When I was small I thought Francis and Leslie were odd names for girls because I had Uncles with those names, and it was a long time before I actually met females named such. Turns out I've inadvertantly given one of my girls a boy's name. Our Mundi has learned that there are a few more Mundis in the country, and they are all male. Apparently it is used for a boy in some hispanic cultures. And hey! People have started asking us if Ash is short for Ashleigh. Which I always thought was a girls name, but again it turns out that just a tad south of here it is a boys name.
Then there is pronunciation. When I named her I had the french pronunciation of Gabrielle in mind. Never occured to me that anyone would pronounce it any differently, well except maybe my dad who tends to odd pronunciation anyway. I was right about dad he pronounces it Gabriel, but I have been quite astounded by the odd twists some people put on it. New boy in school calls her Gabe-UH-rEE-uhl, she has tried to teach him to say it, but he just can't seem to get his mouth around it.
NightMist