Gender Neutral Names Mega List

  1. Taylor
    • Origin:

      English occupational name
    • Meaning:

      "tailor"
    • Description:

      Taylor is one of the prime unisex surnames used for girls and has also been a soap opera favorite. Taylor was in the Top 10 for the last several years of the twentieth century, so that now it tends to feel a little nineties – though Taylor Swift is keeping it in the spotlight and Tay is a charming nickname. Garth Brooks and Bryan Cranston have daughters named Taylor; Taylor Schilling portrays lead Piper Chapman in Orange is the New Black.
  2. Tennessee
    • Origin:

      Native American, Cherokee, place-name
    • Meaning:

      "bend in the river or meeting place"
    • Description:

      Young rocker Tennessee Thomas has brought this former one-person name over to the girls' side -- though the census roles of North Carolina in 1850 included a female named Tennessee and called Tincy.
  3. Terry
    • Origin:

      English, diminutive of Theresa
    • Meaning:

      "to harvest"
    • Description:

      Terry hit the Top 30 in the fifties when it was seeen as a cool, sleek gender neutral name, but it's long since lost that edge. Today's Terry would probably be Tess or Tessa.
  4. Theo
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Theodora
    • Meaning:

      "divine gift"
    • Description:

      Theo has a girls' name is used for only a handful of babies today. As a short form of Theodora, Theo is used much less frequently than Thea or even Teddy. One notable appearance was as the younger daughter in Sofia Coppola's film On the Rocks in 2020.
  5. Toby
    • Origin:

      Diminutive of Tobias
    • Description:

      Toby is an early unisex name with a Shakespearean pedigree; when used for a girl it retains its tomboyish quality.
  6. Valentine
    • Origin:

      French variation of Valentina
    • Meaning:

      "strength, health"
    • Description:

      For a girl, we'd say Val-en-teen, though many would insist on pronouncing it like the holiday.
  7. Vega
    • Origin:

      Arabic, Spanish
    • Meaning:

      "swooping eagle; meadow"
    • Description:

      Another astral name, this one relating to one of the largest and brightest stars in the heavens, is popular in Scandinavia and Spain, where it ranks among the Top 50 girls' names. Although still very rare in the US, we think it has serious potential to follow the likes of Luna and Lyra up the charts.
  8. Vernon
    • Origin:

      English
    • Meaning:

      "place of alders"
    • Description:

      Much more upscale and modern for a girl than a boy.
  9. Walker
    • Origin:

      English occupational name
    • Meaning:

      "cloth walker"
    • Description:

      Walker is an outdoorsy, Old Western-style name that leapt into the US Top 100 for boys back in 2022. Now, like a number of occupational names before it (think Sawyer, Palmer, and Parker), Walker is being used for an increasing number of girls.
  10. Wylie
    • Origin:

      Scottish, diminutive of William
    • Meaning:

      "resolute protection"
    • Description:

      Wylie is one Celtic surname with as much appeal for girls as for boys. Wylie is ripe for spelling variations: Wiley is as appropriate as Wylie but when you spell it Wylei, as Corey Parker did for his son, you're getting into yooneek naming territory.
  11. Zola
    • Origin:

      African, Congolese; also literary name
    • Meaning:

      "piece of earth"
    • Description:

      When the Eddie Murphys named their fourth daughter Zola, it affirmed the up-and-coming status of the name, which has African roots, but also literary links to Emile Zola. Zola may also be recognizable to some as the adopted daughter of Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd on the hit, long-running show Grey's Anatomy.