Do you consider Morgan to be a male, female, or unisex name?

[Rare Pink Leech]

The title pretty much says it all. The other day I was part of a group having this very conversation, and we ended up pretty much split between Morgan being a male name and a unisex name, although one person considered it to be a female name.

Personally, I think Morgan is a male name that is also used for females. For example, if someone told me their friend Morgan was coming, I'd assume Morgan was a man, but if she turned out to be female I wouldn't be surprised, since it is a pretty common female name, while being primarily a male name.

[Hlaine Larkin]

The title pretty much says it all. The other day I was part of a group having this very conversation, and we ended up pretty much split between Morgan being a male name and a unisex name, although one person considered it to be a female name.

Personally, I think Morgan is a male name that is also used for females. For example, if someone told me their friend Morgan was coming, I'd assume Morgan was a man, but if she turned out to be female I wouldn't be surprised, since it is a pretty common female name, while being primarily a male name.

Would that not make it unisex? Or are you meaning that it's 65% - 35% male to female?

[Dhavaer]

I usually think of it as female, although I've never heard of a real person with it as a given name.

[RTGoodman]

Personally, I consider Morgan a female name, but that could be because I've never met a male with the name and it's the middle name of one of my female cousins. And it reminds me of the Morrigan, a triple goddess of Irish mythology.

[Jibar]

Hmmm...

Morgan Freeman...

Morgan le Fay...

Unisex.

[Nychta]

Unisex. But it sounds awkward for either male and female.

[Quincunx]

Female.

I default to female on almost all unisex names. The shock of finding an unexpected female is more severe than the disappointment of finding an unexpected male. Also, I grew up in a community with aspirations, which meant a statistical blip of girls were given power and/or unisex names.

Also, I do not consider Madison a name, ever.

[SoD]

Neither. It's a surname. Simple.

[Felixaar]

Hmm. I personally consider it a unisex name but I think it sounds better on chicks, like most unisex names, causes it's got a semi-rough feel to it. For instance I know two female morgans but no male ones. I mean I know of the existence of, but not actually the people themselves as far as guys go.

So I cast my vote for Unisex, but better for ladies.

[dish]

I agree with SoD. It is primarily a surname.

Since surnames can be given to either male or female children, then I guess as a given name it must be unisex.

[DrowVampyre]

Unisex, and very versatile. Morgan Freeman, Morgan Webb, Captain Morgan...

It reminds me, too, of the Morrigan, or Morrigan Aensland...either way, it's neat. ^_^

[Charity]

http://www.virginmedia.com/images/morgan-aeromax-400x300.jpg

It's quite boyish I suppose

[llamamushroom]

I suppose that you'd have to look at the origins of the name, but I've always thought of it as a male name - despite the whole "Morgan le Fay" thing, ar the phonetic similarity to "Morag".

Incidentally, what do you guys think of "Cameron"? I know a couple of male Camerons, but there's the huge anomaly which is Cameron Diaz, so I'm in two minds.

By the way, shouldn't it be "omnisex" or "duosex"? I mean, "uni-" means one, so a unisex name would be a name for one sex, i.e. either masculine or feminine.

Finally, is it a bad thing that, for a moment, I thought masculine was spelt "masquline"?

[Dihan]

In Wales, Morgan is traditionally used as a female name. So I've always considered it a female name.

[Dhavaer]

Finally, is it a bad thing that, for a moment, I thought masculine was spelt "masquline"?

Well... it's a very feminine way to spell masculine.

[bosssmiley]

http://www.virginmedia.com/images/morgan-aeromax-400x300.jpg

It's quite boyish I suppose

Ram a tree again? Typical Morgan-driving yahoo.

(well how do you explain the massive dent in the front grille?)

[Dhavaer]

Ram a tree again? Typical Morgan-driving yahoo.

(well how do you explain the massive dent in the front grille?)

Maybe he had to stop a rhino from charging and didn't have a credit card.

[Charity]

What are you talking about, thats the boot/parcel shelf ... it's very practical...

[Gem Flower]

:smallconfused: I consider Morgan to be a female name. Never come across a guy called Morgan, although I knew a girl with the name.

