My friends are all having babies, and there's more than a few Charlies, Alfies and Quinns in the mix.

These are not little boys I'm talking about. They're names being given to newborn baby girls — and according to the experts, it's all part of a wider shift toward Aussie parents giving traditionally "masculine" names to their daughters.

There's "definitely" a trend for parents to name their girls using traditionally boyish monikers right now, says Kimberley Linco, a social researcher at McCrindle, an Australian social research company that produces an annual baby name report based on data from Births, Deaths and Marriage.

"Names like Billie, Frankie and Harper have increased their occurrences in the last three years by quite a notable amount," Ms Linco says.

Billie jumped from 82nd most popular girl name in 2015 to 57th in 2017, while Frankie has gone from 68th to 49th place in the same timeframe, McCrindle research shows.

Meanwhile, Harper has skyrocketed to 10th place in Australia in 2017, up from 24th in 2014.

The trend of giving masculine names to girls comes at a time of changing gender roles, a renewed push for equality and new discussions about gender fluidity. ( Unsplash )

Adelaide photographer Danielle Symes, who named her eight-month-old daughter Charlie, says people tend to respond positively to the name.

However, "sometimes there is a bit of confusion as to whether she is a girl or a boy," she says. "It doesn't help that I dress her in her brother's hand-me-downs either!"

She sometimes introduces her as "girl Charlie" to avoid confusion.

"But I'm not one to get offended if people think she's a boy, so sometimes I just roll with it," she says.

Does your child have gender-neutral name? What influenced the baby naming process for you, and how do people respond? Tell us in the comments.

Changing gender roles for girls

The trend of giving masculine names to girls comes at a time of changing gender roles, a renewed push for equality and new discussions about gender fluidity.

"We're coming into this world of breaking down gender stereotypes, and our opinion is that parents are opting to not box their child in with a feminine-sounding name," Ms Linco says.

Girls with a gender-neutral name or masculine name may even have increased opportunities in traditionally male-dominated roles.

"There's research showing that [the gender-neutral name trend] may actually pay off," says Michelle Brady, a senior research fellow in sociology at the University of Queensland's School of Social Science.

One US study found female lawyers with more masculine names are more likely to become judges, for example.

Adelaide-based photographer Danielle Symes named her daughter Charlie. They're pictured here with her son Harper. ( Instagram: Danielle Symes )

Some parents are also drawn to the robust meanings associated with traditionally male names.

While girls' names sometimes bear sweet or diminutive meanings, male names often have inherently strong connotations: of the top 10 boy names of 2017, for example, William means "resolute protector", Henry means "estate ruler" and Ethan means "firm" or "strong".

"Traditionally feminine names suddenly seem too frivolous for women to be taken seriously in this new realm, so many families are moving away from them," says Ella Joynes, author of Baby Names Australia 2019.

Parents seeking names for their daughters that indicate strength and independence are therefore sometimes drawn to male names. (Cases in point: Charlie and Frankie both mean "free man".)

Amy Dumble, of Brisbane, whose daughter is a Frankie, tells ABC Life she intentionally avoided overly "soft" or floral names for her daughter.

"For me, I wanted a strong daughter, so I wanted to have a strong name," she says. "It's a little bit fun, strong, and it is still feminine in my mind."

Other "boyish" names for girls Marlow

Marlow Kendall

Kendall Dylan

Dylan Ashton

Ashton Kai

Kai Bailey

Bailey Jesse

Jesse Taylor

Taylor Jordan

Jordan Austin

Austin Emerson

Emerson Hayden

Hayden Blair

Blair Darcy

Darcy Rory

Rory Jamie

Jamie Mason Sourced from the Baby Names Wizard and McCrindle research.

The celebrity factor

Celebrity baby names have always influenced naming trends — and that's likely playing a part in the recent move toward traditionally masculine names for girls.

Singer Jessica Simpson has a daughter called Maxwell Drew, while actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds named their daughter James.

Victoria and David Beckham have a little girl called Harper; Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis named their daughter Wyatt; and Heidi Klum has a daughter called Lou.

Closer to home, Chris and Rebecca Judd's daughter is called Billie, while Hamish Blake and Zoe Foster-Blake's daughter is named Rudy. In the ABC TV series The Letdown, the protagonist's baby daughter is Stevie.

"The numbers have shown that these names from celebrities are giving [masculine-sounding names] a boost in the top 100," Ms Linco says.

"It's not that people idolise celebrities so much that they're going to name their children after them — it's just that celebrities are putting it out there and it kind of sparks imagination, through Instagram and so on.

"In an age of women's empowerment and breaking down gender stereotypes, celebrities are almost paving the way, saying, 'It's OK to name your girl using traditionally male names'."

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A one-way trend

While Australian parents are giving their daughters the names they used to save for sons, the reverse is not true.

Australians aren't quite ready for feminine-sounding names for boys — yet. ( Unsplash )

"What is certain is that you won't find any baby boys given names like Stephanie or Lily any time soon," Ms Joynes says.

Bucking the trend: "Feminine" name options for boys Kelly

Kelly Blair

Blair Cassidy

Cassidy Eden

Eden Dana

Dana Madison

Madison Leslie

Leslie Lindsey

Lindsey Aubrey

Aubrey Sidney/Sydney

Sidney/Sydney Loren

Loren Sandy

Sandy Reese

Reese Addison

Addison Ashley Note: Many of these names began as surnames or even male names — but have since become popular as girl names. Sourced from the Baby Names Wizard and McCrindle research.

While it's on-trend to give girls a tomboyish moniker, "Australians aren't quite ready for feminine-sounding names" for boys, Ms Linco adds.

The one-way nature of this trend may reflect the way society tends to favour traditionally "male" characteristics, explains Dr Brady.

"The social context is that masculinity is much more elevated," she says. "So parents are really concerned about doing anything that gives boys an impression of femininity.

"While we've seen increasing support for gender equality in terms of public attitudes, this is largely embracing the idea that women can access institutions that were largely reserved for men, and allowing women to access 'masculine' traits such as competitiveness."

But the explanation may be more benign.

"The logical or simple explanation for the uptick in baby girls being given traditionally masculine or unisex names is that we've already exhausted all the ones on the girls' list," Ms Joynes says.

"Time for something new!"

Parents have also historically been more imaginative with girls' names, Births Deaths and Marriages data shows.

Meanwhile, trends in boys' names have always been a bit slower — so it may just be a matter of time until we start to see parents naming their little boys using feminine names.

"What has historically happened is the boys' names list just takes longer to evolve than the girls'," Ms Joynes says.

"Eventually parents do start experimenting a little more and we will start to see more creativity for baby boys — and with that will come more feminine-sounding names."