Despite its distinguished pedigree and popularity in Israel, Disney's Little Mermaid cartoonized Ariel in the US, at least in some people's minds. But it was used for a male character in Shakespeare's The Tempest centuries ago.

 More recently, cool short form Ari has come into prominence via the character in Entourage, plus its similarity to short, breezy Biblical names like Levi and Eli. 

 Though Ariel has been on the rise for boys in recent years and flat for girls, the gender divide still leans heavily toward the feminine. But with parents increasingly drawn to uncommon Biblical boy names – especially those with that strong and gentle -iel ending – we think that gap could be set to narrow in the coming years.

Ariel

It may have peaked at #1 for girls in 1991 and 1992 in the US, but Ashley actually has a long history as a male given name, as evidenced by the sensitive Ashley Wilkes in Gone With the Wind. It's always been more popular for boys in England and Wales, where it currently ranks at #414.

Ashley

Annie

Audrey

An English surname name which was originally used as a masculine first name in the 19th century, before becoming more popular for girls from the early 20th century onwards.

Beverly

One of the first generation of cool surname names, now largely used for girls in the US, but still popular for boys in its native Scotland. A prominent association for Brits is former prime minister Tony Blair, who was leader at the time of the Iraq War.

Blair

This word name entered the US Top 1000 for both genders in 2015, though it premiered a little higher for girls. There are still more baby girls named Briar than baby boys -- 594 vs. 361 in 2021 -- but it's rising in popularity for both.

Briar fits the trend for <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/329/nature-baby-names">nature names</a>, and it also offers a fresh option for honoring a Brian.

Briar

Now that the popularity of Brooke is waning, and surname style variant Brooks is on the rise, Brook seems live a newly fresh nature-inspired option.

Brook

Rhythmic route to the nickname Cal. This musical moniker is another great example of a traditionally feminine name that could easily go masculine.

Calypso

As a male name, Cleo was well used during the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries, deriving from the Greek name Cleon or the Biblical Cleopas.

Cleo

Cecil 

Celeste

Claire 

Clover

Constance

Courtney 

Cyrene

Baby girl Danas outnumber baby boys with the name nearly ten to one. But Dana is an attractive, sleek name that can certain work for babies of either gender.

Dana

Delphi

Dian

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.

Esme

Eleanor

Esther

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. 

 It's also a geographical name, belonging to the famous Italian city. J. K. Rowling used the Italian version, Firenze, for a centaur in the Harry Potter series.

Florence

Fawn

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.

Gabi

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

Geneve

Gwendolyn

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.

Other high-profile Harpers, like author (Nelle) Harper Lee and starbabies Harper Burtka-Harris and Harper Beckham, are female, but it makes a handsome choice for either sex (and is in the US Top 1000 for both boys and girls).

Harper

Jolly Holly has always been among the favorite <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/412/christmas-baby-names">names for Christmas babies</a>, 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.

Holly

Hermione 

Ianthe

Iris

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

Jaylin

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 <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names/spain">top names in Spain</a>.

Joan

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.

Joyce

Juno

Corey was always the most popular form of this Irish name, with Cory (as in New Jersey Senator Booker) in second place and Kory riding caboose. Kory et al were in the first wave of <a href="https://nameberry.com/unisex-names">unisex names</a> that began to be used in the late 1960s and 1970s, fading now as fresher names such as Rory or Rowan rise.

Kory

Keren

Laurel puts the natural meanings of all the Laur- names front and center, making it a gentle, botanical option. Laurel relates back to the laurel wreath, signifying success and peace in ancient Greece.
 Although mostly female in recent years, Laurel was originally a unisex name. For boys, it has a slight British flavor – perhaps reminiscent of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy.

Laurel

This Scottish place name and surname was more popular for boys in the US until the mid-1940s; in the UK, the Leslie spelling is predominantly masculine, with Lesley 
widely used as the feminine variant. Now ranking in the mid-400s for girls and not at all for boys in the US, it could be time to bring this smart, subtle nature name back, especially considering the current popularity of -ley names for both sexes. Trivia tidbit: Both President Gerald Ford and comedian Bob Hope were born Leslie, while Gone With The Wind actor Leslie Howard was actually born Laszlo, according to some sources.

