Why would you name your son a girl's name?

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dawnbug

Golden Member
Oct 29, 2002
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I've known a few guys name Shannon, a guy named Jamie, girls named Shawn (and guys whose name was Shawn who spelled it the same way-- I was told that Shawn is the girl spelling, but I know at least two guys who spell it Shawn), and I had a gym teacher who went by Shelly (his name was Sheldon).

Edit: Oh, and I had two band directors in high school-- they were married, and both named Robin, but the guy went by Rob. How weird!
 

nitsuj3580

Platinum Member
Jun 13, 2001
2,668
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I just met a woman named Dale today.

That really threw me off, I thought I was going to ask a guy a question.
 

Kev

Lifer
Dec 17, 2001
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Originally posted by: dullard
Originally posted by: Crono
Kelly is not exclusively a girls name
#67 out of 4275 (top 2%) for first names for females. It is so common for females that it is considered a female name by most people. Heck, look at the variants and see if any of those really seem like male names.

Kelly, Pat, Kim, Jamie, etc. all need to be exclusively female in my opinion. No reason to torture your newborn boy for life with a name like those. Heck, it is probably best not to even name a girl one of those just to avoid problems in life.

Pat = guy

otherwise :thumbsup:
 

theknight571

Platinum Member
Mar 23, 2001
2,896
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There used to be a guy named Shannon on my baseball team... although at 6'5' 250.... you didn't say anything about it. lol (He played football too)

- TK
 

randomlinh

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
20,846
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linh.wordpress.com
Originally posted by: Ilmater
Originally posted by: lancestorm
I feel worse for the girl named 'Brad' on Nickolodean's HEY DUDE!
The only thing I felt for Brad was horny. She was a model before she was an actress.

meh, she never did it for me. It was all about melody aka christine taylor :D dunno how ben stiller married her.....


on the naming note, my name is Linh.. but I guess since I'm asian, and the spelling.. I can only remember once or twice for being clowned for having a "girls" name.
 
May 16, 2000
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That's a very egocentric question. It presumes that absolutely everyone is just like you. Different countries and languages have different gender identities. What's masculine to one group is feminine to another, and vice versa. Unless you have comlete and total knowledge of the name's etymology, my view is that you have no place to talk.
 
May 16, 2000
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And yes, I'm a guy named Kristin.

And yes, it's problematic to say the least sometimes. But it can also be a source of amusement.

I get more interviews than anyone because I usually apply to traditionally masculine jobs and they need the female hiring numbers.

I was assigned to an all female company in boot camp, and was told I couldn't board the plane without proof of my pregnancy test and pap-smear. I would have endured a lifetime of insults just for that look on the OBGYN's face when I walked in there.

I have actually filed 2 lawsuits against companies who REFUSED to accept that I was who I said and therefore refused to allow me access to my own accounts (a credit card company and a loan agency). This was worth it just for the joy of severely damaging a corporation in court, but also gave me nice little financial bonuses.

There have been dozens if not hundreds of other nice little events that just give me a little smile whenever I think of them. Being a global pain the ass is so rewarding. :cool:
 

KillyKillall

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2004
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Um..I'm a guy named Kelly.

And I'm with Prince here. The only time it is a problem is when I write a letter to a customer from where I work and receive an email back/or letter addressed to Mrs. Kelly XXXXX. That always pisses me off, but other than that....

Kelly was actually an Irish male name adopted by women, much like the other names women have stolen from us. Pretty soon I'm sure you will steal Stephen, Dan, and Mike.

BTW Triumph, I wouldn't be posting this. Your name is What? What kind of name is What? You should look into legally changing that.
 

yukichigai

Diamond Member
Apr 23, 2003
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Spell it "Kellae." That'll confuzzle the crap out of everyone.

Naming a kid Kelly is no different than naming him Pat or Chris or Billy or, in extreme cases, Leslie.
 

