Thought I might post this here in case anyone has suggestions or whatever. I am looking for a gender neutral name to use somewhere. I was thinking about how Jane / John Doe is the name for someone unidentified, which is pretty cool. But considering that Jane and John are basically “girl” and “boy” - the names, it’s a pity that there isn’t a third neutral equivalent of those names.
Digging around I saw a suggestion of “Jay” elsewhere but I’m not sure if that feels right to me. Would that strike you as a gender neutral name if you came across it in the wild? Maybe I’ve just known too many Johns and Jasons.
Or does anyone maybe have any other cool suggestions if you feel so inclined? The problem I find personally with a lot of “gender neutral names lists” that I come across, is that a lot of the names seem a bit too Gen Z to feel right for me, personally. Names like Kai or River are pretty cool but also sound like names some of my friends might have named their kids.
Anyone know any cool gender neutral names that are maybe a bit more born in the late '80s millennial?
Edit: Just found an interesting one (for me). The Dutch for both Jane and John seems to be Jan, and is listed as a gender neutral name. Definitely a name I’ve heard for both men and women (although pronounced differently where I’m from).
Edit 2: I think my shortlist is now Jan, Jean and for an attractive outside of the John / Jane thing, I’m kinda liking Alex.
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Jamie.
I fell in love with this name after I played a vn called “our life” :<
Ooh that’s a nice one. And another in the J related names category. Thanks!
Sam would work, wouldn’t it? Short for Samantha/Samuel
Nah I think it doesn’t work so well.
It’s Pat
That’s what people called my mother my whole life lmao. Interesting that it’s used as basic gender neutral name, seems more like a shortened version of two possible names to me. Which is kinda like Jay as well. And yeah, not gonna use that personally lol.
Oh haha, my bad. I had a feeling it could be a reference to something but wasn’t sure. That looks really cool and I need to watch it.
It’s been quite some time since I’ve seen it but part of the whole joke is societies lack of comfort with people who don’t identify as a specific gender role so proooooooobably quite problematic in the current climate.
but also might be a fantastic satire on today too.
“Vic” serves triple duty, being short for common men’s and women’s names, a gender-neutral nickname, and an abbreviation for “victim,” which is often used in the same context as J. Doe.
Vic can also be short for Vicky or Victor. It’s nicely ambiguous too!
If it’s verbal, Jean/Gene works. Otherwise, depending on where you live…
Alex
Ali
Chris
Drew
Jordan
Kelly
Linden
Taylor
VickHadn’t thought of looking for a verbal match. Great idea for a place for me to look for ideas. Both Jean or Gene could even work actually. I’ll be using it in text form but the rules can be bent. I also do like Alex, which someone else here also suggested. Thanks for the ideas.
I’ve never seen Linden as a woman’s name. Interesting to me because the feminine form Linda is so common…so much so that there is a back formation of Lindo for the masculine form.
I knew a woman with the name, though she spelled it “Lynden” I think. Presumably not super common though.
Bernd das Brot
Avery is split down the middle. Jocelyn is the masculine form in French but is a woman’s name in English (vs Jocelyne).
How about Alex? V?
Hmmm I think I might like Alex, actually. I’ve always liked it for a women’s name in particular personally, although it’s very definitely neutral. Suits what I’m trying for in a lot of ways and I like the name. I think I’m gonna add that to my shortlist. Thanks.
They use Mǒumǒu in China which translates into “somebody”.
I like as a surname maybe. Or you might be on to something with looking at other languages, I’ll maybe see what I could find. Could be misleading for my intended purposes right now though.
Bobby.
