James Hollis
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James Hollis
| Mon, 05-14-2007 - 1:39pm |
James Hollis
- Love it
- Like it
- Just okay
- Dislike it
- Hate it
- girl name: Caroline Parker
- Comments welcome!
You will be able to change your vote.
| Mon, 05-14-2007 - 1:39pm |
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I think it's ok but personally, with sis Parker, I liked Hollis better on a girl. Somebody's going to call her Holly at some point in her life, and I think that's an opportunity when Hollis is used as a girl name, but a drawback when used as a boy name. It just seems sort of girly to me. No offense, though, just my preference. It's fine on a boy, though.
valerie
The only Hollis I have known IRL was a woman, so it is more of a female name to me. Especially with sis who's called Parker, I'd prefer a more solidly masculine name for a boy.
Liz
Thanks belle_petite for the siggy!
I checked "like it" because Hollis isn't quite my personal style, but when I saw the comments about it being too feminine, I wanted to comment on that issue as well.
I personally don't find Hollis too feminine at all. It's has never been in the top 1000 as a girl's name, and it was up there for boys until a couple decades ago. I've never met a boy or girl Hollis, and while I admit it has that androgynous surname quality, it's not one that's been "taken over by the girls."
Yes, from time to time people will undoubtedly think you have two little girls or two little boys. I must admit that I am a little perplexed by the gender stereotyping that causes this to be an "end all, be all" issue in most people's naming choices, so perhaps that's a bias. But, I am also less concerned about this potential confusion because their first names are very clearly gendered and even if you call them Parker and Hollis, they will still have those markers of their gender popping up fairly frequently. If you were going to call them Parker Caroline and Hollis James, I would be more concerned.
So, I think if you love it, you shouldn't worry about whether it is too "girly/feminine." It's an attractive, dignified name, and you should go for it.
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Actually, it HAS been in the top 1000 for girls. From 1948-1955 (except for 1949). It peaked in 1954 at 771. During that same time period, Hollis was bouncing around the 500s for boys. It also peaked for boys in 1954 (at 517). After that, it steadily declined for both genders: rapidly falling off the girls chart and falling off the boy chart two decades later. It hasn't made either chart in over 30 years. So it isn't like Hollis was THAT much more popular for boys in the last half-century. And the google searching I've done so far shows that at least half the hits where Hollis is the first name (rather than the surname) are female. When the subject is under 30 years old, it's almost exclusively female.
Which leads me to believe that with Parker for a sister, Hollis will most likely be assumed to be female. Not the end of the world. But honestly, I like it better for a girl. No matter how much I try to like it for a boy, I just don't. I guess that means, I have to find a new name for a boy and stop trying to force myself to like it for a boy. (And then hope we have two girls! )
Melissa
I would like it better if Hollis were just a mn, but since I think you plan to call him by the mn, I agree with you and the others that I think of it primarily as a girls' name, inspite of the history.
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