New Post
Search
Help[Facts] Why are male names being used for Females now but not Female names for Males?
Why are males names like Taylor, Elliott, and Morgan now used on females more, but why arnt female names used on males?
2
Replies
generally speaking, probably sexism, but i personally would find that female names have a sort of association with them that makes them seem more feminine, almost all the time, for example, names such as Sophie, Emma and Olivia, are all quite girl? I'm not quite sure how to go about wording this but socially, feminine. As well as names like Michael, John, and Steven, having a more 'masculine' sound,meaning that they probably wouldn't be used as a name for a girl, but in recent years softer sounding boys names have grown in popularity, names that sounded non-masculine enough for people to call girls, like Luca, Dylan, and Ray (Rae). i haven't seen this happening with girls names over time, so female names continuing sound feminine would mean that they had no equivalent to the unisex boys names. Did that make any sense? I don't think it did, but maybe it does. :)
1
Same reason it's more common for women to wear clothes marketed to men than for men to wear clothes marketed to women. It's just sexism.
1
Sexism.
The essence of sexism is the idea that it is better to be male than female. As such it is "OK" for girls and women to adopt masculine fashions -- not just in names but in clothing, etc. -- because it shows they are aspiring to the "higher" status,. But for a male to have a characteristic which is generally considered "female" in the culture, whether it's having a name predominantly borne by females or wearing a dress or lipstick, is for him to be "contaminated" by the lower status.
So in English speaking countries, where for the most part parents can legally give a child any name they choose, the tendency for several centuries has been that some formerly male names become popular for girls, and about then within a decade or two parents stop giving those names to boys, since the name as become "devalued" for boys by being given to many girls. This process may have slowed down a bit the last couple of decades as modern views on gender are changing, but it still is operating. If you look at the USA popularity chart for Riley, for instance, you will see that the name was rapidly increasing for both boys and girls between 1990 and 2002, which is when the number of girls born with the name surpoassed the boys, and then it started decreasing for boys while it was still increasing for girls.
The essence of sexism is the idea that it is better to be male than female. As such it is "OK" for girls and women to adopt masculine fashions -- not just in names but in clothing, etc. -- because it shows they are aspiring to the "higher" status,. But for a male to have a characteristic which is generally considered "female" in the culture, whether it's having a name predominantly borne by females or wearing a dress or lipstick, is for him to be "contaminated" by the lower status.
So in English speaking countries, where for the most part parents can legally give a child any name they choose, the tendency for several centuries has been that some formerly male names become popular for girls, and about then within a decade or two parents stop giving those names to boys, since the name as become "devalued" for boys by being given to many girls. This process may have slowed down a bit the last couple of decades as modern views on gender are changing, but it still is operating. If you look at the USA popularity chart for Riley, for instance, you will see that the name was rapidly increasing for both boys and girls between 1990 and 2002, which is when the number of girls born with the name surpoassed the boys, and then it started decreasing for boys while it was still increasing for girls.
6
They are usually surnames which are generally considered unisex until they become more popular as first names. This is usually the same route you get feminine names being used for men, like Evelyn, Marion, Emmet, Parnel, Alison. In general any surname is going to start out with some small usage by men as a first name, as the tradition is just more common for men. There are exceptions, like Tatum which started out more common for women but is now being given to more baby boys than baby girls in the US.
1
Misogyny
Because people associate certain traits with male names like “spunky” and so they think giving their girl a boy name makes it “spunky.” The reason people don’t give their sons equally feminine names is because of misogyny. The traits associated with female names are seen as “less than.”
Because people associate certain traits with male names like “spunky” and so they think giving their girl a boy name makes it “spunky.” The reason people don’t give their sons equally feminine names is because of misogyny. The traits associated with female names are seen as “less than.”
6
Some people are unknowingly using girls' names on boys. An example is Memphis which is the name of a nymph in Greek mythology. And Pax which is the name of a Roman goddess. And there are more.
This message was edited 5/28/2025, 1:51 PM
6