Welcome to our annual list of unisex names. This is where we analyze the gender ratios of each name. Some of these may not truly classify as a true "unisex name" because they will swing very heavily to one side or the other.
I chose to include some names like that because it is worth mentioning, especially if it ranked at 3% last year and now ranks at 5%. That means the name is beginning to gain more popularity for the minority gender.
Over time, it could continue to change and become more of a 20/80 thing and perhaps later a 40/60 thing. Wouldn't you like to be able to guess these things in advance if its a name you're pondering for a future child?
There have been many cases where a name was traditionally male and it was then slowly taken over by the girls. Some of those formerly male names are now considered completely female. Names evolve. If we can catch them in the act, well, I think it would be exciting.
I'm only mentioning all of this because last year I got comments regarding my monitoring of names like Ryan that were only given to 3% of girls. Yes, that does not mean that Ryan is a unisex name through and through. BUT it means that Ryan could potentially gain more usage for females over time and end up becoming a true unisex name.
Take a look at the current trend in Hollywood. It seems like every other week we're hearing about a new celebrity baby girl being given a masculine name. While it may or may not catch on with mainstream parents right now, it could happen eventually. Things seem to be moving that way already and you never know what the future of naming might bring!
Here are some more examples of celebrity baby girls who were given traditionally masculine names:
Wyatt (Mila Kunis & Ashton Kutcher)
Lincoln (Kristin Bell & Dax Shepherd)
James (Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds)
Ryan (Haylie Duff)
Maxwell (Jessica Simpson)
Hunter (Kevin Rahm)
Casper (Jason Lee)
Mason & Spencer (Kelsey Grammer)
There are likely many more examples of these. Now we are going to take a look at all of the potentially unisex names in the Top 1000.
The most popular unisex name, meaning the name with the most usage across both genders, is Avery with over 9 thousand births for girls and 2 thousand for boys. This means they both rank well at #13 and #186 respectively. Both Skylar and Skyler are gaining for the girls whereas Tatum, Finley, Alexis Kendall, and Morgan have shifted toward the boys' side.
I chose to include some names like that because it is worth mentioning, especially if it ranked at 3% last year and now ranks at 5%. That means the name is beginning to gain more popularity for the minority gender.
Over time, it could continue to change and become more of a 20/80 thing and perhaps later a 40/60 thing. Wouldn't you like to be able to guess these things in advance if its a name you're pondering for a future child?
There have been many cases where a name was traditionally male and it was then slowly taken over by the girls. Some of those formerly male names are now considered completely female. Names evolve. If we can catch them in the act, well, I think it would be exciting.
I'm only mentioning all of this because last year I got comments regarding my monitoring of names like Ryan that were only given to 3% of girls. Yes, that does not mean that Ryan is a unisex name through and through. BUT it means that Ryan could potentially gain more usage for females over time and end up becoming a true unisex name.
Take a look at the current trend in Hollywood. It seems like every other week we're hearing about a new celebrity baby girl being given a masculine name. While it may or may not catch on with mainstream parents right now, it could happen eventually. Things seem to be moving that way already and you never know what the future of naming might bring!
Here are some more examples of celebrity baby girls who were given traditionally masculine names:
Wyatt (Mila Kunis & Ashton Kutcher)
Lincoln (Kristin Bell & Dax Shepherd)
James (Blake Lively & Ryan Reynolds)
Ryan (Haylie Duff)
Maxwell (Jessica Simpson)
Hunter (Kevin Rahm)
Casper (Jason Lee)
Mason & Spencer (Kelsey Grammer)
There are likely many more examples of these. Now we are going to take a look at all of the potentially unisex names in the Top 1000.
Mostly Female Usage:
First, the following are the names that swing more toward the female side, meaning they have 60% or more usage for girls with 40% or less for boys.
