Gender neutral names: 130+ unisex baby names with meanings
131 names · Updated · By The Nomezo Editors · Save to Pinterest
Gender neutral names are names given to both boys and girls, like Avery, Rowan and Quinn, and many come from surnames, nature words or languages where the name was never tied to one gender. Every name below is real, with its meaning and origin.
This page has 130+ unisex baby names organized by origin, style and length: popular gender-neutral names, short names, surname names, nature and word names, Irish, Scottish and Welsh names, Hebrew names, names from Asia and the Pacific, names from Africa, the Middle East and Europe, and classic names that crossed over. For Japanese and Chinese names the meaning depends on the characters chosen, so we show the most common ones.
Can't decide? Shuffle 6 random picks
Marlowe
Remnants of a lake; Old English, playwright Christopher's surname
Alexis
Helper, defender; Greek, a saint's name for centuries
Bryn
A hill; Welsh, a boy's name in Wales, mostly girls in the US. Say BRIN
Aubrey
Elf ruler; Germanic via Norman French, once mostly male
Glenn
Valley; Scottish Gaelic, actress Close's first name
Akira
Bright, clear; Japanese, often written 明. Say ah-KEE-rah
Find a gender-neutral name on this page
Narrow 131 names by how common they were for US babies in 2025, by section, length or first letter, or search the meanings.
Popular gender-neutral names
Unisex names that are already well used for both boys and girls in the US.
- Skyler 56% girls in 2025: A scholar; Dutch, a respelling of the surname Schuyler
- Dakota 49% girls in 2025: Friend, ally; the name of a Sioux people, so some families prefer to ask before using it
Short gender-neutral names
One- and two-syllable unisex names that are easy to spell anywhere.
- Lou 45% girls in 2025: Famous warrior; Germanic, a French favorite for any gender
- Rene 6% girls in 2025: Reborn; Latin, from French René for boys and Renée for girls. Say ruh-NAY
Gender-neutral surname names
English and Irish surnames that now work as first names for anyone.
- Sidney 42% girls in 2025: Wide island; Old English place name. The spelling Sydney leans girl
- Ellery 96% girls in 2025: Cheerful, happy; Latin via an English surname from Hilary
- Bellamy 48% girls in 2025: Beautiful friend; Old French bel ami. Say BEL-a-mee
- Perry 38% girls in 2025: Pear tree; Old English, from a surname
- Harper 99% girls in 2025: Harp player; English job name, author Nelle Harper Lee's middle name; now 99% girls in the US
Nature and word names for any gender
Names taken from nature, seasons and virtues, with the meaning of each word.
- Ocean 48% girls in 2025: The great sea; Greek okeanos, the world river of myth
- Justice 46% girls in 2025: Fairness, righteousness; Latin, a virtue name
- Halcyon: Kingfisher; Greek, a bird said to calm the sea. Say HAL-see-on
Unisex names from Irish, Scottish and Welsh
Gaelic and Welsh names used for boys and girls alike.
- Shannon 65% girls in 2025: From Ireland's longest river; Irish, used for boys and girls
- Wynn 56% girls in 2025: Fair, white, blessed; Welsh, soft and simple
Gender-neutral Hebrew names
Modern Israeli names given to boys and girls alike.
- Lior 16% girls in 2025: My light; Hebrew. Say lee-OR
- Tal 31% girls in 2025: Dew, morning dew; Hebrew, popular in Israel for all genders
- Shai 27% girls in 2025: Gift, present; Hebrew. Say SHY
- Gal 67% girls in 2025: Wave; Hebrew, actress Gadot's first name
- Raz: Secret; Hebrew, from a word of Persian origin
- Adi 41% girls in 2025: Jewel, ornament; Hebrew. Say AH-dee
- Rotem: A desert broom plant; Hebrew. Say ROH-tem
- Hadar Girls only in 2025: Splendor, glory; Hebrew. Say hah-DAR
- Shachar: Dawn; Hebrew. Say shah-HAR
Unisex names from Asia and the Pacific
Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Sanskrit and Hawaiian names used for any gender. For Japanese and Chinese names, the meaning depends on the characters chosen.
