Masculine names for teenage girls - unremarkable or bully bait?

paradoxikay

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My MC is currently named Tristan. There's no significance to it; the character was a boy originally, and when that changed I kept calling her Tristan until I thought of something better and it ended up sticking. I'm wondering if I should change that, though.

Having an unusual name myself I know kids can be pretty cruel about them, and I really don't want to write that kind of teasing. I also don't want to throw the reader out of the story by making them wonder why her name is what it is. It wouldn't stand out to me, I don't think, but what are your thoughts?

...I have a Matt/Mattie (short for Matilda) too, actually. Though she might end up never being explicitly gendered. Apparently I have a thing for girls with masculine names!
 

cornflake

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I don't think of Tristan as a masculine name -- I think it's pretty neutral. I know a college-aged female Tristan.

In a general sense, I don't think girls having traditionally boy names is something anyone gets teased for really. The reverse probably is, but there are plenty of female Charlies, Stevies, Sams, Alexes, etc.
 

paradoxikay

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I have a distinct memory of being told Tristan is unquestionably masculine (it made sense in context...), so that's probably coloring my perspective. Your female-Tristan acquaintance definitely makes me feel a little better!
 

Enlightened

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I had an RA in college named Tristan, a male. I never heard of a female named Tristan, but who said you can't use a gender-specific name for another gender? Take a look at Stevie Nicks or Michael Steele (The Bangles).
 

CoffeeBeans

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I knew a female Tristan as well, though she did go as Tris. She's probably college-aged/just graduated now.

Also Tristan Prettyman was a decently well known singer/musician...

I agree with above - I don't know any girls with boys names who get made fun of, but I do remember going to school with a Leslie who absolutely hated his first name. (even though I consider it a neutral)
 

sohalt

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Anything can be bully-bait for a sufficiently enterprising bully, but yeah, unless there's something else about your MC that might make her an easy target, I wouldn't expect anyone to give her much grief for a slightly unusual name.
 

SKara

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I've only heard the name Tristan once - a male character in a tv series (The Originals) was called Tristan, so when I first read your post I thought it was kind of odd for a girl to have that name. After reading others' responses, though, I'm feeling like it could be a girl's name and wouldn't sound weird. I actually like the idea now: a girl named Tristan - sounds cool :)
 

MaryLennox

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After reading this I actually really like the name Tristan for a girl. I think it would only be bully bait if she happened to also look or act overly masculine.
 

RaggyCat

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To me, Tristan seems an odd name for a girl. However, that may just be me.

You could always go for Tris which definitely has a unisex appear.
 

SKara

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Just thought: You could use the variation Trista - like Christa, but with the essence of Tristan. It probably sounds more traditionally feminine that way (although, now that I think about it, Tristan rhymes with Kristen - which is obviously a feminine name - so technically, there shouldn't be a problem :))
 

Iambriannak

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I'v always considered Tristan to be a uni-sex name. I also feel like it's pretty common for girls to have more masculine names in today's times.
 

snoozle

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Tristan seems pretty gender neutral to me, too! I think it gives off a trendy vibe rather than a "what's going on here" vibe.
 

lianna williamson

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Sociology of naming is kind of my thing-- I've written articles about name trends. I don't think there's a thing weird or confusing about a female character named Tristan, though I would recommend establishing immediately that the character is female, since the majority of people will assume boy unless shown otherwise.

Boyish names for girls are enormously popular and trendy, and have been for two decades, to the extent that parents-to-be on baby naming boards have concerned debates about whether this or that boy name is about to "go to the girls". Male names can permanently switch gender coding, as was the fate with Lindsay, Ashley, Tracy, and Courtney-- all once boy names. A more recent examples is Harper, which just five years ago was far more popular for boys than girls (though not very popular for either) and in 2017 now a top-20 name for girls and almost non-existent for boys.

In my opinion it is far more likely that a boy would be bullied for having a girl's name. A girl named Tristan is unlikely to be bullied when like a third of her female classmates are going to be named Taylor and Bailey and Mason and Kennedy (all actual names of teenage girls I've tutored recently).
 

writerfrenzy

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I find nowadays, people have all sorts of ridiculous names (I read this article about a woman naming her daughter 'Nutella'!) and females possess male names more than ever. (I'm waiting to meet a girl named Bob. It'll happen. I'm sure of it.) Unusual names have become more common so I doubt most of her peers would care about 'Tristain', which can be shortened to 'Tris', which sounds feminine anyway.
 

Tommigirl

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With Tommi as a first name I've taken some abuse, but have endured so much more for other reasons. The thought of making the transition to male evokes laughable thoughts. Imagine the abuse if I were a 107 pound male. :)

I did know a boy with the name, Jackie. Thinking I had misheard, I asked him to repeat his name twice more. blush
 

PFFlyer

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I try to think of a name as a backstory opportunity, especially an unusual name. With a girl character named Tristan, it might signify progressive or hip parents, or parents who wanted a boy, or if the character has given herself that name because she doesn't like her real name, there might be something that attracted her to that versus her real name, etc. There have been a few instances where I picked a name in the first draft at random or because it sounded good or right and the name ended up having significance in the story or gave a plot idea later, almost like it was subliminal.
 

The_Merovingian

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Tristan is more associated with Boy, but it seems that it works with girl too. In French we have Tristane equivalent for girl, and I saw some Tristana.
Anyway the English culture preponderance to shorten every name, you will end up with Tris which could be short for Tricia.

A MC with an unusual name makes it stand out more. Being a boy name could mislead the reader. This could be interesting for your plot.
Also looking at the root of the word, might help you to decide to keep it:
Welsh origin: "noise of arms", "resonance of iron" or "clanking sword"
French origin: "sad" or "sorrowful"

ETA:
In your story, if the society, the entourage are open-minded or multicultural then she will not be bullied.
 
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