I thoroughly expected the taste-making, trend-setting Rachel Zoe to choose a thoroughly fashion forward name for her firstborn. When I saw the birth announcement for Skyler Morrison Berman, my initial reaction was “surely, there’s some mistake.”
Skyler peaked for boys back in 1994, and for girls in 2000. Variant spellings abound, from the original Dutch Schuyler to Skylar to, well, use your imagination. So it strikes me as not so very daring, perhaps even fading.
Except that Skyler isn’t fading for boys. He stood at #260 in 2009, down a few paces from his high of #214, but up a couple of places from 2007. He’s propelled by his -er ending, and his nature name vibe, but he’s also resisting the conventional wisdom that once a name “goes girl” it can’t be used for a son.
Could it be that Rachel Zoe’s pick will help cement Skyler in the elite fraternity of truly unisex names, along with Peyton and Taylor? And what does it mean if more and more names become truly unisex?
*sigh* I am so let down by this name! Not only have I never been a fan of Skyler, but its also just completely not what I expected from them. I don’t even like the flow of Skyler Morrison Berman. Oh well, to each his own of course! 🙂