Character names that are Androgynous

With its sharp, succinct sounds and cool, laidback style, Eli is a popular choice among parents today. Compact and punchy, it is a Biblical name with plenty of charm.

From the saintly name Eligius, Eloi is popular in Catalonia but rarely used by English speakers. There's potential for confusion with Eli - and with the Aramaic word eloi, said to mean "my God", which appears in the bible.

Even is a popular boys' name in Norway, derived from the Old Norse Eivindr. Another popular variation is Eivind, which is pronounced like Ivan.

Ezra is a biblical favorite for boys that's been making inroads into the girls' Top 1000 recently and continues to rise.

Inventive name for the child of a writer.

Place name and surname that sounds a tad snooty.

Of all the botanicals, Fern has been one of the slowest to move back from the front parlor into the nursery, despite the appealing girl character in the children's classic Charlotte's Web. Fern was most popular from the turn of the last century through the 1940s, reaching a high of #152 in 1916. We can certainly see her rejoining the long list of popular greenery names.

Fortune is a middle name choice designed to generate good luck and prosperity.

A forward-looking word name.

Though Genesis is a Top 100 girls' name in the US, it's by all rights a unisex choice.

Like Silver, Golden is a shimmering metallic color name, almost too dazzling for an ordinary girl.

This attractive Scottish surname choice, has a certain amount of glamour thanks to feisty British-born red-haired forties Academy Award winner Greer Garson, who was born Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson--Greer was her Irish mother's maiden name). Greer was chosen much more recently by Kelsey Grammer for his daughter and by Brooke Shields in the Grier form. As a surname, it's associated with feminist writer/activist Germaine Greer.

Grey is the more common spelling in Britain and Australia. This color name has a softness and ambiguity which makes it equally lovely for a boy or a girl.

Toni Morrison, a master of character naming, coined this one for the best friend of hero Milkman Dead in Song of Solomon. Definitely a cool choice, with a twang.