Harper: 3% boy / 97% girl
Boy: 327 births (#728)
Girl: 9,564 births (#11)
Avery: 19% boy / 81% girl
Boy: 2,269 births (#186)
Girl: 9,517 births (#13)
Riley: 34% boy / 66% girl
Boy: 2,429 births (#173)
Girl: 4,761 births (#47)
Skylar: 8% boy / 92% girl
Boy: 409 births (#637)
Girl: 4,732 births (#48)
Peyton: 29% boy / 71% girl
Boy: 1,828 births (#210)
Girl: 4,426 births (#56)
Alexis: 22% boy / 78% girl
Boy: 1,172 births (#302)
Girl: 4,188 births (#64)
Taylor: 15% boy / 85% girl
Boy: 691 births (#435)
Girl: 3,782 births (#77)
London: 12% boy / 88% girl
Boy: 433 births (#611)
Girl: 3,264 births (#93)
Morgan: 12% boy / 88% girl
Boy: 402 births (#650)
Girl: 2,984 births (#101)
Reagan: 7% boy / 93% girl
Boy: 205 births (#999)
Girl: 2,882 births (#106)
Rylee: 8% boy / 92% girl
Boy: 247 births (#877)
Girl: 2,753 births (#113)
Quinn: 25% boy / 75% girl
Boy: 868 births (#363)
Girl: 2,539 births (#126)
Jordyn: 9% boy / 91% girl
Boy: 239 births (#895)
Girl: 2,533 births (#127)
Kendall: 11% boy / 89% girl
Boy: 310 births (#754)
Girl: 2,432 births (#131)
Ariel: 12% boy / 88% girl
Boy: 319 births (#738)
Girl: 2,419 births (#133)
Payton: 14% boy / 86% girl
Boy: 406 births (#644)
Girl: 2,397 births (#134)
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Eden: 17% boy / 83% girl
Boy: 447 births (#601)
Girl: 2,117 births (#151)
Emery: 15% boy / 85% girl
Boy: 361 births (#687)
Girl: 2,026 births (#161)
Reese: 17% boy / 83% girl
Boy: 403 births (#648)
Girl: 1,960 births (#165)
Emerson: 39% boy / 61% girl
Boy: 1,048 births (#324)
Girl: 1,670 births (#196)
Marley: 14% boy / 86% girl
Boy: 273 births (#821)
Girl: 1,643 births (#202)
Finley: 36% boy / 64% girl
Boy: 829 births (#374)
Girl: 1,498 births (#223)
Teagan: 14% boy / 86% girl
Boy: 212 births (#979)
Girl: 1,272 births (#253)
Lyric: 17% boy / 83% girl
Boy: 255 births (#860)
Girl: 1,210 births (#271)
Harley: 30% boy / 70% girl
Boy: 407 births (#641)
Girl: 940 births (#349)
Kamryn: 20% boy / 80% girl
Boy: 216 births (#967)
Girl: 850 births (#380)
Sage: 32% boy / 68% girl
Boy: 399 births (#654)
Girl: 834 births (#388)
Tatum: 36% boy / 64% girl
Boy: 462 births (#592)
Girl: 828 births (#392)
Jamie: 32% boy / 68% girl
Boy: 292 births (#786)
Girl: 633 births (#489)
Leighton: 30% boy / 70% girl
Boy: 240 births (#893)
Girl: 568 births (#540)
Jessie: 36% boy / 64% girl
Boy: 280 births (#809)
Girl: 504 births (#587)
Emory: 40% boy / 60% girl Boy: 252 births (#868) Girl: 373 births (#743) |
If you would like to make more comparisons from 2013 to 2014, take a look at our previous article featuring the Boy-to-Girl Ratios of Unisex Names in 2013.
Most Evenly Used for Both Genders:
Now let's look at the names that are very evenly matched for boys and girls. These names are the ones that come the closest to being truly gender neutral. The names on this list range from a 50/50 split to a 59/41 or 41/59 split. In other words, these have the tightest ratios:
Charlie: 54% boy / 46% girl Boy: 1,670 births (#225) Girl: 1,432 births (#229) Dakota: 43% boy / 57% girl Boy: 876 births (#360) Girl: 1,136 births (#285) Skyler: 46% boy / 54% girl Boy: 911 births (#352) Girl: 1,070 births (#302) Justice: 41% boy / 59% girl Boy: 518 births (#531) Girl: 756 births (#421) Phoenix: 59% boy / 41% girl Boy: 901 births (#355) Girl: 629 births (#494) | Armani: 57% boy / 43% girl Boy: 570 births (#489) Girl: 422 births (#671) Lennon: 47% boy / 53% girl Boy: 358 births (#691) Girl: 399 births (#699) Oakley: 52% boy / 48% girl Boy: 394 births (#657) Girl: 362 births (#768) Landry: 50% boy / 50% girl Boy: 270 births (#829) Girl: 269 births (#981) Azariah: 49% boy / 51% girl Boy: 264 births (#838) Girl: 278 births (#954) |
The name that is officially most unisex for the year 2014 is Landry. There was only a difference of one birth between the genders which makes it a [rounded up] 50/50 split! It's the closest I've ever seen two names come to being equally used for both genders!
