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Should I move the name Romilly to my boy's list?

I'm very against so called "unisex" names with the exception of three names; Vivian / Vivienne (Because of my Great Aunt Vivian who died at the age of 95; I'd only use it as a middle), Joyce (SO's mother's name; I'd only use it as a middle), and Ariel (My favorite movie as a child was The Little Mermaid; I watched it so much I wore three tapes of it out). Romilly is supposedly a "unisex" name. Started out as a French Place Name, then a Surname, then a boy's name, and then occasionally used on females. From what I found out it's familiar in England and totally unheard of in the USA. There is Romilly John, son of artist Augustus John. And Emma Thompson and her husband, Greg Wise, named their daughter Gaia Romilly. I've had it on my girl's list because I didn't know any of this. And now I'm reconsidering it, and wondering if I should move it to my male's list. The three "unisex" names I would use on females, I have legitimate reasons, while this one I wouldn't. Should I keep it on my females list, as one of very few exceptions? Move it to my boy's list? Or ditch it completely? I have found two pronunciations of Romilly; (ROM illy) and (RAH mi lee). It's Latin, meaning 'wanderer' or 'walker'. I'd personally rather move it to my boy's list or ditch it completely, rather than leave it on my girl's list.

Public Comments

1. sorry i hate it.
2. i hate it too
3. I would take it off both lists. My initial reaction was it looks/sounds like a disease or really smelly cheese.
4. You're setting your kid up to be bullied!
5. Anytime you stick a boy with an odd name the other boys will poke fun at him constantly! Often they will beat the crap out of him! You will cause this little boy lots of trouble in his young life just so you will be feel good giving him a pansy name! Don't do it! Stick with something simple and common and possibly save this little boy's life! Think of your kid first, babies are not toys or puppies!
6. Why don't you consider it for a boy and a girl? The name could be on both lists. Personally it looks feminine to me, because of the -milly bit at the end, though I can see it as a boy's name, too. If you like it then put it on both lists!
7. Even though it may be a boys name it looks & sounds feminine... I think it's the 'milly' on the end, It's like Emily with a Ro- personally it's not the best name I've heard for a boy Maybe you could consider it for your 'middle name' list, along side a more masculine sounding first name. Using Romilly as a first name you'd be probably be setting him up for teasing in school & a few ppl assuming he's female on paper.
8. I would definitely have thought it was an entirely female name.. I would not suggest to give this name to a boy.. sounds very feminine.. almost like Emily
9. Eh, Romilly is all girl to me. I've never heard of it being used for a boy and it's got the popular female nickname "Milly" attached right onto it. In fact I doubt it's even really a unisex name. Where did you see use of it on a boy, besides John?
10. I have seen Romilly listed as female, not unisex, on several naming sights. Other than that, it comes up as a surname only. I also searched Romilly John and only found John Romilly. The only site I've found that mentions the artist's son at all is www.babynames.com, which also lists James as unisex, if that tells you anything. Now that I've searched it a little, only one site is giving me a male result. "Based on popular usage, it is 1.206 times more common for Romilly to be a boy's name." Though "based on popular usage" also comes up with Madison as female, which was completely expected. Not sure how credible this is, but it's the only mention of it as a male name I could find. I quite like Romilly and I do think you should keep it on your girl's list. If you compare it to other names that people are using on girl's such as Aubrey and Finley, which may sound feminine but are structurally and historically masculine, Romilly seems like a giveaway girl to me. Milly is feminine, and it's literally tacked on the end. This was interesting, I had fun researching this one. :D