KillyKillall

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2004
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Girls just add E to a name or change a letter and think they can use it...or they just use it anyways..

examples:

Kelly becomes Kelley or Kelli
Courtney typically stays Courtney
Leslie becomes Lesley or stays Leslie
Taylor typically stays Taylor
Jordan typically stays Jordan
Morgan
Page
Casey becomes Casie or Kasie or Kasey
Lindsay now appearing as Linzee, Linzi, etc...
 

tami

Lifer
Nov 14, 2004
11,588
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i have cousins who are siblings.

the older one is female. her name is Stacy Leigh.
the younger one is male. his name is Scott Lee.

i don't have a CLUE why his parents did that.

my sister's middle name is Lee, but that's because she was named after my great-grandfather (Louie.. i guess Lee kind of is the most feminine version besides "Louise" that you'll get from that)
 

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
That's a very egocentric question. It presumes that absolutely everyone is just like you. Different countries and languages have different gender identities. What's masculine to one group is feminine to another, and vice versa. Unless you have comlete and total knowledge of the name's etymology, my view is that you have no place to talk.

It's understood that the group I'm referring to is America in general. If you came here from Ireland and your name was Kelly, so be it. But in America, Kelly is considered to be a girl's name. That's just how it is. Etymology doesn't make a difference, because nobody considers that when they hear your name. I just don't understand why, if you live in this country and were raised in this country and knew a name was a girl's name, why would you give it to a boy?
 

KillyKillall

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2004
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Originally posted by: Triumph
Originally posted by: PrinceofWands
That's a very egocentric question. It presumes that absolutely everyone is just like you. Different countries and languages have different gender identities. What's masculine to one group is feminine to another, and vice versa. Unless you have comlete and total knowledge of the name's etymology, my view is that you have no place to talk.

It's understood that the group I'm referring to is America in general. If you came here from Ireland and your name was Kelly, so be it. But in America, Kelly is considered to be a girl's name. That's just how it is. Etymology doesn't make a difference, because nobody considers that when they hear your name. I just don't understand why, if you live in this country and were raised in this country and knew a name was a girl's name, why would you give it to a boy?


Um..if you were speaking about just about any other culture, I would agree with you, BUT America is based on many European cultures melding here which means the names typically are European based. That means if they were a man's name there, they are a man's name here based on the way our culture was built. So, you're saying if a name is a female name in France...then France conquered/founded a another country (haha..yeah right!!!), then the French culture would not dictate the naming conventions? Really?
 

oogabooga

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2003
7,807
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I've always thought of Kelly as an acceptable name for a guy. Pat is often just short for patrick which i dont know many girls named.

If the guy was name d"Jen" or something then maybe, but i dunno, kelly doesn't cross me as too unusual.
 

Vic

Elite Member
Jun 12, 2001
50,422
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Kelly, Ashley, Lynn/Linn, Pat(rick), Dana, Robin, Kim were all originally male names. It's only in the last half-century or so that they have become female names.


BRITANNUS (shocked): Caesar, this is not proper.
THEODOTUS (outraged): How?
CAESAR: Pardon him Theodotus: he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature.
Caesar and Cleopatra, Act II, by George Bernard Shaw
 

KillyKillall

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2004
4,415
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Originally posted by: Vic
Kelly, Ashley, Lynn/Linn, Pat(rick), Dana, Robin, Kim were all originally male names. It's only in the last half-century or so that they have become female names.


BRITANNUS (shocked): Caesar, this is not proper.
THEODOTUS (outraged): How?
CAESAR: Pardon him Theodotus: he is a barbarian, and thinks that the customs of his tribe and island are the laws of nature.
Caesar and Cleopatra, Act II, by George Bernard Shaw

Exactly..so why does Triumph say this is American culture when its only a fad?
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,866
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Originally posted by: theknight571
There used to be a guy named Shannon on my baseball team... although at 6'5' 250.... you didn't say anything about it. lol (He played football too)

- TK

When I was a kid I knew 2 girls named Shannon and 1 boy. The boy and I were good friends for a time, but man did that name mess with my head(knew 1 girl named the same first and thought it was a girls name). I suppose some names are just interchangeable.
 

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
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The great European migration to this country is long over. The European blood has been here long enough, the names no longer have the meaning that they once did a hundred years ago. I can't find fault with the name of any 1st generation immigrants, or even 2nd, because they were raised in a different culture. But I know plenty of people with Irish blood, and they sure as hell aren't FOTB.
 

KillyKillall

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2004
4,415
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Um...you're comparing just over 200 years vs. thousands of years of culture..yeah..we have tons of culture. soak it up....<sigh>