From Bailey to Taylor: why gender-neutral baby names are on the rise

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A mother holds her twin daughters on September 17, 2013 at the maternity of the Lens hospital, northern France. AFP PHOTO PHILIPPE HUGUEN (Photo credit should read PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images) — September 17, 2013: A mother holds her twin daughters. Parents are increasingly embracing gender-neutral names for their children.

The stars are doing it. There’s Harper Beckham, Victoria and David’s daughter. Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard named their two daughters Lincoln and Delta, respectively. And Erykah Badu’s daughter’s name is Puma.

The stars are doing it. There’s Harper Beckham, Victoria and David’s daughter. Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard named their two daughters Lincoln and Delta, respectively. And Erykah Badu’s daughter’s name is Puma.

Outside of Hollywood, parents are also embracing gender-neutral names for their kids. An analysis done by Nameberry, a website that’s devoted to baby names, found that there’s been a 60 percent increase of post-gender names in the last decade. And BabyCenter, a parenting site, has called 2015 the year of gender-neutral baby.

So why are parents choosing gender-neutral names? What should parents be mindful of when choosing a unisex name?

Guests:

Pamela Redmond Satran, cofounder of the baby naming site, Nameberry; she tweets

Tweets by prsatran

Linda Murray, editor in chief of the parenting site, BabyCenter