Leslie

Lindsey

Lilian

Lucy

Lumine

Morgan, once split evenly between the sexes, is a strong and attractive Welsh favorite, still a common <a href="https://nameberry.com/boys-names">boys’ name</a> in Wales. Morgan is now more often a girls' name in the U.S. – about 2000 girls were given the name in one recent year, vs. 362 boys – though it's one of the most traditional unisex choices. Morgan was actually a Top 200 pick for boys in Victorian Britain!
 Distinguished actor Morgan Freeman is a worthy male namesake.

Morgan

Mallory 

Margot

Mauve

Mercy

Michelle

Nyx is the name of the Greek goddess of the night. It's used for baby boys in small numbers.

Naomi

Oceane 

Odess

Padme 

Perrine 

Primrose

The unusual Q initial gives this name an air of mystery.

Qara

Quinn is an engaging Celtic surname that is still on the rise for girls but beginning to flag for boys. As a female name, Quinn is in the Top 100, used for over 3000 baby girls last year, but toward the bottom of the Top 500 for boys, given to 700 baby boys.
Pop culture was an important influence on Quinn's popularity for both genders. Quinn started leaning decidedly toward the feminine thanks to a female cheerleader character on the television show Glee. For boys, Quinn's popularity was influenced by "The Mighty Quinn," the name of a movie, a band, and a Bob Dylan song. 
 Sharon Stone has a son named Quinn. Other ideas for boyish names like Quinn: Quinton, Quincy, Finn.

Quinn

Quintess

Riley -- one of the most <a href="https://nameberry.com/popular-names/unisex">popular unisex names</a> -- is trendier now for girls though for boys it's a classic, ALWAYS ranking in the US Top 1000. 

In fact, after a decade of softening, Riley has recently taken a turn upward for boys, along with a lot of other gender-neutral names. These days, parents are embracing unisex names even more enthusiastically for their sons than for their daughters.

Riley ranks in the Top 100 for boys throughout the rest of the English-speaking world, though interestingly not in its native Ireland. In the US, Riley is the most popular <a href="https://nameberry.com/list/753/best-irish-girl-names">Irish name for girls</a>.

There are lots of athletes and other notable real-life namesakes for a boy named Riley, as well as fictional ones in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twilight: Eclipse. And Riley can easily be shortened for a boy to Ry or Lee.

Riley

This spirited Gaelic classic, which became popular in Ireland via the illustrious twelfth century king Rory O'Connor, makes a highly energetic choice, now used for either sex. Rory's gender split is still trending boyward; it's one of the coolest <a href="https://nameberry.com/search/boys-names/r">boys' names starting with R</a>. 
 In England and Wales, however, the name is virtually never given to girls. It's seen as thoroughly male (and non-female) as Roger or Richard.
 Rory first came to attention in the US in the person of mid-century pin-up boy Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy). The name entered the popularity list in 1947, peaking at Number 280 in 1959. 
 Young Irish U.S. Open champ Rory Mcllroy makes a worthy namesake. Bill and Melinda Gates chose Rory as the name of their only son.
 Rory is a popular choice all throughout the UK. Skip baffling Gaelic spellings like Ruari and Ruaidhri and stick with the more straightforward Rory.

Rory

Rachel 

Rosanne 

Fits many criteria sought by modern parents: it's short and strong, with intimations of wisdom as well as fragrant herbal properties.  At this point, Sage is given about a third of the time to boys.



Sage

The energetic Russian nickname name Sasha is being used increasingly on its own, though since the prominence of the First Daughter, more than 90% of the American babies named Sasha are girls. Sacha Baron Cohen bears one of the alternate spellings.  


Sasha

An Irish surname-name that's used almost exclusively for girls these days.

Sloane

Solange

Tamar

Tammy

Thaïs

Ulanni

Undine

Vivan

Verona

Fresh and surprising on a boy – and how can you not love the cool classic nickname Will?

Willow

Wendell 

Xois

Yasmine

Yori

Yvette

Zatara

Zaylie 

Arcane 's list "'Girl' names for Boys - Feminine Boy names" of 90 great name ideas: Ariel - Zea!

'Girl' names for Boys - Feminine Boy names

Just a list of traditionally girl names I feel can be used for boys as well. A bunch of these names are more unisex but I feel still apply.