[Rawhide]

Morgan had always been a male name for me, until I saw it listed as unisex in a name guide while looking for good character names. That was strange.

It's probably influenced by this man:
http://images.starpulse.com/pictures/2007/09/29/previews/Morgan%20Freeman-LRS-003712.jpg

[Charity]

This lass (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_le_Fay) predates him a bit.

http://preraphaelitesisterhood.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/morgan-le-fey-sandys.jpg I've always like dangerous women best.

Oh and Rawhide

:smalltongue:

[Tormsskull]

I don't consider it a name. I consider it evil parenting.

[Rawhide]

Oh, I know that now. Also, Wendy was originally a male name.

[Haruki-kun]

Oh, I know that now. Also, Wendy was originally a male name.

Really? Because I read in a book once that the name "Wendy" was created by the Author of Peter Pan and had never been used before that.

(Citation needed. Will try to find Citation.)

[Rawhide]

Really? Because I read in a book once that the name "Wendy" was created by the Author of Peter Pan and had never been used before that.

(Citation needed. Will try to find Citation.)


Wendy is a female name. Its popularity is attributed to the character Wendy Darling from the children's play and novel Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie. The character Wendy was inspired by a real girl. Barrie befriended young Margaret Henley, daughter of Barrie's friend W.E. Henley. Margaret used to call him 'my friendy-wendy'. Margaret died at the age of four in 1894 but was immortalized forever in Barrie's work. Although the name 'Wendy' appears as a boy's name in the 1881 census of England, Barrie is usually credited with its invention as a girl's name.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy

also

http://www.wendy.com/wendyweb/history.html

[Haruki-kun]

How about here? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Darling#The_name_Wendy)


The first name Wendy was very uncommon in the Anglosphere until after the Peter Pan mythos became well known, and its subsequent popularity has led some to credit Barrie with "inventing" it. Although the name Wendy was used to a limited extent as a shortening of the Welsh name Gwendolyn, it is believed that Barrie took the name from a phrase used by Margaret Henley, a six-year-old girl whom Barrie befriended in the 1890s. She called Barrie her "friendy-wendy", which she pronounced as "fwendy-wendy".

EDIT: Ah. This looks like an interesting topic... :smalltongue:

[bibliophile]

I've always seen Morgan as a male name, mostly because the only person I have ever known named Morgan was male.

[Atreyu the Masked LLama]

Its a female name. Mr. Freeman is an outlier on the graph of "Genders of people named Morgan."

I'd be willing to compromise, I suppose, but that's how I see it.

[The Valiant Turtle]

Having known Morgans of both genders I definitely see it as unisex.

[Flabbicus]

I've known more male Morgans than female ones. But I'd say unisex.

[Thufir]

Male or sur-

[Emperor Demonking]

I was going to say female until I remembered Freeman.

[celestialkin]

Until I read this thread I did not even know men used that name.

I was under the impression it was 100% female name.

[skywalker]

Unisex.

Morgan Freeman himself could change a name from female to unisex, simply by having it. Reference his middle name, Rachael...

Ok, I made that last part up...

[Inhuman Bot]

Hmmm...

Morgan Freeman...

Morgan le Fay...

Unisex.

Just curious, is Morgan freeman a confusion of Gordon freeman?
Or, the more likely, he's a real person/she's a real person?

[Sneak]

Well, he's not really a real person, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Freeman) he's more of a soothing voice. (http://www.xkcd.com/462/) :smalltongue:

Anyway, my vote goes for unisex. Although apart from Morgan Freeman, I generally think of it as a female name.

[Inhuman Bot]

Ah, thank you, Sneak.

Back on topic, I only know of female Morgan's, but think of it as a male name.

[blackfox]

I'd consider Morgan to be a mostly female name, and I'd assume that any male named Morgan is most likely Irish. :smalltongue: I know two girls and two guys named Morgan but I've know the girls longer, so that's probably how my impression formed.

[Occasional Sage]

My knee-jerk reaction is to call it male, but in the two minutes I've taken to read the thread I realize that it's really unisex.

Woot for taking a second to think.

