In 1995 in the United States, 77 names ranked in the Top 1000 in popularity for both boys and girls, according to baby name data from the Social Security Administration. Of those 77 unisex baby names, 67 were “unique,” while 10 were variants, such as Devon, Devin, or Devan.

By 2005, the number of unisex, or androgynous, names appearing on male and female Top 1000 lists had shrunk to 64, including 53 unique names. That’s a drop of about 20% in unisex names over the decade.

The drop is surprising for a couple of reasons. For one thing, people often assume that as more “made-up” names (such as Rylee) enter the language, or as more “placenames” become baby names (think Dakota), more of these names are unisex. That may be true, but there simply aren’t that many “made-up” unisex names in the Top 1000, for either 1995 or 2005.

What did change between 1995 and 2005 were the names themselves. Of the 77 unisex names in 1995, fully 50% (38 names) lost their unisex identity by 2005. Discounting those situations where both names fell out of favor, the name more often moved to the male side of the table rather than the female, contrary to conventional wisdom about unisex names.

Some notable names that shook off their female challengers by 2005 include Alex, Adrian, Blake, and Carson. The female popularity ranking for those four names dropped out of the Top 1000 by 2005. On the flip side, the unisex names Dana, Erin, Leslie, and Madison muscled their male counterparts out of the Top 1000 over the same period.

By 2005, 23 new names joined the old guard of unisex names. Two names previously popular as single gender names that are now seeing growth as a unisex name are Dylan and Hayden.

What to make of these numbers? Certain names seem to be stubbornly unisex, with neither side admitting defeat and slinking away. Most of  America’s Top Ten Unisex Baby Names fall into this category. But, as people have noted before, over time there is a tendency for most unisex names to end up female. Of the names that were unisex in both 1995 and 2005, and where a trend is clear, 13 are trending to the female side, while just 8 are trending to the male side. But on the contrary, names from 1995 that lost their unisex appeal tended to become more male!

What’s clear is that new names come onto this list all the time, and often, older male names from previous generations find rebirth as unisex names. Addison and Parker are both traditional male names that disappeared from the Top 1000 in the mid-20th century, only to reappear as unisex names towards the end of the century.  

Who can say which way a name will ultimately go? The traditional male name Drew beat back female challengers over the last decade, despite the example of actress Drew Barrymore. On the other hand, the traditional male name Reese is as popular today for boys as it was in the 1880’s, but a new generation of girls, perhaps inspired by actress Reese Witherspoon, is trying to make Reese their own, and the name is currently twice as popular with girls as boys.

Maybe it’s the Academy Award that makes all the difference.

For the most recent information about unisex baby names, see our main unisex baby names page.

2005 Unisex Baby Names

Name	Boy's Rank	Girl's Rank	Ten Year Trend
Addison	583	107	Old male name. Trends female.
Alexis	133	13	Trends female.
Amari	410	487	Increasing popularity. Trends about equal.
Angel	32	147	Trends male.
Ariel	549	222	Declining popularity. Trends female.
Armani	719	954	New since the 90's. Mostly male
Ashton	107	778	Strong trend to male.
Avery	215	66	Trends female.
Bailey	512	108	Strong trend to female.
Cameron	52	263	Trends male.
Campbell	923	700	Newly popular. Trends to female.
Camryn	948	235	New name. Strong trend to female.
Casey	297	404	Declining.
Charlie	328	951	Old, mostly male name. New as female.
Dakota	150	226	Trends female.
Devin	90	903	Strong trend to male.
Devon	191	958	Strong trend to male.
Devyn	729	873	Uncommon name, trend about equal.
Dominique	685	532	Declining
Drew	198	968	Strong trend to male.
Dylan	24	605	Strong trend to male.
Emerson	584	442	Old male name. Strong new female trend.
Guadalupe	936	254	Strong trend to female.
Harley	509	372	Trends female.
Hayden	77	417	Old, popular male name. New as female.
Jaden	88	280	New since 90s. Trends male.
Jadyn	695	249	New since 90s. Trends female.
Jaiden	223	469	New since 90s. Trends male.
Jaidyn	941	600	New since 01. Mostly female.
Jamie	550	219	Declining, trends to female.
Jayden	54	224	New since 90s. Mostly male.
Jaylin	436	655	New since 90s.Trend about equal.
Jessie	446	570	Declining. Trend about equal.
Jordan	46	86	Slightly declining, slight trend to male.
Jordyn	929	188	New since 89. Mostly female.
Justice	443	536	Trend about equal.
Kasey	630	595	Declining. Trend about equal.
Kayden	255	627	New since 99. trends male.
Kendall	522	130	Strong trend female.
Kennedy	987	118	Strong trend female.
Logan	26	410	Strong trend male.
London	688	538	New since 90s.Trend about equal.
Micah	151	878	Strong trend male.
Morgan	335	33	Strong trend female.
Parker	119	711	Old, popular male name. New as female.
Payton	238	156	Increasing popularity. Trends about equal.
Peyton	138	131	Increasing popularity. Trends about equal.
Phoenix	478	895	New since 90s. Trends male.
Quinn	303	676	Trends male.
Reagan	684	136	New since 90s. Mostly female.
Reese	406	237	Old male name, trends female.
Riley	106	53	Popular name, slightly more female.
Rowan	439	765	New since the 90's. Most male.
Ryan	13	452	Mostly male.
Rylee	755	128	New since 94. Mostly female.
Sage	644	363	Declining as a male name.
Shannon	910	301	Both declining especially male.
Shea	971	767	Trends female.
Sidney	832	376	Both declining especially male.
Skylar	462	154	Trends female.
Skyler	241	315	Trends slightly male
Taylor	224	24	Strongly trends female.
Teagan	869	478	New since 99. Mostly female.
Tyler	16	764	Strongly trends male.

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