Unisex Names I Like

Avery is a unisex name that is used four times as often today for girls as for boys. But while Avery's popularity is starting to soften for girls, it continues to get stronger for boys -- in keeping with our finding that gender neutral names are becoming more favored for boys than for girls.

This evocative name of a dramatic tropical Indian fig tree is ready to move west.

A name that's unusual in that changing the i to a y -- as in Byrd -- makes it more masculine.

Baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn put this name in play as a first name, but David Bowie (born with the considerably less marketable moniker of David Robert Jones) gave it charisma. He changed his surname in 1965 to avoid confusion with the then popular Davy Jones of The Monkees, borrowing it from the American hero of Alamo, Jim Bowie.

One of the original unisex Irish surname names, energetic Casey bounced onto the scene in the 1960s, then peaked in the 1980s for both boys and girls. Today Casey is having a resurgence for both girls and boys and re-entered the charts on the girls' side, likely due to the character Kayce Dutton (pronounced like Casey) on the hit show Yellowstone.

A lean and lanky Irish cowboy name with great nickname potential to boot (Cass or Sid are both options). This is one of the great under-rated American names!

Cerulean is just beginning to be heard as a name thanks to its distinctive sounds and the appealing electric-sky-blue it evokes. Reminiscent of Ocean, Aurelian, Cyrus, and Caspian, it was given to just 6 babies in 2023, but that could change in coming years.

Drew, which projects a polished, somewhat intellectual impression, is rapidly becoming the Andrew nickname of choice, replacing the past favorite, Andy. It is fully capable of standing on its own, which it has for many decades, non-stop since 1942.

Dylan still feels poetic and romantic after years of popularity. It still ranks highly on the charts, among the top boy names starting with D, so if you choose it, be aware that yours may not be the only Dylan in his class.

Emery is one of the newly popular Em- names that has great potential, though right now for girls more than boys: it received a boost in 2009, a year after Angie Harmon and Jason Sehorn used it for one of their daughters.

Evan is a boys' favorite that has been given the feminine touch by talented actress Evan Rachel Wood. If you want to move beyond Eva and Evelyn and like unisex names, this may be a good bet for you (though like Evan Rachel Wood, you may want a feminine name in the middle name position to clarify matters). Evanna is also another alternative.

Finley has been used for both sexes for enough years to become one of the most popular unisex names. Given nearly equally to boys and girls, Finley appeals to contemporary parents as a truly gender neutral choice.

You might think of Harper as the hottest name of the last decade, jumping from obscurity to the Top 10, where it remained until last year.

Hayden – a formerly obscure name that's risen to huge popularity – has dipped in this year's ratings. Though Hayden is among the most distinctive of the bunch, it gets lost in the crowd of Jaidens, Bradens, Aidans, and endless variations. Associated with Hayden Christensen, of Star Wars fame.

The longer Isabella stays in the Top 10—and it's been there for more than a decade—the more we hear the nickname Izzy (especially if we watch Grey's Anatomy). it's just a matter of time before it stands on its own, as it has as a first name for the daughter of Eddie Murphy and Paige Butcher.

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.

This lively Scottish surname is an anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Coinnich, Coinnich being one of the original Gaelic forms of Kenneth.

Madison was at one time a strictly boys' presidential name, reaching as high as Number 311 at the end of the nineteenth century. That all changed in 1985 when it entered the girls' list, zooming up quickly until it reached the Number 2 spot, with more than 22,000 female babies given the name in 2001. As is so often the case, its use for boys has dropped precipitously.