Names That Work For Boys and Girls

Kiernan Shipka, aka Sally Draper on Mad Men, brings this Irish surname into the girls' column. And, like Kieran and Tierney and Tiernan, it's one of the perfectly unisex baby names. Only 14 girls were named Kiernan in the US in a recent year...and three times as many boys. If you want to move beyond Riley and Kennedy to one of the more unusual surname-based Irish names for girls, this may be a good choice.

An attractive North Carolina unisex place name, Raleigh's soft sound is particularly appropriate for a girl.

Updates Ellis -- but also has a lot of feminine potential thanks to Allison/Ellie similarity.

One of the sweet simple unisex names balanced enough to stand on its own. Ali can either be used as a shortening of Al- beginning names and is also an Arabic name in its own right.

Poet is a new entry in both the trendy word and occupational categories as well as a member of the growing group of gender neutral names. A handful of baby boys received the name in the US last year. A perfect choice, especially in the middle, for the child of writers or those with a poetic bent. And Po is an adorable nickname for either gender.

Everest has an attractive enough sound and lofty enough meaning to come into style, à la Sierra. George Lucas bestowed this aspirational name on his baby daughter.

Lovely entry into the tree name genre, joining Juniper, Oak, and Willow.

Evocative modern unisex choice brought into the spotlight by actress Lake Bell.

Noel, the French word for Christmas has been given to both boys and girls born on that holiday since the Middle Ages. For girls it's often spelled Noelle.

Though some forward-looking parents are now choosing wood-related names like Oak, Pine, and Ash, this generic option would be even more avant garde.

Parents searching for a simple, peaceful name may be attracted to this one.

Lexington is rising as a place name used just about evenly for the genders. For Americans, it's got a patriotic ring, given the importance of Lexington, Massachusetts in the Revolutionary War. Lexington, Kentucky, in horse country, is another famous place with the name.

Though Genesis is a Top 100 girls' name in the US, it's by all rights a unisex choice.

Another animated Irish surname, this one with jazzy ties to the immortal "Dean of American Jive," Cab Calloway.