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The Name Game: Gender Benders

Once upon a time, naming a little girl ‘Cameron’ was considered radical…but Cameron Diaz arrived on the scene and forever changed the perception of a name that was historically given to boys. Other unisex names, like Taylor and Morgan, soon followed suit. But celebrity parents are known for pushing the envelope, and when it comes to selecting gender bending names they often lead the charge. Linda Rosenkrantz, co-founder of nameberry.com, notes that names like James and Judah had previously been considered 100% strictly male — until they were selected by Brendan Fehr and Ziggy Marley, respectively, for their baby girls! What’s the appeal? Linda explains,

“Boys names on girls bestow on their bearers a certain tomboyish, cutting edge image, an attention-catching rebel sensibility –  and possibly an attempt to level the playing field.”

With that said, there are obvious downsides. Linda cites the possibility for “all kinds of mix-ups and confounded expectations,” including even correspondence confusion. On paper — at least — most people would expect James to be a “Mr.,” and not a “Ms,” she notes. “There has also been some negative reaction from parents of boys with these names, fearing that if too many other girls are named, say, Finley, it might rob the name of some of its good old Celtic masculine punch, and eventually, as in the cases of Ashley and Addison, come to be considered a girls’ name,” Linda adds.

Soleil Moon Frye and Jagger Goldberg, Kelsey and Mason Grammer, Angie Harmon and Emery Sehorn — Charley Gallay/WireImage; Byron Purvis/AdMedia; Andrew Macpherson for PEOPLE for use on CBB

Click below to see which celebrity couple Linda calls ‘serial boundary breakers.’

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Ana Gasteyer Gets Lost in Motherhood

Neilson Barnard/Getty

Many parents give careful consideration to the age difference between their first and subsequent children, and for Ana Gasteyer and her husband Charlie McKittrick, the bigger the better. “It’s great that they are so far apart in age,” the 42-year-old mom of Frances Mary, 7, and Ulysses, 16 months, tells the August/September issue of Fit Pregnancy, “so we had full advantage of each one’s infancy.”

Ana also considers herself “lucky” that her firstborn was a girl, noting,

“She never batted an eyelash about having the baby around. I am not so sure how it’d go if it were the other way.”

Although she wishes she had not returned to work so soon after Ulysses was born — advising other new moms to “take it slow” — the former Saturday Night Live star has no regrets. Calling motherhood “the most fulfilling thing” she’s done, Ana is content to focus all her efforts on “what will make them better, happier people, or the world a better place.” She adds,

“I am very lost in it right now and feel tremendously lucky.”

Source: Fit Pregnancy, August/September issue

– Missy

Around the Web…

Some stories to send you into the weekend:

• In support of bottle-feeding — New York Times
• Babies “R” Us gets sued amidst claims of financial threats — momlogic
• How to keep your kids on a sleep schedule this summer — Just the Facts, Baby
• When are kids too old to be naked in public? — Today
• Fertility: Myths vs. facts — lilSugar