'Girl' names for Boys - Feminine Boy names

Russian form of Eli mainly used today by families with Russian Jewish heritage.

Originally a male name in this single-E spelling, Esme or Esmé was borne by the first Duke of Lennox in Scotland in the 16th century, as well as by several of his male descendants. It became predominantly female by the 20th century.

Florence is historically a unisex name, deriving both from Latin Florentius and Florentia. Although much more commonly feminine in modern times, it appeared in the US Top 1000 for boys until 1914.

For English speakers, Gabi is usually short for Gabrielle. Elsewhere - such as Spain, Latin America and Israel - it can also be a male nickname for Gabriel. For rock musician Gabi Hun, it's short for Gábor.

A unisex name in Israel but in the U.S., it might as well be Sue.

Harper got its start as a celebrity baby name when Paul Simon chose it for his now-grown son. Since then, other famous parents have followed suit: musician Tim Finn and actor Cecilia Peck both have sons called Harper.

Jolly Holly has always been among the favorite names for Christmas babies, evoking the symbolic shrub with dark green leaves and bright red berries. And Holly is the flower for the month of December, so it's also among the perfect names for December babies. Holly is scarcely heard on baby boys, but Robin Tunney and Nicky Marmet used it as the middle name for their son Oscar.

This spelling of popular Jalen ranks in the Top 1000 for both girls and boys.

There are now more boys than girls given the name Joan each year in the US, although the two are distinct names. The masculine version, pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable, is among the top names in Spain.

Yes, the poet Joyce Kilmer ("Trees") was a man, the very last male named Joyce. And even for women, it's been in limbo for several generations.