Why Some Parents Turn Boys’ Names Into Girls’ Names
In 2017, there were 205 Ezras, 237 Lincolns, 137 Austins, and 107 Wyatts born in the U.S. who shared something unexpected in common: They’re girls.
These babies’ parents made a decision that thousands of their peers did in giving their newborn daughters a name that is generally considered male. According to Pamela Redmond Satran, who co-runs the baby-name website Nameberry, the past 10 years of government baby-naming data indicate “an overall radical increase in the number of girls getting these names.” She says that some parents “celebrate the idea of naming a baby girl James,” for instance, as an attempt to upset gender expectations by showing that girls can take on traits that are traditionally perceived as masculine.
What’s noticeably absent, though, is a boomlet operating in the other direction. “It’s clear from the data that boys in the U.S., so even the more common practice of giving girls boys’ names is far from mainstream.)
