![[OC] the 25 most unisex baby names in the US, 2000-2024](https://www.byteseu.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/yyi4aautqhvf1-847x1024.png "[OC] the 25 most unisex baby names in the US, 2000-2024")
Swipe for 1980-1999, 1960-1979, and why Alex and Taylor aren't on the other charts.
Blog post with code, more charts, analysis, and pretty tables: https://nameplay.org/blog/most-non-binary-gender-neutral-names
Design is based on a post by Randy Olson from 11 years ago. Yeah, this sub has been around for a while. All code and analysis are original.
Includes names with at least 5k total births across both genders in the Social Security Administration baby names data during each chart's time period. Names are ranked using a diversity index, which subtracts each gender's squared proportion of births from 1. This metric is called the Simpson Index in ecology and the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index in economics.
This visualization focuses on the names with the most non-binary gender distribution in the baby name data, NOT the most common names considered unisex.
Posted by aar0nbecker
30 Comments
Data Source: [Social Security Administration full baby names data set](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/limits.html) (all names given to >5 same-sex babies in a year)
Tools:
* Analysis: Jupyter, Python, polars
* Visualization: matplotlib, aquarel (theming)
Blog post from Jupyter Notebook with all code: https://nameplay.org/blog/most-non-binary-gender-neutral-names
I’m surprised so many boys are being named Dominique, I have never seen that before
I am surprised the name Raven is not on here. I think its a beautiful name that can be used for either gender.
Anticipate A drop off in Skyler over the next 25 year period.
Chris, Sam, and Alex in the last chart maybe don’t seem to be including the full names that get shortened to it.
e.g. Samuel vs Samantha -> both often shortened to ‘Sam’
and for Chris, usually Kris* -> still pronounced ‘Chris’
Alexis, Alexa -> Alex
etc
As a foreigner some of these are wild. Nearly 50/50 split of boys and girls named Angel? Sage, Jean?
Laverne, Jackie, Beverly, and Evelyne would like a word…
Jaylin is interesting. The story I’d always heard touted was that that name didn’t exist before NBA star Jalen Rose was born. He was on TV in the 90s and suddenly a bunch of other Jalen-esque named kids started popping up a decade or two later (it IS a pretty cool name.)
Last years NBA champions had not one, but TWO dudes named some variation of “Jalen Williams” on the team.
Anyway, surprised it’s like half girls if that story was true.
That last slide’s “despite what you may think”, it’s still normal to call girls Chris, Sam and Alex due to Christine/a, Samantha and Alexandra..
Interesting, the staying power of Marion. It was the original name of John Wayne (Marion Morrison).
Tommie *and* Lee. How fitting
The letter “y” getting a lot of playtime on this list
Most of the “least androgynous” ones are nicknames. I wonder the sex breakdown of people *who go by Alex / Chris* regardless of full government name (Alexander / ra, Christopher / ine.)
Who names their kid Ocean?
I am surprised Jordan isn’t on this list.
How is there so many people that chose to name their daughter fuckin Murphy?
I’m really surprised Kelly isn’t on this list! I know an equal amount of girl and boy Kelly’s!
I didn’t know Dakota can be a boy name! I always thought it was a girl name because of Dakota Fanning. Not that there’s anything wrong for a boy/man to be named Dakota of course. To each their own.
Is that Jael said like Jail? Who the hell names their kid that
Actually a little surprised at just how lopsided Taylor is. As a guy with that name I was pretty certain it was much more common for women, just didn’t expect it to be greater than 5:1.
Taylor Swift really swung that name to the girls didn’t it.
So many of these names make me question parent’s naming decisions…
It’s really annoying for people to have to always spell out their name. It doesn’t make your kid unique, it makes them have a hassle in life that they didn’t need.
I have legit never heard the name Azariah and apparently there are thousands roaming the US.
What I find super interesting is that, over the decades, Morgan went from being a masculine name to a feminine name
we have some tradegiehs in that first slide. oh my
What am I missing about girls being named Frankie? I’ve never heard of this. Short form of Francis or something?
The boys’ spelling is Jesse, Jessie as a boy should be very rare
What does sorted for diversity mean
I’ve never heard of Jael. Who tf names their kid something that’s a homophone of a negative thing? That’s just brain damaged.
As an Irish person why are our surnames being given as forenames?