Many states have begun tracking how many girls and how many boys receive each name. In Kansas in 1997, in what surely must be a name history first, Jordan stood exactly even in the count, with 19 boys and 19 girls given the name. Over time, most androgynous names shift girl-ward. None shifted the other way. But another study analyzing most popular names over the years says names in general are becoming more feminine, with more syllables and softer sounds.
Linguists say names have gender markers, even when they're invented.
The ' a ' ending usually signals a girls' name, though recent favorites Joshua, Noah, Elijah, and Jonah are evidence of the softening trend in boys' names. Androgynous geographic names such as Dakota, Montana, and Sierra also often end in an ' a '. Androgynous names are really all about gender identity, and if you're interested in this kind of name, it makes sense to think about what this says about who you hope your child will become. And giving a son an androgynous name may signal that you don't want your boy to be a traditional male, that you would prefer that he be sensitive and creative rather than aggressive and macho. The new generation of feminist parents and working mothers is one reason.