[Em Blackleaf]

Same for me, only I was instantly thinking female. I was thinking of Morgan Webb, from X-play. But them someone brought up Morgan Freeman. The only person I've ever known named Morgan was a girl. But I've definitely heard of Morgan for both genders. Sounds kind girly to me though.
If I had a boy, I probably wouldn't name him Morgan. However, I'd feel better naming a girl Morgan. That's just my opinion.
Then again, girls can be named Elliot, Ryan, Blake, etc.

[Rawhide]

Same for me, only I was instantly thinking female. I was thinking of Morgan Webb, from X-play. But them someone brought up Morgan Freeman. The only person I've ever known named Morgan was a girl. But I've definitely heard of Morgan for both genders. Sounds kind girly to me though.
If I had a boy, I probably wouldn't name him Morgan. However, I'd feel better naming a girl Morgan. That's just my opinion.
Then again, girls can be named Elliot, Ryan, Blake, etc.

And some girls/women choose to shorten their names to Alex, Charlie, Fred (not just the fictional example), etc.

[RTGoodman]

Then again, girls can be named Elliot, Ryan, Blake, etc.

Alright, question - has anyone every actually met a girl that goes by the name Ryan?

As a male Ryan, I just can't see it as a female name...

[Rawhide]

Alright, question - has anyone every actually met a girl that goes by the name Ryan?

As a male Ryan, I just can't see it as a female name...

I did a little digging... (ok, googling)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8bvBXY6l1I

[Em Blackleaf]

Well, no. But I've heard of it (must not be all too common). I don't think it counts, but I knew a girl named Ryanna, who shortened it to Ryan. I think she should have shortened it to Ann or Anna (mostly because she hung out with this guy named Ryan all the time, so it got confusing).

That's true, Rawhide, much like my friend McKenzie, who's nicknamed Mo.
What's Charlie short for? Charlotte? :smallconfused:

[Rawhide]

Well, no. But I've heard of it (must not be all too common). I don't think it counts, but I knew a girl named Ryanna, who shortened it to Ryan. I think she should have shortened it to Ann or Anna (mostly because she hung out with this guy named Ryan all the time, so it got confusing).

That's true, Rawhide, much like my friend McKenzie, who's nicknamed Mo.
What's Charlie short for? Charlotte? :smallconfused:

Charla, in this case, with the Ch pronounced like Sh, not sure on the spelling though. It wasn't exactly much shorter per se, but she preferred it.

[Cyrano]

For me, Morgan is entirely male, because I've never met a female Morgan. Ok, well, I've never met a male one either, but at least I know they exist (Freeman, for example, a few people friends of friends, etc.) But I've long ago stopped being surprised when girls steal our names. Jamie used to be ours.

[Quincunx]

Yes. Females I grew up with:

Ryan (name of power chosen before birth)
Casey (no idea)
Dana (actually there was of each--confusing, no?)

If a man introduced himself to me with one of those names, I'd jump.

[Orzel]

Female. I tend to associate multisyllable names with A's or I's as the last or second to last letter with females.

[Edge]

Unisex as far as I'm concerned, with a leaning to more men in Wales (or so I imagine). Elsewhere, I get the feeling it's more common as a woman's name.

[Gaelbert]

I've never met a Morgan, but I usually consider the name to be feminine. It comes up in a lot of books for some reason, and most of the characters named Morgan are female. And I do not know who Morgan Freeman is.
And I know I'm a little late, and I know that D'Anna might not have technically been gone, but I just need to get this out of my system:
D'Anna! You're back!

[Rawhide]

And I do not know who Morgan Freeman is.

You might recognise him from his extensive career (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000151/).

[Gaelbert]

Wow. That is an extensive career. However, I only have seen one of those movies. Evan Almighty. It's enough to ring a bell, though.

[Raiser Blade]

Unisex for me because I would not be suprised to hear of a person of either gender having the name.

I do tend to think more female though but it is unisex to me.

[snoopy13a]

Ashley and Leslie are female names in the United States and male names in Britain.

Jaime is the classic unisex name in the US.

Shawn is another unisex name (usually the male spelling is Sean but I believe that there are male Shawns) Also there is Sean Young the actress.

