois tribe makes this an interesting choice for either sex.

Seneca was both a Roman philosopher-statesman and is a Native American Iroquois tribe. Occasionally used for both girls and boys, Seneca is now a Hunger Games character.

The Sydney spelling most popular for girls: it's in the Top 50 on the female side. Cool for a girl, still nerdy for a guy.

Sydney was a hot girls' name in the 1990s, but she's arguably still cool. One of the original old man names adopted for baby girls, Sydney's popularity may be down but she's not out.

Deriving from an English locational surname meaning "white island", Whitney was in rare but regular use for boys in the US until the early 1960s, when actress Whitney Blake popularized it for girls. It received a further big boost on the girls' side in the 1980s, thanks to singer Whitney Houston. Now falling rapidly down the rankings, it could be time to reclaim this one for the boys, if only as a neat way to cool-guy nickname Whit.

Yesterday's sensation that rose with the popularity of Whitney Houston. Whitney may have lost some of its style value, but it still sounds like one of the quintessential English names for girls. Today, you might want to shorten it to cool nickname Whit.

Zorion may seem like a funky variation of Orion or Zorro to most English-speakers, but it is a genuine Basque name meaning happiness. The feminine version of this lovely name is Zorione.