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Boy Names for Girls

Some of the coolest baby girl names are not girls' names at all but boys' names -- many of which have officially become unisex names. We're seeing more and more formerly 100% boy names being used for girls, from nicknames like Sam and Charlie (now 50-50 by gender!), to occupational or surnames such as Sawyer or McKinley to formerly masculine names such as Quincy and Jude that have become truly unisex.

Celebrity parents Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds broke the gender barrier in a new way when they named their daughter James. Many parents followed suit, sometimes using James as a middle name.

The trendy Arlo is one recently boy name that's moving to the girls' side. Australian actress Asher Keddie is proof that Asher might be a good alternative to the dated Ashley. Ezra and Noah are Biblical names that are increasingly being used for girls as well as boys. And in Israel, Daniel is a Top 100 name...for girls.

Some people think it's wrong to use boy names for girls unless the practice also works in the opposite direction. While statistics show that more parents are giving their sons unisex names, we are not seeing boys given decidedly feminine names in the same way that baby girls are being given formerly masculine names.

In case anyone thinks this is just another wacky name theory, statistics bear out that girls are being given all the names on this list in significant numbers. There were more than 50 baby girls in the US last year named Max and Maxwell, for instance, as well as Maverick, Landon, Chase, Auden, and Atlas.

Here, some boy names that can work for girls.

Huxley

Meaning: inhospitable place

Origin:English
6554
Declan

Meaning: man of prayer

Origin:Irish, meaning unknown, possibly "man of prayer"
3181
Douglas

Meaning: black water

Origin:Scottish
5070
Benjamin

Meaning: son of the right hand

Origin:Hebrew
3283
Scott

Meaning: from Scotland

Origin:English
5561
Eli

Meaning: ascended, uplifted, high

Origin:Hebrew
4849
Shane The meaning of Shane is 'God is gracious' an...
Origin:Irish variation of Sean or Shannon
4687
Rudy

Meaning: famous wolf

Origin:German, short form of Rudolph
3166
Kyle

Meaning: narrow spit of land

Origin:Scottish
4203
Vaughn

Meaning: small

Origin:Welsh
6051
Tyler

Meaning: maker of tiles

Origin:Occupational name
2636
Gary

Meaning: spear man

Origin:English
4037
Roy

Meaning: red

Origin:Scottish
5456
Reid

Meaning: red-haired

Origin:English
6034
Bennett

Meaning: blessed

Origin:English, medieval form of Benedict
2862
Bradley

Meaning: broad clearing

Origin:English "broad clearing"
3978
Barrett

Meaning: bear strength

Origin:German
5402
Basil

Meaning: royal

Origin:Greek
4704
Callan

Meaning: battle; rock

Origin:Gaelic
4079
Barry

Meaning: spear

Origin:Irish "spear"
5872