The next closest name is Azariah with a 49/51 split which is very close! Justice gained 4 percentage points for the girls over 2013. One name was a big mover in particular this year: Skyler jumped 10 points in favor of the girls in 2014.
Mostly Male Usage:
The following names lean more toward the male side but are still used for females too. These have a range of 60% or more for boys with 40% or less for girls.
Logan: 94% boy / 6% girl Boy: 13,579 births (#13) Girl: 828 births (#391) Jayden: 96% boy / 4% girl Boy: 12,878 births (#15) Girl: 569 births (#539) Carter: 97% boy / 3% girl Boy: 10,599 births (#27) Girl: 355 births (#785) Dylan: 93% boy / 7% girl Boy: 10,350 births (#29) Girl: 822 births (#394) Ryan: 94% boy / 6% girl Boy: 9,026 births (#37) Girl: 603 births (#510) Hunter: 96% boy / 4% girl Boy: 8,759 births (#40) Girl: 362 births (#766) Cameron: 93% boy / 7% girl Boy: 7,013 births (#53) Girl: 524 births (#578) Jordan: 84% boy / 16% girl Boy: 6,810 births (#55) Girl: 1,300 births (#247) Angel: 84% boy / 16% girl Boy: 6,255 births (#67) Girl: 1,179 births (#275) Parker: 80% boy / 20% girl Boy: 5,677 births (#73) Girl: 1,386 births (#235) Blake: 89% boy / 11% girl Boy: 4,913 births (#84) Girl: 589 births (#499) Kayden: 92% boy / 8% girl Boy: 4,691 births (#90) Girl: 391 births (#712) Micah: 93% boy / 7% girl Boy: 3,612 births (#109) Girl: 264 births (#994) Sawyer: 79% boy / 21% girl Boy: 3,571 births (#110) Girl: 955 births (#344) Hayden: 63% boy / 37% girl Boy: 2,851 births (#142) Girl: 1,656 births (#199) | Kai: 90% boy / 10% girl Boy: 2,387 births (#177) Girl: 262 births (#1000) Karter: 89% boy / 11% girl Boy: 2,103 births (#194) Girl: 273 births (#968) Elliot: 83% boy / 17% girl Boy: 1,750 births (#217) Girl: 367 births (#756) Rylan: 84% boy / 16% girl Boy: 1,726 births (#219) Girl: 339 births (#812) Elliott: 83% boy / 17% girl Boy: 1,574 births (#233) Girl: 329 births (#833) Rowan: 67% boy / 33% girl Boy: 1,531 births (#239) Girl: 770 births (#412) Zion: 83% boy / 17% girl Boy: 1,471 births (#255) Girl: 295 births (#911) Dallas: 72% boy / 28% girl Boy: 1,359 births (#268) Girl: 522 births (#580) River: 64% boy / 36% girl Boy: 1,223 births (#287) Girl: 703 births (#453) Remington: 73% boy / 27% girl Boy: 1,101 births (#313) Girl: 410 births (#685) Amari: 62% boy / 38% girl Boy: 970 births (#340) Girl: 585 births (#524) Milan: 64% boy / 36% girl Boy: 748 births (#411) Girl: 424 births (#670) Rory: 69% boy / 31% girl Boy: 741 births (#416) Girl: 326 births (#840) Casey: 60% boy / 40% girl Boy: 519 births (#530) Girl: 352 births (#792) Remy: 60% boy / 40% girl Boy: 424 births (#621) Girl: 278 births (#956) |
There are several names in the 90th percentile range that most people today would generally consider to just be boy names, but since they do get a handful of feminine usage, it's wise to keep an eye on the changes from year to year.
For instance, a few of those names that ranked very-masculine (in the 90s) have had some changes from 2013 to 2014. Logan gained more female births and lost some male births. It was 95% boy in 2013 and is now 94%. Ryan had more female births in 2014 which made the males lose 2%. Similarly, Hunter also had more female usage resulting in a lost of 1% for the boys.
Interestingly, spelling makes a difference. Out of all the Carters born in 2014, only 3% of them were female, however, 11% of all Karters were female. Ryan is mostly masculine since only 6% of them were girls, but add the ever-popular letter L to the mix and suddenly 16% of all Rylans are female.
If you would like to make more comparisons from 2013 to 2014, take a look at our previous article featuring the Boy-to-Girl Ratios of Unisex Names in 2013.
What do you think of these stats? Can you point out anything interesting that I missed? What are your favorite unisex names?
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