My uncle Larkin was named after his father, who was named after his grandfather, Larkin Barnett. The name apparently comes from the Irish, meaning 'rough, fierce' and is definitely a male name. These days, however, people commonly name their girls with boys' names, so it's no wonder everyone is confused.
This name definitely seems more suited for a female. This is just like another nature inspired bird name like Robin or Wren. This seems like a good name if that is your style.
I like Larkin for a boy and it sounds so masculine to me! For a girl, I prefer Larkine. I’m starting to understand that some boy names should be best on boys because Charlesine and Christophine seem pretty on girls, they’re never used! That makes no sense:):):):):):):))))))!
― Anonymous User 11/27/2018
4
My uncle’s name was Larkin Eldridge (first and middle). These were family names from my maternal grandfather’s side. They were red-haired Scotch-Irish descendants living in El Paso, Tx around 1905-1980. My uncle was born in El Paso in the mid 1940s. His brothers’ names included Leighton, Douglas, Chadwick, and Owain. As far as I know, his name was always Larkin with no nickname, even though all 5 of his siblings had nicknames, common ones for the time (Dick, Jim, etc).
As a female with the first name of Larkin, I can honestly say I've never met anyone else -- male or female -- with the same name. In school I always looked at it as: "Well, even if I just sign my first name, the teacher won't confuse me with anyone else." :-).It is far more common as a last name though. Both it and my middle name (Dyer) were taken from the surnames of two maiden aunts.
Larkin is also the name of Larkin Groves, a female character from the American TV series "Invasion" (2005-2006), played by American actress Lisa Sheridan (b. 1974).
In the book Baby by Patricia MacLachlan (of Sarah, Plain and Tall fame), the main character and narrator is named Larkin. I had never heard this name until I read that book, but I like it a lot. It sounds more feminine to me, probably because the book character is a girl.
Larkin was the name Lauren Olamina gave her child in the book Parable of the Talents. Unfortunately, Larkin was kidnapped at the age 2 months old and renamed Asha.
I wouldn't name my kid this or anything, but it looks like a terrific name for a character in a fantasy book, and maybe even a good name for a band, if you think about it.
Actually, she's Lady Larken, not Lady Larkin. Larkin seems like a feminine name to me, despite the more masculine -in ending, because of the whole lark thing.
https://www.popular-babynames.com/name/larkin
https://www.behindthename.com/name/lark
https://names.darkgreener.com/#larkin
According to the USA Social Security Administration, the name suddenly spiked in popularity for girls with 115 girls and 21 boys born with the name Larkin—compared to 2005, were just 30 girls and 28 boys were named Larkin.
Even today, it still remains more popular as a girls name, with 63 girls and 39 boys were recorded with the name with the name Larkin in the USA in 2022.
https://www.nancy.cc/baby-name/larkin/
https://www.names.org/n/larkin/about
It's popularity as a Feminine may be inspired by the main character in the book 'Baby' by Patricia MacLachlan.
The main character is named 'Larkin' and that character is Female.
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/patricia-maclachlan/baby-2/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_(MacLachlan_novel)
Its Feminine popularity may also be inspired by a fictional Female Character, Larkin Groves.
Larkin Groves is a fictional reporter featured in the ABC television series Invasion. Played by actress Lisa Sheridan, she was a main character on the show and was credited in all twenty-two episodes of the series.
https://headhuntersholosuite.fandom.com/wiki/Larkin_Groves
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460651/characters/nm0792209