"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other word would smell as sweet." Or at least, so says Shakespeare.
Unfortunately, it sounds like not everyone is so convinced. A creative parent has divided opinions after sharing their plan to give their son a name that's traditionally reserved for girls.
Posting to Reddit's 'Name Nerds' forum, the social media user said they'd like to change things up.
"A lot of names for boys are becoming names for girls. I think it's time to make our move, and make some girl names, boy names," the author wrote.
In particular, the parent loves the name Elizabeth but fears their son might not be so keen on the choice. "Elizabeth probably is impossible aim," they claimed, before asking: "Are there any girls names that can be made masculine, not unisex?"
The parent concluded: "If not I probably will name my son Niklaus or Nathaniel. Really is there possibility to name son Elizabeth without him hating it?"
Of course, it is important for each family to choose the name they like best - and nobody has a monopoly on what makes a name a good or bad choice. But in this case, commenters were quick to share different suggestions, as others debated whether or not they thought the parent should choose Elizabeth.
"Please don't," wrote one person, before suggesting Avery, Skylar, Aubrey, Addison, Cassidy, Sheridan as alternative names.
"I absolutely do NOT recommend naming a boy Elizabeth, but in a theoretical way I can sort of picture a boy named Liz," thought a second. And another person said: "I think this one is a hard sell I agree with the others, and would say no. My reasoning for being anti Elizabeth for a boy though is that it is a very common woman's name that's been used for a long time."
The parent responded: "Thank you, for replying. I totally agree that it's unfortunate that it's less acceptable to have 'girly' names on guys, than the reverse, so I wanted to try to change it, however, I understand that my son would hate it. Thus, I thought it's better to ask advice and alternatives."
Meanwhile, someone suggested: "Ellis is a boys name. It's Welsh in origin. I've met several." "Nice idea and it sounds great. Thank you," the parent replied.
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