Amidst a swirl of rumored options,
Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively have finally confirmed their baby daughter's name: James. While it may not seem like a typical girl name, James is just one of many recent examples celebrities giving their daughters names traditionally reserved for boys. Here are 13 celebrity baby girl names going in a more unisex direction.
Arlo
Actor-comedian-stuntman
Johnny Knoxville rose to fame as part of MTV’s "Jackass" empire. He’s the father of three: daughter
Madison, son
Rocko Akira, and daughter Arlo Lemoyne
Yoko. Let’s just say that his taste in names has gotten more and more daring as the years have gone by. While Arlo might seem like a wacky choice for a girl, with
Harlow and
Marlowe in vogue, it’s not a stretch to imagine parents considering Arlo, too.
Casper
Jason Lee and
Beth Riesgraf were inspired to name their son
Pilot after a song lyric. More than a decade later, Pilot is still a go-to name for wacky baby name lists. (I’m not sure it deserves that much noise.) Jason and new wife Ceren Alkac kept the name of their daughter quiet, but Casper
Alice has mostly gotten positive reviews. The couple have a second child together, son
Sonny.
Easton August
Every time I see mentions of
Elisabeth Rohm’s daughter’s name, I pause. I think it’s a good idea for either the first or the middle to be clearly gendered –- see Casper Alice, as well as
Isabelle, a middle shared by two girls on this list. Elisabeth stuck to the grey area when naming her daughter in 2008. Easton has since entered the US Top 100 for boys. But maybe August isn’t such a surprise. Actor
Oscar Nunez has an August
Luce, and Garth Brooks named his daughter August
Anna way back in 1994. So Easton is definitely borrowed from Team Blue, but August? Perhaps this calendar name belongs with April and June.
Fox
Mark Owen is known as a member of British pop group Take That, and he’s had a big solo career, too. In 2009, Mark married actress
Emma Ferguson, and the two started a family: son
Elwood Jack, daughter
Willow Rose, and, in 2012, daughter Fox
India. Yup, Fox is a girl. In the US, the creature name is a fast-rising favorite for boys, currently poised just outside of the US Top 1000.
Gray
Jenna von Oy played sitcom characters named Six and
Stevie back in the 1990s. Fast-forward to 2012, and she welcomed her first child, daughter Gray
Audrey. In a classroom full of girls called
Scarlett and
Violet, colorful Gray isn’t such a surprise. But the somber name is more common for boys, especially when you consider
Grey, as well as the fast-rising
Grayson – in the US Top 100 –- or
Greyson –- not far behind, at #149. But unisex names must be von Oy’s style. Her younger daughter is Marlowe Monroe.
Hunter
Actor
Kevin Rahm has had a long television career, most recently as
Ted on "Mad Men." He become a father late in 2014, welcoming daughter Hunter. Like Wyatt and Lincoln, Hunter is a Top 100 favorite for boys. And yet on a girl, Hunter does feel wearable, a unisex name thanks to mythological and fictional figures like
Artemis, the Amazons, and
Katniss Everdeen –- skilled hunters all.
James
James has been big in the middle spot for girls for years.
Sean Combs has a daughter called
Jessie James, born back in 2006. More recently,
Jessica Capshaw welcomed
Poppy James,
Jennifer Love Hewitt went with
Autumn James, and James Marsden’s daughter wears one of my favorite combinations,
Mary James.
But James has also starred as a first name for baby girls. Canadian actor
Brendan Fehr is the father of three girls:
Ondine,
Ellison Jane, and James
Olivia.
Helen Hunt played
Jamie “James” Buchman on "Mad About You" back in the 1990s. And model
Jaime King started out her career answering to James, too. According to the Social Security Administration, 28 girls were named James in 2013.
Jude
Martha Stewart’s only child is daughter
Alexis -– a name preferred for men in many languages. In 2011, the younger Ms. Stewart welcomed daughter Jude. While Jude -– as in Hey and the Obscure -– is definitely as masculine moniker, plenty of women named
Judy and
Judith have answered to Jude. It’s not quite
Chris or
Pat, but I think it seems less jarring than some of the names on this list.
Lincoln
Dax Shepard and
Kristen Bell had a favorite name for their first baby. And even though Lincoln is much more popular for a boy, the couple named their daughter Lincoln Bell Shepard in 2013. It’s too soon to say if Dax and Kristen’s gender-bending choice will influence others, but there’s already a tiny minority of girls by the name –- 61 born in 2013 alone.
Mason
Veteran actor
Kelsey Grammer is much-married, and father to six children. Two of his daughters have conventionally masculine names –-
Spencer and
Mason. Spencer’s acting career has flourished in recent years, and little sister Mason was in the spotlight when Kelsey’s former wife,
Camille, was featured on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Mason was born back in 2001, when the name ranked a mere #53 in the US.
Maxwell
Jessica Simpson surprised everyone when she announced the arrival of daughter Maxwell
Drew in 2012. Jessica and retired footballer husband
Eric Johnson explained that they’d chosen family names for Maxwell, and later for son
Ace Knute. It’s a very Southern thing to do, and yet, Maxwell still seems like a solidly masculine name. Or is it? That same year, actress
Lindsay Sloane named her daughter Maxwell
Lue.
Owen
Back in 2005, musician Michelle Branch welcomed Owen Isabelle. While plenty of conventionally masculine names are steadily used for girls, like
Dylan and
Ryan, Michelle’s Owen is one of the few girls given this name. Middle name Isabelle softens the unexpected first.
Wyatt
Speaking of Isabelle, that’s the same middle name
Aston Kutcher and
Mila Kunis gave to their daughter, born in 2014. Wyatt Isabelle’s middle name honors Mila’s grandma, but Wyatt was just something that came to the couple at a Lakers game.
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