Hi Duana,
I have often seen the name Jet for a boys name. What do you think of Jett for a girl?
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Well, I think the extra “t” certainly doesn’t make it feminine.
Not that I think it’s an unfeminine name. Unusual, yes, and for some people, trendy to the point of exhaustion. I think the key to making it work would follow these steps:
1) Have a reason for using it. If it inspires you because your first love was a fighter pilot or because Top Gun taught you to go into the movie business, great. I will also accept it as a tribute to Joan Jett, in which case, yes, you could use the double-T spelling.
But before making this decision, say it out loud a lot. Imagine yourself not just giving a bath to baby Jet and pushing her on the (oh, fine) airplane swings at the park, but discussing that her mark in Social Science is not as strong as it could be, or opening an RESP for her in the hopes that you’ll be able to cover her grad school costs. You have to be really, really sure that you can see it as a name all the way up.
Needless to say, if you do make this choice, her middle name cannot, cannot, cannot be River. It has to be something straight, not overly feminissima, but straightforward that explains not only that this is a girl/woman, but that the combination of “Jet Elizabeth” or “Jet Francesca” really means something.
Look, it would be easy to say “just put it in the middle name slot” but I’m not pretending that’s not ghettoizing it if it’s a name you like. Still, really think about what you want to accomplish with this name, what you’re saying about who you want your child to be – before you commit to it.
Oh – and all of this goes for the boys, too.
