Gender-neutral names

Aria to Rowan.

1. Aria

   Gender-neutral

   Which Aria story feels yours?. Aria has separate English and Persian histories. You might be drawn to its Italian musical sense or to a Persian family connection.

   The musical Aria. The modern English feminine name comes from Italian aria: “air”, and also a musical composition.†

   † The Italian word and its musical sense belong to the English name's history; they are not the meaning of Persian Aria.

   The Persian history. Persian Aria is a masculine given name, written آریا. Its history connects to arya, an ancient term Iranian peoples used for themselves.†

   † The ancient Iranian element is a historical self-designation, not a modern character trait.

2. Ellis

   Gender-neutral

   Ellis has more than one history. Ellis can come through English surnames derived from Elis or Elias, or through Welsh Elisedd.†

   † These are two documented routes, not a complete list of every Ellis history or evidence of a child’s ancestry.

   The Welsh connection with kindness. On the Welsh Elisedd branch, the root elus is explained as “kind” or “benevolent”.†

   † “Kind” or “benevolent” belongs to the Welsh Elisedd branch; it is not a meaning shared by every Ellis.

3. Robin

   Gender-neutral

   From Robert to Robin. Robin began as a short form of Robert. It also names the bird, which took its name from the personal name.

   Bright fame. Through Robert, Robin carries the Germanic elements for “bright” and “fame.”

4. Rory

   Gender-neutral

   Rory and its Gaelic forms. Rory corresponds to Irish Ruaidhrí and Scottish Gaelic Ruairidh. In England and Wales in 2024, parents registered Rory for both boys and girls.†

   † Irish Ruaidhrí and Scottish Gaelic Ruairidh are distinct spellings. Their connection with Rory does not make their pronunciations identical.

   † This shows the name was used for both, not how often for each.

   Why you will find more than one meaning. One reading takes Ruaidhrí from Gaelic words for “red” and “king”. In 1923, Patrick Woulfe instead proposed a Norse-derived name meaning “fame-ruler”.†

   † Differing references do not mean scholars are evenly split between these readings.

5. Rowan

   Gender-neutral

   An Irish name, and a tree. Rowan is an English form of Irish Ruadhán. It can also be chosen for the rowan tree, whose English name came from a Scandinavian word.

   The Irish red connection. In the Irish name, ruadh means “red,” with a diminutive ending: the source of the reading “little red one.”