Frances is female, Francis is male, both can go by Fran. A few females go by Frankie.

Samantha and Alexandra often get shortened to Sam and Alex.

Dana is unisex although male Danas are a bit rare.

I've seen Caseys as both.

I'd consider Ryan to be a male name but there is a female naming trend here.

Anthony and Antonette can be shortned to Tony and Toni respectfully.

Marion is unisex. That was my grandfather's first name (and John Wayne's real first name)

[blackfox]

I know mostly male Ryan's but also a couple female Ryan's.

I also have a female friend who calls herself Charlie (short for Charlotte, pronounced with an sh- sound).

Ashley and Leslie, IIRC, started out as male names and then became female names, at least in the US. I don't know if people still name their sons Ashley and Leslie in Britland.

I know one male Casey and two female Caseys, one of them is short for Casondra.

I've never heard of Dana as a male name.

[Ceric]

I have a female cousin named Morgan, so I've always thought of it as a girl's name. But I've certainly heard of Morgan Freeman and I've never thought of it as odd.


Unisex.

Morgan Freeman himself could change a name from female to unisex, simply by having it. Reference his middle name, Rachael...

Ok, I made that last part up...
I did a double take on that last part. :smalltongue:

[EvilElitest]

male,
from
EE

[Fan]

Just to disagree with EE, and support my own honest opinion.
I think its unisex, because I actually know quite a few women named Morgan, and almost NO men with that name,.

[Icewalker]

I'd say male, myself. Sounds familiar in a female context, but I can't think of a specific.

[SurlySeraph]

Normally, female. But Morgan Freeman's awesomeness makes it unisex just for him.

[snoopy13a]

I've never heard of Dana as a male name.

I knew I had heard it once before. Thought it was a football player but instead it was the first name of some MMA promoter:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_White

Still, to be fair, I think Dana should be considered a female name with a few male exceptions.

And as for the original topic, I'd go with Morgan as a girl's name. Morgan Freeman is the only male Morgan that I have heard of.

[Collin152]

The first Morgan I met was female.
It sound swierd for it to be anything but female now.
Morgan Freeman aside.

[Krade]

I knew three Morgans in high school. 1 male and 2 female.

It's definitely on the Unisex list for me.

This whole topic reminds me of when it was first brought to my attention that unisex names even existed at the beginning of (I think) Chapter 3 in "Bridge to Terabithia" where Lesley(sp?) is first introduced. Wow, and to think that was only 13 years ago. I'm surprised I even remembered which chapter it was.

[EmeraldRose]

Despite Mr Freeman, I've always thought of Morgan as a female name.

As for other names which I've heard of both males and females using:

Jesse (same spelling even)
Taylor
Sam
Jayden

[Rawhide]

An interesting one for me was Shannon. Shannon had always to me been a guy's name. I went to school with a male Shannon and we have a singer called Shannon Noll (http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=kqyIwZpr5y0), he is famous for coming second in Australian Idol a few years back.

It was only recently (couple of years now?) that someone I know introduced herself as Shannon. Was a bit of a shock, you can imagine my confused look (hope she didn't notice).

[Starshade]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg8i5fgNL8M This song make the name "male" for me.
Its a norwegian song about a cowboy, Morgan Kane. Since the name is not used at all here, the western books writen by Kjell Hallbing under the pseudonym Louis Masterson is a strong influence.

I learned it was common as a female name, reading this thread.

[Hooded1]

Unisex, it should work for both.

[TigerHunter]

Unisex. But it sounds awkward for either male and female.
This. Pretty much every time I'm introduced to someone named Morgan, I feel the urge to say "Isn't that a [gender opposite that of the person I'm being introduced to]'s name?" despite the fact that I know it's unisex.

[de-trick]

except for Captain Morgan Id say its a girls name, id really hate having my name Morgan as a guy, just be like "a boy named Sue"

[Pyro]

I say female, but I still dislike it...a lot...:smallannoyed:

[snoopy13a]

except for Captain Morgan Id say its a girls name, id really hate having my name Morgan as a guy, just be like "a boy named Sue"

Morgan was his last name.

