Why are gender-neutral baby names so popular these days?

If you've just had a baby, chances are you gave that baby a name.

If you had a boy, you might have given that baby a boy's name, and if you had a girl, you might have given that baby a girl's name. Similarly, if you had a boy or a girl, you might have decided to give your baby a gender-neutral name that could suit either or a boy or a girl. Gender-neutral names have, of course, been a thing forever. Everybody has an Alex or a Billie or a Cameron in their lives, after all However, the past few years has seen a serious influx in gender-neutral baby names, and it's not just because they're adorable either. According to Linda Murray, global editor-in-chief of BabyCenter.com, millennial parents are far more interested in gender-neutral names than their parents were before them. Mum Lori Kinkler from Texas told the NY Times that she decided to give her baby, Riley, a gender-neutral name because she wanted her daughter to have an easier life if she ended up being gender fluid or transgender. She said:

“We knew her sex, but gender is fluid and yet to be determined. Of all the difficulties faced by those who live beyond, or across, the binary, we didn’t want name-changing to be one of them. "I like that she feels she has options and knows she’ll be accepted by us no matter what.”

Gender fluidity isn't the only reason why gender-neutral names are on the rise though. Mum Kirsten Hammann from San Fransisco said that she gave her daughter, Sigrid, a gender-neutral name because she believed that not knowing whether a person was a woman or a man gave them more "power." She said:

“Sigrid is technically a girl’s name but because it’s so uncommon in the U.S. it reads as gender neutral to most people. “Whether we like it or not, names that skew a little masculine, or less feminine, are perceived as stronger, and I wanted that for my girls.”

Similarly, parents are opting to give their children gender-neutral names simply because a lot of them sound more modern. Just look at Kylie Jenner's daughter, Stormi, Kim K's newborn, Chicago, and Adam Levine's daughter, Dusty. Back in the day, we used to laugh as celebrity's named their babies seemingly ridiculous things (Apple, anyone?), but now it appears as if they're leading the way when it comes to baby name trends. Fair play, we guess.