Peyton: Girl Name or Boy Name?

I was just noticing that the (traditionally male) name Peyton is currently ranked 131st for baby girls and 138th for baby boys. I can’t think of any other baby names with this sort of dual-gender appeal at the moment (not even Payton-with-an-A).

Here’s how Peyton has fared on both lists over the last decade:

1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
255th for girls
229th for girls
218th for girls
235th for girls
168th for girls
174th for girls
188th for girls
191st for girls
134th for girls
131st for girls
335th for boys
254th for boys
221st for boys
234th for boys
183rd for boys
177th for boys
205th for boys
206th for boys
162nd for boys
138th for boys

So what’s the verdict: Girl name? Boy name? Both?

Updates:

2006
2007
2008
138th for girls
121st for girls
60th for girls
156th for boys
125th for boys
130th for boys
Posted in Baby Name Trends, Baby Names, Boy Names, Girl Names | Tagged ,

10 Comments

  1. Posted 24 December 2006 at 9:06 am | Permalink

    I think of Peyton as a boy name. I don’t care for the trend of using many names for either gender. But that’s just me. :)

  2. Posted 25 December 2006 at 5:31 pm | Permalink

    I also think of Peyton as a male name — even if the numbers aren’t backing me up! I think it’s because I know a lot of football fans, so I’m often hearing about Peyton Manning.

  3. Brad
    Posted 3 April 2007 at 12:01 pm | Permalink

    Peyton is a girl name….please video.google.com “George Carlin baby names” If you name your little baby boy Peyton hope he grows up to be a big guy or is extremely fast as he is going to get beat up for a girly name like Peyton. Its like calling a guy Lindsey, Courtney, or something similar….

  4. andrea
    Posted 11 April 2007 at 9:20 am | Permalink

    I think Peyton is soo a girls name! I totally agree with Brad on this one. I love the name for a girl and plan to use it with a different spelling. This is a favorite girls name so please stop giving it to poor little boys! Whimpy Whimpy name for a boy!

  5. Shannon
    Posted 19 April 2007 at 1:57 pm | Permalink

    Wow people saying Peyton is a girl name all the way…I totally disagree. I have this name picked out for my baby if it’s a boy. To me Peyton sounds so masculine…a very strong name. Until today I never would have thought Peyton to be a famine name. I can’t believe how many boy names are becoming girl names these days. Peyton is actually a Surname, but it mostly went for boy names until people thought they should name little girls boy names. I really don’t see how people could think this is a girl name all the way. I have looked at a lot of baby naming websites and many of them list Peyton as a boy name, not even a unisex name. That’s my opinion, I suppose I could see a girl with this name now. Although I still think it’s better suited to a boy.

  6. Carrie
    Posted 18 July 2007 at 10:03 pm | Permalink

    I totally think Peyton is a boys name, I agree with the top comment. It never was listed under any baby directories as a girls name… when did that start? I agree that it sounds masculine and is a great name for a boy! I am coming acoss the problem of some people (mostly 20 years older than me) telling me its a girls name, yet I have a lot of people (closer to my age) telling me its definately a boys name. I was wanting to use this for my baby boy, but am getting extremely annoyed with people telling me its a girls name! BOYS NAME ALL THE WAY!!!!!!!!!

  7. Posted 22 November 2009 at 6:23 pm | Permalink

    I think Peyton is TOTALLY a girl name i have it and i have never met a boy Peyton!!!

  8. Peyton
    Posted 8 January 2010 at 1:32 am | Permalink

    Peyton is the masculine form.
    Payton is the feminine form.

    people get this confused a lot since they are somewhat interchangeable.
    its just like how Kendell is a boys name and Kendall is a girls.
    “E” is generally more masculine than “A.”

    and no, i didn’t get beat up in school Brad. i’m not even a muscular guy and boys still never bothered me.

  9. Michele
    Posted 29 January 2010 at 9:36 am | Permalink

    Peyton is totally a BOYS name! I have always thought of it as a boys name and really didn’t hear parents using it for girls until after I named my little boy, Peyton Foster.
    I am really annoyed with parents using true boys names for their girls…..it is as if they wished their little girl was a boy.
    My son will be very tall due to his parents height so I am sure he will carry himself very well and will not be criticized for having such a unique awesome boy’s name!

  10. Mike
    Posted 13 February 2010 at 12:18 pm | Permalink

    Peyton is definitely more female. I named my daughter Peyton but would never think to have named my son it. It is moving up the popularity charts must faster on the female side than the male, probably because it sounds very pretty for a girl. Peyton Manning does make many people think of it as a boy’s name, but his popularity simply masks the fact that there are truly more girl Peytons than boys…and there have been for a long time!

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