Choosing a name for a baby typically comes down to three considerations: will it be a unique baby name, a popular baby name or will your son or daughter be named in tribute to someone past or present in your life? There is, however, a fourth consideration that continues to gain in popularity when it comes to choosing a baby name: unisex baby names or gender neutral names.
Popular Gender Neutral Baby Names
Popular gender neutral names are usually popular in two ways, derived of pop (or popular) culture, or having endured through centuries. The popularity of Taylor in recent years has a direct correlation to the entertainment world, specifically, singer Taylor Swift and actor Taylor Lautner, of the Twilight movie franchise circa 2009.
Unisex or gender neutral names are also often sobriquets or nicknames, truncated from longer versions. Sam can be either a boy or a girl (Samantha). Alex, a gender neutral sobriquet of Alexander, Alexandria or Alexandra. Charlie can be Charlie, Charles or Charlotte. And Joe can be Joseph, Josephine or Joanna.
Michael as a gender neutral name gained in popularity from the 1950’s through the 1990’s and include Michael Learned of The Waltons, Michael Steel of the girls group The Bangles and actress Michael Michelle.
Choosing A Gender Neutral Name
In choosing a gender neutral name for a baby, new parents often look to the familiar – past or present – and at the word that surrounds them to find suitable inspiration in naming their daughter or son. For the very familiar, they may turn to family, sourcing an enduringly popular unisex name that as carried through the males of the family for generations. Or they may choose a gender neutral name that pays homage to someone who has long been an integral to their lives. Regardless of where the inspiration comes from, it will need to be a name that endures and can be carried with pride.
2019 Gender Neutral Names
Like births themselves, baby names, whether a name for a girl or a boy, are recorded, so it is relatively easy to track the increasing popularity of gender names across years. The 2019 unisex baby names that were popular, were also likely the 2018 unisex names that were popular, that were also the most popular 2017 unisex names. Names tend to come in and out of fashion generationally as opposed to annually, meaning the most popular 2020 unisex baby names are relatively easy to forecast right now.
Of course, a hit movie or television show can elevate the popularity of a gender neutral name, such as Logan from the X-Men franchise which is a growing popular choice for either boys or girls, as with the aforementioned Taylor.
And while unisex names are also popular, they frequently cross cultures. Alex has endured for not just centuries, but for millennia. One need only think of Alexander the Great. The ill-fated Czarina Alexandra. Or the great ancient and lost library of Alexandria – founded in 331 B.C. by Alexander the Great.
No matter whether you choose a unisex or gender neutral name that is cool, cute, distinct, unique, aspirational, generational, unusual, feminine or modern, the name you ultimately choose for your son or daughter is one he or she will grow into. If not, rest assured, a nickname, moniker, truncation, appellation or sobriquet by any other name will just as easily get the job done.