8 baby names have officially hit 'gender neutral' status, with several more on the cusp
Some surprising names are now split 50/50 among baby boys and girls.

Baby names are moving toward more gender neutrality.
When people come up with names for their children, they often choose them based on the baby's gender (based on sex at birth). Many families will have a list of boy names and girl names at the ready, but it's all a little precarious because what constitutes a gender-specific name is constantly changing.
For instance, the name Avery has seen a dramatic shift in gendered use over the past century or so. According to Social Security Administration data, Avery was 100% a boy's name in 1880. By 1999, it was being used for girls 52% of the time (basically gender-neutral), and by 2018, Avery was being used for girls 97% of the time. Clearly, a boy's name, a girl's name, or an unisex name depends entirely upon the age in which you live.
Some names are split exactly 50/50 between boys and girls. Photo credit: Canva
So, where are we with all of this in 2025? After analyzing the tens of thousands of baby name registrations on its website, BabyCenter has listed eight new names under the officially gender-neutral umbrella, meaning 50% of babies registered with this name are girls and 50% are boys.
8 baby names that became totally gender neutral in 2025
Blake
A name with two opposing meanings feels pretty appropriate for a unisex name. From the Old English blaec, Blake means "black," and from the Old English blac, it means "white" or "pale."
Blake is officially a unisex name. Giphy
Jojo
Jojo can be a nickname for any name that starts with "Jo," like Jonathan ("God has given") or Joanne ("God is gracious").
Jules
Aside from taking inspiration from Jules Verne, Jules can be a nickname for Julian or Julia, both of which have roots in Latin related to Jupiter.
Koi
Yep, like the fish. Koi is a Japanese name that means carp, but it also means "love."
Koi is used as a name for boys and girls in equal measure. Giphy
Landry
Landry means "ruler of the land," and also "laundry," but let's assume most parents are going with the former.
Robin
The backyard bird, yes. But Robin is also an archaic nickname for Robert, which means "bright, famous one."
Sidney
Sidney (which can also be spelled like the Australian city of Sydney, which is more common for girls) means "dweller by the well-watered land" in Old English.
From Sidney Poitier to Sidney Sweeney, Sidney is an androgynous name. Giphy
Sri
Sri is a Sanskrit name that is sometimes used as an honorific in Hindi culture. It has a few meanings, including "light, beauty, and prosperity," and "power and royal majesty."
Some might note that a few of these names—Robin and Sidney in particular—have been functionally gender-neutral for a long time. Others on the list are not very common in American culture, so they may not feel like names that were ever gendered to begin with. But the data says what the data says, and this is where we are in 2025.
Some names have moved away from gender specificity.Photo credit: Canva
The popular baby site has also shared a handful of names that are on the cusp of being 50/50 but not quite there:
Armani (47% girls, 53% boys)
Ashtyn (46% girls, 54% boys)
Callaway (47% girls, 53% boys)
Georgie (53% girls, 47% boys)
Huntley (48% girls, 52% boys)
Jae (47% girls, 53% boys)
Rory (49% girls, 51% boys)
Shiloh (52% girls, 48% boys)
Tatum (44% girls, 56% boys)
Yuri (49% girls, 51% boys)
What makes a name gender specific?Photo credit: Canva
What causes names to shift away from gender specificity?
Names being gendered is purely a social construct, so it's not like there are any actual rules at play here. But like many naming trends, popular culture and entertainment can influence what names are considered masculine, feminine, or unisex.
Let's go back to Avery, for example. Avery is a variation of Alfred and was solely a boy's name in the late 1800s. But it wasn't a popular name for either gender until the 1990s, when it started to rise for boys in 1992 and then skyrocketed for girls in 1996. What caused the big spike for girls? Best guess is the film "Jerry Maguire," which had a female character (Tom Cruise's girlfriend in the beginning, played by Kelly Preston) named Avery. That movie came out in 1996, and that's also the year the name took off for girls in the U.S. Coincidence, perhaps, but probably not.
Elliott didn't take off as a girl's name like it could have. Giphy
Then again, the popular TV show Scrubs, which ran from 2001 to 2010, had a central female character named Elliott, and that didn't seem to lead to an uptick in girls named Elliott. In fact, Elliott didn't even register statistically for girls until 2013 (though maybe people streaming the show did make a delayed impact).
Whether it's the influence of entertainment, shifts in gender theory, or parents moving away from name uniformity, gender-neutral names are on the rise. It will be interesting to see how many other traditionally gendered names move toward the middle in the coming years.
You can view the full report on unisex names on BabyCenter here.