- Kaoru: Fragrance; Japanese, often written 薫. Say kah-OH-roo
- Ming: Bright, clear; Chinese, often written 明
- Jyoti: Light, brightness; Sanskrit. Say JYOH-tee
- Makana 24% girls in 2025: A gift; Hawaiian. Say mah-KAH-nah
- Keala 65% girls in 2025: The path; Hawaiian. Say keh-AH-lah
Unisex names from Africa, the Middle East and Europe
Yoruba, Shona, Sotho and Tswana names, plus Arabic, Turkish, Russian, French and Spanish picks.
- Deniz 28% girls in 2025: The sea; Turkish, for boys and girls. Say deh-NEEZ
- Evren 7% girls in 2025: Cosmos, the universe; Turkish. Say ev-REN
- Tendai: Be thankful; Shona, Zimbabwe. Say ten-DYE
- Ayodele Boys only in 2025: Joy has come home; Yoruba, Nigeria. Say ah-yo-DEH-leh
- Ife: Love; Yoruba, Nigeria. Say EE-feh
- Dayo: Joy arrives; Yoruba, Nigeria. Say DAH-yoh
- Lerato: Love, affection; Sotho, southern Africa. Say leh-RAH-toh
- Kagiso: Peace; Tswana, Botswana and South Africa. Say ka-HEE-so
- Mpho: A gift; Sotho and Tswana. Say M-poh
- Zhenya: Well born; Russian pet form of Yevgeny and Yevgenia
- Valya: Strong, healthy; Russian pet form of Valentin and Valentina
- Shura: Defender, protector; Russian pet form for both genders. Say SHOO-ra
- Dominique 30% girls in 2025: Belonging to the lord; Latin, a unisex classic in France
Classic and vintage unisex names
Names that were once mostly for boys and moved to girls, or have always been shared.
- Hilary Girls only in 2025: Cheerful, happy; Latin, a saint's name used for any gender
- Whitney 95% girls in 2025: White island; Old English, a surname long used for boys
- Kelsey 96% girls in 2025: Cēol's island; Old English place name, once mostly male
- Beverly Girls only in 2025: Beaver stream; Old English, a Yorkshire town and once a boy's name
How to pick the right name
Decide how neutral you want it
Some unisex names, like Avery and Harper, are now given mostly to girls in the US, while others, like Rowan and River, are given more often to boys. Check how a name is used today if balance matters to you.
Use the middle name for balance
A unisex first name can lean either way with the middle name, so Sage Elizabeth and Sage Alexander both work. It also gives your child options later.
Match the length to your surname
Surname names like Hollis, Marlowe and Sutton sound good with short last names, while short names like Lee, Wren and Tal suit longer ones.
Pick a meaning that fits anyone
Many unisex names have meanings that suit any child: Noor means light, Kagiso means peace and Eden means delight.
Save this list for later
Pin it to a naming board, or tap the heart next to any name to keep it in your favorites on this device.
Gender-neutral names: how evenly split they really are
By The Nomezo Editors · Updated October 25, 2026 · How we research names
Few unisex names are truly even. About 1 in 10 US babies born in 2025 got a name given to both sexes, counting names where the less common sex makes up at least a tenth, but fewer than 2 in 100 got one split anywhere near half and half. The tag beside each name above shows its share of girls in 2025.
Names also move. Most unisex names in the US drifted from boys to girls over the last century, yet some are swinging back, and a different spelling can tip a name one way or the other.
- Step 1Decide how neutral you want itTruly even, or shared but leaning one way: the tags show it.
- Step 2Check the spellingRemy leans boy, Remi leans girl.
- Step 3Check where you liveBryn is a boy's name in Wales and mostly a girl's in the US.
- Step 4Say it with the surnameTaylor Taylor is a real risk with surname names.
The most evenly split names of 2025
These well-used names were given to about as many US girls as boys in 2025:
| Name | Girls | Boys | Share of girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tatum | 1,661 | 1,736 | 49% |
| Blake | 1,035 | 1,080 | 49% |
| Dakota | 1,035 | 1,074 | 49% |
| Robin | 400 | 382 | 51% |
| Alexis | 547 | 584 | 48% |
| Charlie | 2,160 | 2,460 | 47% |
| Shiloh | 1,098 | 1,220 | 47% |
Source: US Social Security Administration, 2025 data. For comparison, Avery was 82% girls, Harper 99% girls, River 31% and Rowan 19%. Names given to fewer than 5 babies of a sex are not listed, so a name like Hinata can be real and still show no US count (SSA).
