Unisex Names
- Jaylin
Origin:
Spelling variation of JalenDescription:
This spelling of popular Jalen ranks in the Top 1000 for both girls and boys.
- Jessie
Origin:
Anglicized form of Teasagh or diminutive of JessicaMeaning:
"wealthy"Description:
Jessie has never been used as much as Jennie/Jenny, partly because it's a boys’ name as well (spelled Jesse), but it does have a friendly and unpretentious pioneer feel. In Scotland, it's found as an Anglicized form of Teasagh, itself a form of Jean, and is used as a full name. And in the rest of the world, Jessie may be short for Jessica or used on its own.
- Jessie
Origin:
Variation of JesseDescription:
The -ie version is usually for girls, with the simple e ending—pronounced the same as Jessie—for boys, though the spellings sometimes cross gender lines.
- Jordan
Origin:
English from HebrewMeaning:
"flowing down"Description:
Originally used for children baptized in holy water from the river Jordan, it became one of the leading androgynous names of the nineties. As the balance tips toward the boys' side, it's slipping on the girls' popularity chart. Alternate spelling Jordyn is now more popular for girls.
- Jordan
Origin:
English from HebrewMeaning:
"flowing down"Description:
Jordan became one of the top unisex baby names in the heyday of basketball's Michael Jordan, and is still among the most popular unisex names starting with J. The name was originally given to those baptized in holy water brought back by Crusaders from the River Jordan, the only river in Palestine, and the one in which Christ was baptized by John the Baptist.
- Jordyn
Origin:
Spelling variation of JordanMeaning:
"flowing down"Description:
This variation of Jordan entered the Top 1000 in 1989. Jordyn as well as Jordan trended throughout the 90s and early 2000s, but are beginning to fall slightly on the girls' side. While the Jordan spelling reached the highest point in popularity out of the 2, making it into the Top 50 in the late 90s and early 2000s, today Jordyn has taken the lead.
- Jordyn
Origin:
Spelling variation of JordanDescription:
This alternative spelling of Jordan is more popular for girls, but also given to a significant minority of boys. For both genders, it reached its peak popularity in 2010, about a decade after the original Jordan peaked. Today, the gender gap is rapidly closing as Jordyn falls in popularity for girls but remains stable for boys. For babies born in 2022, Jordyn was 90% female, 10% male.
- Justice
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"the quality of being just, impartial, or fair"Description:
Justice is a fashionable word name, used for both girls and boys. Justice has the distinction of being a virtue name without the religious implications of Faith or Grace. It still feels more male than female, perhaps partly due to the classic Roman name Justus, but Justice has become a more common pick for girls in recent years.
- Justice
Origin:
English word nameMeaning:
"the quality of being just, impartial, or fair"Description:
Justice, one of the rare virtue names for boys, entered the popularity ranks in 1992, and has remained on the list ever since. Parents' search for names implying virtue has led to a mini-revival of this long-neglected name in both its German homonymic form, Justus, and as the word itself. Steven Seagal was ahead of the curve when he used it back in 1976.
- Kai
Origin:
HawaiianMeaning:
"sea"Description:
This appealing multi-cultural name, pronounced KYE, is beginning to be used for girls as well as boys. Among its many derivations and meanings: "sea" in Hawaiian, "forgiveness" in Japanese, "willow tree" in Navajo, "food" in Maori, and "earth" in Scandinavian. For girls, it debuted on the US Top 1000 in 2010.
- Kai
Origin:
HawaiianMeaning:
"sea"Description:
Kai is an internationally flexible name with many possible origins and meanings, growing in popularity in the US and a diverse range of European countries.
- Kamryn
Origin:
Spelling variation of CameronMeaning:
"crooked nose"Description:
As a Top 500 name for girls for more than 20 years now, Kamryn has become a widely-accepted version of the original Cameron.
- Kamryn
Origin:
Spelling variation of Cameron, ScottishMeaning:
"crooked nose"Description:
With the rise of Cameron, we've seen more and more spellings join the Top 1000—Kamryn, Camryn, and Kameron are just a few.
- Kayden
Origin:
Variation of CadenDescription:
More feminine than the male Caden, which came in at Number 192 in 2015. We still think Cadence is a prettier version of the "Kay-" group of names which are so popular at present.
- Kayden
Origin:
Modern invented nameDescription:
This member of the aden/ayden extended family is a popular choice not only in the US but across the pond in England, Wales and Scotland as well. Angie Everhart has a son named Kayden Bobby.
- Kendall
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"valley of the river Kent"Description:
Kendall, as used for a girl, was initially propelled by a soap opera character (Sarah Michelle Gellar as Kendall Hart in All My Children) and reality star and Kardashian sister Kendall Jenner.
- Kendall
Origin:
EnglishMeaning:
"valley of the river Kent"Description:
While Kendall originally started as a boys’ name, and remained more or equally popular for boys until the early 1990s in the US, it now feels almost synonymous with Kendall Jenner, of Kardashian fame.
- Lennon
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"lover"Description:
A growing number of high-profile (and other) parents are choosing to honor their musical idols, such as Hendrix, Presley, Jagger, and now Lennon, an Irish name for girls as well as boys with a wonderful meaning on many levels. Lennon first came to notice when Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit used it for their son in 1999, and singer-musician Adam Pascal followed their lead two years later.
- Lennon
Origin:
IrishMeaning:
"lover"Description:
A growing number of high-profile (and other) parents are choosing to honor their musical idols, such as Hendrix, Presley, Jagger, and now Lennon.
- London
Origin:
English place-nameDescription:
The capital of the United Kingdom makes a solid and attractive twenty-first-century choice, with a lot more substance than Paris. It's in the unisex column, with both girls and boys given the name in recent years.