Nothing like setting sail with the Captain :smallbiggrin:

[The Extinguisher]

Great, now if doesn't seem like a good name for any gender.



Interesting enough, I hear Alex and assume female. And I don't know why.

[Vuzzmop]

I'd say it was either a really girly male name, or a really butch female name, but not unisex.

[FdL]

Female. Blame Morgan Fairchild.

>.> <.<

[The Bushranger]

Chiming in late here, I'd say that Morgan is, to me, a unisex name.


I've never heard of Dana as a male name.
Dana Key. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dana_Key)
I'm only vaguely familiar with it as a female name.

@FMA: Oddly, I'm the same way, Alex Trebeck notwithstanding...

[Pocketa]

I'd say male, myself. Sounds familiar in a female context, but I can't think of a specific.

You're thinking of the Morgan Mitchell I mentioned a few times. She is/was a model, and she's all female.

[Ranna]

First thing I thought of was the car make (beautiful cars) then I thought of Morgana Le Fey and then I though mmm I am not too sure on that one ^^.

Though I would imagine any girl to be called Morgan to be quite hot.

[NobleHero]

Female. Blame Morgan Fairchild.

>.> <.<

I can't believe this thread went to post 74 without a mention of Morgan Fairchild. My wife also has a female cousin named Morgan. I have always considered it a girl's name, Morgan Freeman or not.


As for a male Dana, there is always this guy:
http://www.laffstock.com/images/dana%20carvey.jpg

[hamishspence]

Since first time I saw it was in Famous Five book as a rather formidable Welshman, and only slightly later as Morgan le Fay, I'd say unisex. I have seen variant: Morgana, for Arthur's half-sister, so I'd say that version is definitely female-only.

[Sir_Norbert]

I'm a little surprised at how many people have said they dislike the name (or worse), but then, it's a matter of taste. Not a name I'd ever give one of my children, but I am intending to use it for one of my main characters (a female).

To the poster who asked about Ashley and Leslie in Britain: Ashley is mostly female these days, and Leslie just isn't used any more.

A few months ago a friend moved into a shared flat, and one of her roommates was a girl named Casey. I expressed surprise, and she was surprised that I was surprised.....

[Zarrexaij]

I've only know girls with the name, but personally Morgan sounds like a masculine name. I'd have to say unisex, though.

[Rare Pink Leech]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. It's interesting reading everyone's opinions. The results so far, using what I think was each person's primary answer:

Male: 10
Female: 20
Unisex: 20
Surname: 3


I'm a little surprised at how many people have said they dislike the name (or worse), but then, it's a matter of taste. Not a name I'd ever give one of my children, but I am intending to use it for one of my main characters (a female).

I'm also surprised. Despite the fact that I think it's primarily a male name, I prefer Morgan as a female name (go figure) and would strongly consider naming a daughter Morgan.

My opinions on some of the other names mentioned:

Unisex: Cameron, Jaime, Taylor
Names that are mostly male: Alex, Blake, Charlie, Elliot, Ryan, Sam, Shawn
Names that are mostly female: Casey, Dana, Jesse, Leslie
Names that are definitely male: Fred
Names that are definitely female: Ashley, Marion, Shannon, Wendy

For me, the names that are mostly one gender means that when I hear that name, I assume the person is of that gender, but I've encountered it enough with both genders that I wouldn't be surprised. The names that are definitely one gender are names I would do a double take if someone was introduced to me was of the opposite gender (even Ashley; while I know it's fairly common for males, I still think of it as a purely female name).

[Karaswanton]

Masculine. Although I've always found it neat when women have male names.

Also, Jaime is not a unisex name. Jaime is male only. Jamie is unisex, but that's a different name.

[Leon Stormchild]

Morgans of the male sort:
-Morgan Freeman
-Morgan from "the Dresden Files"
-Morgan Ostendorf (schoolmate)

Same of the female sort:
-Morgan le Fay
-Morgan (other schoolmate)
-Morgan Webb- G4 host

Umm...so it's pretty tied. :smalltongue:

[Spirit300064]

Morgan strikes me first as a female name, but I pretty much know it's unisex.