Names drift, and some drift back
- Boys to girls. Girls first outnumbered boys, and stayed ahead, for Lynn in 1942, Whitney in 1962, Ashley in 1964, Kelsey in 1972, Aubrey in 1974, Taylor in 1990, Avery in 1998 and Quinn in 2010 (Social Security data). Behind the Name links Quinn's switch to the TV show Glee (Behind the Name).
- And back again. Charlie went to more girls than boys from 2016 to 2024, then to more boys in 2025. Tatum has had more boys since 2023, and Rowan, mostly girls in the early 1990s, was 81% boys in 2025.
- What researchers found. A 2000 study of Illinois births found that shared names were rare and tended to tip to one sex (American Journal of Sociology). A 2021 study of US data from 1880 to 2016 found most shared names rise and fall for both sexes together, so they are steadier than once thought (Poetics, via Penn State).
Spelling changes the lean
| Spelling | Share of girls | Other spelling | Share of girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Remy | 33% | Remi | 86% |
| Reece | 23% | Reese | 77% |
| Sidney | 42% | Sydney | 98% |
| Skyler | 56% | Skylar | 94% |
| Jesse | 3% | Jessie | 72% |
| Marlo | 53% | Marlowe | 94% |
Source: US Social Security Administration, 2025 data.
Unisex around the world
- Germany used to require a name that showed the child's sex. In 2008 the Federal Constitutional Court ruled that it need not, in a case about a girl named Kiran, a name on this page (court record).
- Iceland's 2019 Gender Autonomy Act ended the rule that boys get masculine names and girls feminine ones (Wikipedia).
- A name can be unisex in one country and not another. Bryn is almost always a boy's name in Wales and Blair typically masculine in Scotland, yet both are mostly given to girls in the US (Behind the Name).
- Watch the surname. Several unisex names are also among the most common US surnames: Taylor is #17, Lee #19, Parker #58 and Bailey #73 in the 2020 Census, so check the full name out loud.
Sources
- US Social Security Administration: baby names
- US Social Security Administration: limitations of the names files
- Lieberson, Dumais and Baumann (2000), American Journal of Sociology
- Seguin, Julien and Zhang (2021), Poetics, via Penn State
- Federal Constitutional Court of Germany, 1 BvR 576/07 (2008)
- Wikipedia: Icelandic Naming Committee
- Behind the Name: Quinn
- Behind the Name: Bryn
- US Census Bureau: 2020 surnames
Frequently asked questions
What are some popular gender neutral names?
Avery, Rowan, Quinn, Parker, River, Charlie and Remy are all used for both boys and girls in the US. Each has a real meaning, like Rowan for little red one.
What is a unique gender neutral name?
For something less common, try Halcyon (kingfisher), Lior (my light), Kagiso (peace), Evren (the universe) or Bellamy (beautiful friend).
What are androgynous names?
Androgynous names are names that do not signal a gender, such as Tatum, Dakota, Charlie or Robin, which were each given to about as many US girls as boys in 2025. Many come from surnames, places or nature words.
What are short unisex names?
Ari, Wren, Quinn, Sage, Rory, Lou, Tal and Noel are one or two syllables and used for any gender.
Which unisex names were once mostly for boys?
Ashley, Aubrey, Whitney, Kelsey and Lynn were once given mostly to boys in the US and are now given mostly to girls. Girls first outnumbered boys for Lynn in 1942, Whitney in 1962, Ashley in 1964, Kelsey in 1972 and Aubrey in 1974.
What is the most gender-neutral name?
In 2025 US data, Tatum, Blake and Dakota were the closest to even among well-used names, each given to about 49% girls and 51% boys. Robin, Alexis, Charlie and Shiloh were close behind.
Do unisex names stay unisex?
Often not for long. Most US unisex names drifted from boys to girls, like Ashley in 1964 and Avery in 1998, but some swing back: Charlie went back to more boys in 2025. A 2021 study found many shared names rise and fall for both sexes together.
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