My parents were having a hard time deciding a name for me when I was born. When my mom first saw the name Jordan, she was at my aunt's house and saw that the next door neighbors were having a baby shower with the name on the sign being Jordan. My mother asked my aunt if they were expecting a boy and was surprised to hear that they were expecting a girl. My mother didn't know that Jordan could be used for a girl, and she liked it. Name decided.
Thousands of unisex names exist in our world today. I actually know quite a few people that have unisex names and am friends with some of them. I like my name a lot; however, there are times when I struggle with it. For those of you reading with unisex names, I can probably imagine that you struggle with the same or similar things as I do too.
What I struggle with the most is when people say, "Oh, I thought you were a boy (or girl, if you're a male reading this)."
Remember that saying you were taught that goes, "Never assume because..." I wish people would keep this in mind when it comes to unisex names.
There have been on many occasions instances where I was thought of to be a boy before the person actually met me. A teacher has actually told me on the first day of school after calling my name for attendance, "Oh, my bad. For a while there I thought you were a boy." What a great way to start the year.
Let's not forget about people who think that unisex names need to be gender specific or try to masculinize or feminize your name.
I kid you not, the amount of times that I have heard, "Oh, I have a friend named that, but she spells it J-o-r-d-y-n, or J-o-r-d-i-n" is more than I can count on both hands. Let's also not forget about people spelling your name wrong when they write it the first time. Yes, there are different spellings for the same name that may differentiate whether or not the person is a boy or a girl. However, this is not the case. I didn't realize names necessarily needed to be gender specific to know the difference.
Some people also make assumptions on how "girly" or "manly" you are based on your name and quite possibly how it's spelled.
To be honest, that shouldn't even be a thing.
One more struggle that I face is when someone else says your name and someone has the same name as you. That person is also in the same class, or work area, or wherever it may be. Oh, and the person is the opposite gender as well.
"Were you talking to girl Jordan or boy Jordan?"
My fellow unisex name holders: Believe me, I do know the struggle.
To those who don't have a unisex name: although it is a easy and common error, please be more considerate of other people's feelings. Yes, maybe we shouldn't be as sensitive about this as we are. Yes, maybe we should just "get over it" if we have experienced this for years. On the other hand, this is our name. It's part of our identity, who we are. Please don't assume anyone's gender before you meet them. If you want to know beforehand if the person you're meeting is a boy or a girl, all you have to do is ask. It will be appreciated more than you think.
If you want to check out more unisex name struggles, click on this link here!
