Adrian

Adrian comes from the Latin name Hadrianus, meaning "man from Hadria." This is the masculine version of the name. I mention this because a very few parents have given this version of the name to their daughters, which is okay by me, but people should be aware that there are feminine versions of the name--Adrienne, for instance. I have to admit that I was fairly surprised to find that Adrian has been in the top 100 names for boys in the U.S. since 1990. It sounds to me like a somewhat dangerous name to give a boy, but I guess that's because it sounds like the feminine version, and I've known several Adrienne's and Adriannes. The name just sounds like a girl's name to me, and while it's generally okay to give boy's names to girls, the reverse tends to be less true. (Find the lyrics to the Johnny Cash song A Boy Named Sue if you aren't familiar with it, for a good explanation of why girl's names shouldn't be given to boys.) Still though, if that many people are naming their sons Adrian, it should be safe enough to continue using as a name for boys. It sounds a little...fussy...for a boy to me, but obviously many other people don't see it that way at all.