[SeekAndFind]

RE: does this mean you can’t name a boy “Sue”?

Why not?

Consider these names, which when heard for the first time, would confuse people as to the person’s gender:

GLEN CLOSE ( I prefer GWEN CLOSE )

CAMERON DIAZ ( I prefer Camila Diaz )

DREW BARRYMORE ( I prefer Dew Barrymore )

TAYLOR SWIFT ( I prefer Tanya Swift )

LINDSAY GRAHAM ( Can’t think of a substitute name for the senator)

HALEY BARBOUR (Why not HALE BARBOUR?)

JAIMIE FOXX ( I prefer JAMES Foxx )

BLAKE LIVELY (I prefer Blanche Lively )

SEAN YOUNG ( I prefer Sheena Young )

MORGAN FAIRCHILD ( Can’t think of a name to replace this with — MORGANA? )

KELSEY GRAMMAR ( I prefer Ken Grammar )

ASHTON KUTCHER ( I prefer Al Kutcher )

(add your names here )

[Telepathic Intruder]

Ha. What would they think of Michael Jackson who named his kid “Blanket” (not really his of course), or Gwyneth Paltrow who named her kid “Apple”? Not that Gwyneth is a real name of course.

[jmcenanly]

Many of the gender-neutral names seem to be last names used as first, like Sargant Shriver,Mackenzie Philips or Ashley Wilkes. Personally, I would use a last name as a middle name or else give the child a middle name that could be used as a gender specific first name, as in F. Scott Fitzgerald or G. Gordon Liddy.
There is also the problem of names drawn from pop culture. By the time the child is entering school, the program in question may be cancelled, or the movie relegated to the bargain bin. Or else, the child may grow up to be different than his namesake, say an asthmatic named Anankin.