Deutsche und niederländische Unisexnamen: Entstehung und variable Geschlechtsneutralität.

Given names act as social markers with a particularly rigid division along gender lines, resulting in distinct name inventories for males and females. Overlaps are rare, and gender-neutral names considered exceptional. A comparison between two closely related societies reveals notable differences in the use of gender-ambiguous names. In Germany, unisex names remain a marginal phenomenon, with those used for the opposite gender appearing at low frequencies. One notable exception is the growing trend of boys' names ending in -a (e.g., Noa, Elia, Luka) being increasingly adopted for girls. In the Netherlands, the proportion of gender-ambiguous names is significantly higher and, what is more, overlaps also affect the top 100.