You might like Quinn before you have thought about who usually carries it. Or you may want a name that leaves room for your child without choosing two separate lists. A useful starting point is a set of names with established use for girls and boys, followed by a closer look at the sounds and spellings you prefer.
A MOMENT TO COMPARE
Hear the name before the numbers
Choose two names, note what you like, then reveal the separate usage records. Shared use does not require equal counts.
The records shown here make those choices more concrete. They describe first names in the female and male categories of the 2025 U.S. Social Security file. They do not describe a child’s identity, and equal numbers are not a requirement for liking a name.
Names to read and compare
These names have documented shared use in naming references as well as records in both SSA categories. The two checks serve different purposes: a handful of registrations in another category would not, by itself, establish that a name is widely understood as gender-neutral.
F/M are the file’s categories. Exact-spelling first-name records, not nickname or middle-name frequency.
| Name | Reading hint | Meaning or name history | 2025 U.S. records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex | AL-iks | A short form of Alexander or Alexandra. | F 71 / M 1,515 |
| Avery | AY-ver-ee; also AYV-ree | From a surname with more than one proposed name-history route. | F 5,267 / M 1,156 |
| Bailey | BAY-lee | From an occupational surname related to a bailiff. | F 1,446 / M 138 |
| Blake | BLAYK | From an English surname with competing dark or pale explanations. | F 1,035 / M 1,080 |
| Cameron | KAM-er-un | From a Scottish surname with Gaelic elements for crooked nose. | F 614 / M 4,348 |
| Casey | KAY-see | From an Irish surname derived from Cathasach. | F 228 / M 1,072 |
| Charlie | CHAR-lee | A short form of Charles or Charlotte. | F 2,160 / M 2,460 |
| Dakota | duh-KOH-tuh | From the name of the Dakota people, connected with allies or friends. | F 1,035 / M 1,074 |
| Drew | DROO | A short form of Andrew, also established as a feminine name. | F 399 / M 541 |
| Eden | EE-dun | From the biblical place name, traditionally connected with delight. | F 3,362 / M 551 |
| Ellis | EL-is | From an English surname derived from the given name Elias. | F 415 / M 1,417 |
| Emerson | EM-er-sun | A surname meaning son of Emery. | F 2,241 / M 1,371 |
| Finley | FIN-lee | A spelling variant of Finlay. | F 753 / M 1,017 |
| Frankie | FRANK-ee | A short form of Frank or Frances. | F 549 / M 256 |
| Hayden | HAY-dun | From English place-name surnames connected with hay and a valley or hill. | F 707 / M 2,268 |
| Jamie | JAY-mee | A Scots short form of James, later also used for girls. | F 316 / M 508 |
| Jessie [2] | JES-ee | The feminine form can shorten Jean or Jessica; the masculine form is a variant of Jesse. | F 330 / M 126 |
| Jordan | JOR-dun | From the river name, related to a Hebrew root for descending or flowing down. | F 503 / M 2,732 |
| Morgan | MOR-gun | A Welsh name from Morcant; the deeper derivation is uncertain. | F 977 / M 532 |
| Parker | PAR-ker | From an English occupational surname for a park keeper. | F 2,536 / M 3,477 |
| Peyton | PAY-tun | From an English place-name surname. | F 1,559 / M 398 |
| Quinn | KWIN | From an Irish surname associated with the name Conn. | F 2,634 / M 663 |
| Reese | REES | An anglicised form of Rhys. | F 1,631 / M 475 |
| Riley | RY-lee | From English or Irish surnames, with separate historical routes. | F 4,441 / M 1,666 |
| River | RIV-er | From the English watercourse word. | F 1,401 / M 3,139 |
| Robin | RAHB-in | A traditional short form of Robert, and separately the bird word. | F 400 / M 382 |
| Rowan | ROH-un | Can connect with the rowan tree or the Irish name Ruadhán. | F 1,240 / M 5,212 |
| Sage | SAYJ | An English word for a herb, and separately for a wise person. | F 1,853 / M 684 |
| Sam | SAM | In English, short for Samuel, Samantha and other Sam names. | F 24 / M 428 |
| Taylor | TAY-ler | From an occupational surname for a tailor. | F 772 / M 398 |
Shared use does not have to mean fifty-fifty
Rowan appears 5,212 times in the male category and 1,240 times in the female category of the 2025 file. Quinn goes the other way: 663 and 2,634 respectively. Morgan is recorded 532 times in the male category and 977 in the female category. All three have shared use, with different patterns in this particular U.S. year.
A number can help explain why a name feels familiar to people around you. It cannot tell you how every classmate will hear it, how it will be used where you live next year, or whether it will feel right for your child. If you love Rowan and the uneven counts do not trouble you, you do not need to find a more evenly divided replacement.
Keep the exact spelling and reading together
Riley and Rylee are separate labels in the published file. So are Reese and Rhys. Do not add spellings together and then present the result as the count for one spelling. When two forms sound alike to your family, write each with the surname before deciding which one you want to keep.
Avery also shows why a name’s sound deserves its own check. English references include AY-vuh-ree and the compressed AYV-ree. Neither is a new spelling. Before comparing it with another favourite, agree on which reading you are actually trying. The counts do not distinguish those two pronunciations.
A familiar short form can still be the name you choose
Alex, Charlie, Frankie, Jamie and Sam have histories as short forms. Some point to more than one longer name. If you enjoy that flexibility, explore it; if you prefer using the short form every day, make that preference clear when you share your list. A longer form is an option to consider, not a test the short form has to pass.
The girl and boy nickname guides are useful when a particular short form has already caught your ear. Look at the documented relationships rather than inventing a longer name simply to make the short form possible.
Compare girl names and their documented short forms.
Compare boy names and their documented short forms.
Try an introduction before looking for a winner
Pick two names from the comparison cards. Say “This is Morgan” and “This is Quinn,” then repeat both with the same surname. Notice the detail you like: the first sound, the ending, a family connection, or simply the way you enjoy saying it. The records are there when you want context, without turning the decision into a score.
Keep the name, the intended reading and your reason on a small list. You can ask someone you trust to read it back, especially if your household uses more than one language. Their response can reveal a practical spelling or sound question; it need not become a vote on which names belong to which people.
If you prefer keeping two lists for now, the two-shortlist method offers another way to begin.
